Grade: D+
Not Recommended.
Huzzah! The end of The Hunger Games trilogy is here!
Let me answer the question you all are thinking...why did I read this if I disliked the first two so much. One reason being a huge glass of shut up juice to certain Hunger Games fanatic friends. Another reason is to validate myself for figuring out the ending after less than 50 pages of The Hunger Games.
I'm not going to add spoiler warnings because if you have only the slightest clue what the books are about, you can guess the ending. If I spoil anything for you, sorry. You can thank me later when I have saved you the time of reading these three books.
Having the ending figured out in book one isn't saying much. It's not like Suzanne Collins made it all that difficult when she spells out the logical ending. The whole series has been nothing but predictable, so why should the series conclusion be any different.
We left off in Catching Fire with the districts rebelling against the Capitol and the very likely result being an all out war. Surprise surprise, here in Mockingjay war has broken out. After the Capitol bombed district 12, the survivors were taken to district 13. Katniss and the rebels who rescued her are plotting on how to kill President Snow. Let me rephrase, the rebels minus any effort from Katniss are plotting. Katniss is her usual dumb as dirt puppet self incapable of any original thoughts and ideas. Peeta has been taken by the Capitol and brainwashed to think that this is all Katniss' fault and she needs to be stopped. Gale is his usual Edward/Jacob self. The rebels want Katniss to own up to her Mockingjay title and be the image of the rebels where a television crew can follow her around and make rebel propaganda videos to show to the citizens of Panem and the Capitol. In true Mary Sue form, Katniss stays in her puppet like state and lets everyone else tell her what she should do.
Suzanne Collins is a lousy writer, plain and simple. Lousy is probably paying her an undeserved compliment. What really steamed my beans in this book were the paragraphs consisting of sentences of 5 words or less. I'm dead flipping serious, there was at least one paragraph of 2 and 3 word sentences with one lonely 5 word sentence thrown in. Every page had 2 and 3 word sentences...every stinking page! Surely her editors mentioned changing some of those periods into commas, but if those suggestions were made they were made on deaf ears.
The plot is formulaic and predictable as usual and still ripping off other (better) books. The plot "twists" can be figured out in no time. There's still no page turning suspense or gripping action. Katniss is a puppet who still cannot think for herself. Strong female character that teens can look up to...not in your lifetime. Characters with silly names are introduced and killed off, same with people close to Katniss. Peeta still fits into this little pathetic love triangle of Katniss-Gale-Peeta. Gale is equally as uninteresting. The only character remotely close to interesting is Buttercup the cat.
If you are reading the series expecting a satisfying conclusion, you picked the wrong series. The ending is rather brief and doesn't wrap up all that much. Naturally Katniss and Peeta end up together and have a couple of babies, because really who else would she have ended up with? Things in district 12 start coming around as soon as President Snow and President Coin have died. Haymitch raises geese because apparently they require little effort to raise and he can continue being drunk while raising them.
Allow me to pause and wipe the snark and sarcasm off my chin.
This series was bad, really really really bad. The worst of the three books is hands down The Hunger Games. If you can stomach that, you become a little desensitized to books 2 and 3 being garbage. Or maybe the rest of you cheated and looked up the series spoilers. I stupidly clung to the hope that there was something redeeming somewhere in the series. There is nothing of the sort. In hindsight I should have stopped after book 1 when one of my fangirl friends all but confirmed my predictions of books 2 and 3. Clearly I am a glutton for punishment. Stephenie Meyer may be a lousy author, but at least she can entertain me.
Mad Magazine really needs to parody books two and three to spare even one person from reading that dreck. Their parody of The Hunger Games is hilarious.
If I could retitle the series it would look something like this:
The Hunger Games would be The Hunger Pains.
Catching Fire would be Catching Gonorrhea.
Mockingjay would be Mockingjerk.
May the odds be ever in your favor of not reading this series. Otherwise don't say I didn't warn you.
Thursday
Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Grade: C-
Not particularly recommended.
If you can tell me that you can walk through your library's YA section and not notice Sarah Dessen, I call your bluff. She's written a ton of books.
