The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I'm going to do all three books at once.

Summary:

In book one Primrose Everdeen, Katniss' little sister is chosen as a tribute for the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a competition where two children from each of the twelve districts of Panem go into an arena and fight to the death on live TV for the entertainment of the people in the Capitol. Yeah, it's twisted.

So Katniss volunteers, to protect her little sister. And she goes into the arena with her fellow tribute, Peeta, who has had a lifelong crush on her.

And that's just the beginning, next Katniss must fight again in yet another Hunger Games, and then all out war breaks out, with Katniss as the Hero of a revolution. It's a very exciting read.

What I liked

The suspense and the action. This is one of the most suspenseful and gripping series I have ever read.

Also, the premise is a fantastic commentary on consumerism, war, oppression, and whole lot of other timely topics.


What I didn't like

I'm really sorry, but I have to get this out. While I loved reading these books and I kept reading them because of the suspense, there's a lot I really didn't like. So here I'll summarize what I didn't like:

1. The Love Triangle: Okay, I know Love Triangles sell. But they're stupid and annoying and I hate them. It's just way too much pointless drama. How do Peeta and Gale put up with Katniss anyway? Why don't they get frustrated of her double dealing and ditch her?

2. Katniss Everdeen: Easily the least likable protagonist of all time.

So, what makes Katniss so unlikable? Well, for starters, she's self-centered and self-absorbed. I know angst sells, but it's just not cool. Also, through all three books, she never rises above her dysfunction, but rather wallows in it. You'll notice that none of her major or important decisions are based on well thought out or rational reasons but are just the product of how she feels at the moment--except at the very, very, very, very, VERY end, but I'll get to that. For the most part, Katniss doesn't think, she just feels. And, I know, this is normal for kids these days, but again, it's not cool. She always gets her way, and when it seems like she's not going to get her way, she becomes manipulative and underhanded.

She doesn't change or grow as a character across the three books, except at the end of book three. In every circumstance, she relies on who she is and what she already knows and can do to solve her problems. She rarely--if ever--has to stretch. And when circumstances come up where she can stretch, like when she has to perform on stage, she tries for a little bit until she realizes that she can't do it without learning a new skill and then she opts out.

So she ends up bumbling about and, essentially, she bumbles into becoming the hero of the story.

The only redeeming thing about the way Katniss' character is written comes at the end of book three where, when she becomes completely powerless to change her circumstances, she succumbs to PTSD and there's a touching little part at the very, very end about how she grows through it and sort of heals a little bit. I think that would have made a way more interesting story than all of Katniss' dysfunction in books two and three.

3. I found some things about the plot frustrating. For example, sometimes plot points just don't follow one another. That makes the story unpredictable and full of surprises, but not in a good way. I know that's the way things happen in real life, but it's annoying when it happens in fiction.

4. I also have a few reservations about the ending. All along, the story goes, Katniss is on a mission. She's determined and nothing is going to stop her and then WHAM! everything changes. The pace changes, the direction of the plot changes, everything changes. It's super jarring. It ends up being okay and working really well, but at first it's really annoying.

Conclusion:

I can't wait until the movie comes out!!! 3/5 stupid angsty teenagers.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp


Janelle got this book for her birthday from her sister and voraciously devoured it. Then she recommended it to me: You should read this! You'll love it.

So, I have to admit, I was turned off at first when I read the jacket: "Ann Voskamp is a writer with DaySpring (a division of Hallmark)..." I wasn't super keen on reading a book by a card writer about how wonderful life is and all about rainbows and cinnamon farts.

So I read it anyway and I liked it from the very start. The book is a biographical look at how gratitude, thankfulness, can change a life. In it, Ann Voskamp gives a cross section of her life and chronicles how being thankful erases bitterness, makes her kinder, more willing to forgive. It starts when she decides to make a list of all the things she is grateful for, and as she looks for things she is grateful for, she finds all the things that she should have been thankful for but, all this time, took for granted. Her list unlocked a life full of gifts.

What I liked


The writing was poetic and flowing. Here are a few examples:

"When children sleep under the scraps stitched into quilts and the clock ticks too loudly through the dark hours and the spiral galaxies spin in space, I lie under the afghan by the fire and read the words of an old sermon." (p. 33)

"I want the hunt, the long sleuth, the careful piecing together. To learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty." (p. 47)

"The moon rounds immense, incandescent globe grazing ours. Her gravity pulls, pearl filling deepening sky, stringing me unto the universe." (p. 105)

So you can see she writes well, she plays with words, turning adjectives into verbs and verbs into nouns, and nouns into adjectives. I like that. It makes for a rich and enjoyable read.

Also, the book is intellectual and deals well with some heavy issues like theology and philosophy. It's also not all about happiness and rainbows and magic, but it wrestles with difficult questions like, why do children die if God is good?

My favourite chapters were the ones where she writes about her family and her children. In one, older-son throws toast in younger-son's face and that turns into a discussion about how thankfulness can bring kindness and dissolve bitterness.

What I didn't like


There were parts, like in one chapter where she runs out into the farm field with her camera to take photos of the moon and she spends the whole chapter out there talking about how thankful she is for how beautiful the moon is. It just seemed a little dumb to me, but Janelle says that's just me.

Conclusion


I heartily recommend this book! Enough said. 4/5 dead little sisters.