Dystopian

Background

Divergent is the story of post-apocalyptic world where the main character is just coming of age. It is part of the Divergent Trilogy and was made into a movie by the same name a mere 3 years after the book’s release.

My Thoughts

I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t know that I will. This book reads a lot like the Twilight Series. That is to say it is teenage girl fodder. It is a decent story and all but there are some surprisingly sensual parts of it that I don’t think the average teenager needs in their life. As a forty something man, it was a bit comical to read about the male characters. If you dropped a teenage girl in the body of man and she tried to act male, this is what you would get.

Just like Twilight, it was made into a movie pretty quickly after the books. It feels a bit like it was made for it.

Recommendation

Probably stick to the movie on this one and skip the book.

Background

The Mocking Jay is the last of Hunger Games Trilogy and it brings final resolution to the tension between “the Capital” and “the Districts”. Katniss and the team are propelled forward from district 13 to start an uprising climaxing in the final assault on President Snow’s mansion.

My Comments

There is something about the way Suzanne Collins writes which makes me plow on through the story even though I should be sleeping. I enjoyed the read. However, like many guilty pleasures, I have no idea why.

I can’t stand Katniss in this installation of the series. She is such a sanctimonious idiot. Her special combination of outrage coupled with her stupidity and add a dash of not-allowing-others-to-take-responsibility-for-anything, is hard to imagine. It’s hard to buy a spoiled 17 year old with PTSD getting her way over battle hardened soldiers…

It felt a lot like what I used to call Disney ethics. The idea that almost any retaliation is fine, even death, if someone is mean to an animal or gets in your way.

In this book, people are dying right left and center. The whole of Katniss’s community had been completely wiped out but that is glossed over. However, if Primm dies… Whoa, now that’s over the edge.

Recommendation

I still liked it. I will likely read it again… And then again. The first book was so good but it’s hard to leave it there. Ms. Collins, my hat is off to you.

Background

Catching Fire is the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy. It starts a few months after the first book ended and shows how Katness and Peeta cope with being out of the games. This next book fleshes out the character of President Snow and starts to narrow in on the politics surrounding the capitol. The next round of games brings in former champions and Katness and Peeta find themselves back where they started.

My Comments

Another great book but I didn’t like this one quite like the rest. President Snow is far too two dimensional to be real. He is the embodiment of evil and even smells of blood. This is better explained in the next book but for now, he remains a comic book super villain. The other characters become more likeable with the exception of Katness. In the first book she didn’t have a clue as to what was going on and that helplessness worked for her. Now, it’s just her modus operandi and it becomes a bit tiresome in this book. Still, it is a solid read and genuinely entertaining.

Recommendation

Sames as the last… A great read.

Background

The Hunger Games was a book before it was a movie. That shouldn’t seem so much of a surprise but everyone seems to grasp on to the movie version. This book tells of a dystopian future where the United States becomes a place called Panem. Where the majority of people are forced in to work in squalor to feed and clothe the “Capital” where the rich and decadent live. Every year an event known as “the Hunger Games” is held. These games pit the children of the poor against each other in a struggle to the death. This first book describes how a young girl of 16 named Katniss manages to live through the games and beyond. Two more books follow; Catching Fire and the Mockingjay.

My Comments

This book was every bit as good it was the first time I read it. The first time was read well before the movie so I was one of those people who thought Woody Harrelson was an odd choice for Haymitch and Jennifer Lawrence was a terrible pick for Katniss. Still, they made a solid movie. The book was and is better though…

Recommendations

Great book. If you can stomach some violence and suspense you will have a great story. Read the book before you see the movie though. It will make it all so much more fun.

Background

The Giver is a story is set in a rigidly controlled futuristic society where a young man is just coming of age. Like everyone his age, he is assigned a duty in the community. This will be their job for the rest of their lives. He is given the singular honor of being the next “Receiver”.

My Comments

This was a great book. I didn’t want to put it down… I do so love a utopian society and this was a very interesting commentary on what has to be sacrificed to achieve the ‘greater good’.

Recommendation

Great book! Everyone should read it.