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

Erin Hunter has a whole fleet of books based around the world of the Warriors. I believe this is the book that started it all. (Or at least, this is where my daughter told me to start.)

It is the story of Rusty, a cat who starts the book as a pet of some humans (Two-Legs) and is pulled into the wild world.

My Comments

It was a fun book and a relatively quick read. I like that I know what the kids are have read and it gave us a few things to talk through. However, it is a book for younger readers so it keeps the action moving and doesn’t spend too much time on detail. I understand now why my daughter loved them so much. It is all about cats. How they live, fight, and so on. Ms. Hunter did a great job of making the fuzzy lovable kitties into a fierce tribe of warriors living their life by a strict code of honor. I enjoyed it.

Recommendations

If you are 10 to 14 and love cats, you will love these books. If you are in your forties and your kids love these books, you will at least enjoy them and give you and the kids something to talk about.

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.

The Book

This is the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia. It shows us; how Narnia begins, where the “witch” came from, the wardrobe and even explains the origins of the lamp pole at just outside the wardrobe.

My Comments

What a fun book! Not my favorite of C.S. Lewis but I still enjoyed it. The last time I read the story, I was in 3rd grade so I don’t remember much of the story. So, it was like experiencing it new all again.

Recommendations

Great book and worth the time to read it. I would recommend it to everyone!

The Book

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a follow on to the very popular Harry Potter series of books. It isn’t really much more than a list of creatures from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

My Comments

The last book I read was such a downer, I wanted to read something a little more lighthearted. One can never go wrong with J.K. Rowling! While the topic was tiresome after plowing through cover to cover, there was always a bit of her playful humor in the pages. I particularly loved the introduction.

I read the wrong Harry Potter series at least 4 times during a particularly hard year in graduate school. The books I was assigned were dense reading so I found myself wanting something light and silly. These books always fit that bill and were always a pleasure to read. I’m glad to say this book was no different.

Recommendation

It’s a good book and I had a great time reading it. However, I don’t know if that would be true of many others. Read the Harry Potter standard works before you try this. That will make it all make more sense…