Along for the Ride is a super easy peasy read and if it were food it would likely be Peeps with questionable nutritional content. In this book we meet Auden, a high school girl spending the summer with her dad and his new family. Clearly Auden's parents are a bit off considering her name is Auden (yes after the poet) and her brother has an equally odd name that escapes me for the moment. Her parents are divorced and her mother seems to enjoy the company of her grad students while her dad has a new wife and baby. Auden hasn't slept at night for quite some time and in her insomniac wanderings crosses paths with an introvert named Eli. They form a dynamic duo of insomniacs who bond over junk food, coffee and pie. Oh and BMX bikes, hence the cover. Eli along with some local girls that Auden meets at her clothing boutique job teach her what being a normal teenager is like.
Sarah Dessen is the YA intro to romance novels. If you're a teenager reading Sarah Dessen and liking her a lot, I'd be willing to bet that as an adult, you'll be devouring Jennifer Crusie and Kristan Higgins. Maybe because it's like a watered down version of one of those books or maybe it just isn't Dessen's best. The book didn't do anything special for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. I'm willing to give her another chance and welcome anyone's suggestions and recommendations of which titles you liked. This is the light side of YA fiction, certainly lightyears different from Please Ignore Vera Dietz and Looking for Alaska. The plot wasn't interesting enough for me and I found the characters to be almost awkward and unlikable. It was the book version of Peeps, Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles, pick your poison. Not every YA book can be as fantastic as a John Green or A.S. King.
Not particularly recommended.
If you can tell me that you can walk through your library's YA section and not notice Sarah Dessen, I call your bluff. She's written a ton of books.
Along for the Ride is a super easy peasy read and if it were food it would likely be Peeps with questionable nutritional content. In this book we meet Auden, a high school girl spending the summer with her dad and his new family. Clearly Auden's parents are a bit off considering her name is Auden (yes after the poet) and her brother has an equally odd name that escapes me for the moment. Her parents are divorced and her mother seems to enjoy the company of her grad students while her dad has a new wife and baby. Auden hasn't slept at night for quite some time and in her insomniac wanderings crosses paths with an introvert named Eli. They form a dynamic duo of insomniacs who bond over junk food, coffee and pie. Oh and BMX bikes, hence the cover. Eli along with some local girls that Auden meets at her clothing boutique job teach her what being a normal teenager is like.
Sarah Dessen is the YA intro to romance novels. If you're a teenager reading Sarah Dessen and liking her a lot, I'd be willing to bet that as an adult, you'll be devouring Jennifer Crusie and Kristan Higgins. Maybe because it's like a watered down version of one of those books or maybe it just isn't Dessen's best. The book didn't do anything special for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. I'm willing to give her another chance and welcome anyone's suggestions and recommendations of which titles you liked. This is the light side of YA fiction, certainly lightyears different from Please Ignore Vera Dietz and Looking for Alaska. The plot wasn't interesting enough for me and I found the characters to be almost awkward and unlikable. It was the book version of Peeps, Lucky Charms and Fruity Pebbles, pick your poison. Not every YA book can be as fantastic as a John Green or A.S. King.
Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
Grade: B
Recommended for fans of chick-lit romance and those needing a good beach read.
If you pay attention to and follow the RITA Awards, no doubt you know about Kristan Higgins. If not, you're missing out on a ton of fun light reads.
Until There Was You is a cute story about a woman named Posey and the bad boy she lusts after Liam. Normally, Kristan Higgins writes from one POV, but this time we are treated to Liam's as well. He's a bad boy who's not really all that bad. He's actually quite the sweetums. The bad boy part comes from his love for motorcycles and that he builds custom bikes. Posey, our heroine, is a bit of a tomboy. She owns her own business, an architectural salvage company so she's usually in work clothes. Her family also owns a German restaurant. She also had her heart squashed and trampled on by Liam while they were in high school. Liam comes back to town and stirs up all these warm melty feeling in Posey, and you probably know how the rest plays out.
Part of why I like Kristan Higgins so much is she writes light fun chick lit romances without slapping some tanned up beefcake on the cover. Maybe someday I'll get up the nerve to read one of those books, but very likely in my Kindle Fire so no one can see the beefcake cover. So long as I don't run out of Kristan Higgins stories, the beefcake covers have to wait. Sometimes when there's just too much crap going on in life, books like this are fantastic escapism. Curling up on the couch in a pair of pajammy jams (pajamas for those who don't speak my borderline LOLcats language) with a Kristan Higgins book is just the ticket. Or perhaps taking her in the bathtub for a good soak if you don't mind laying in your own soup. Whichever you prefer, she's like a pint of Ben and Jerry's...pure comfort food. Some of the stuff I read is pretty heavy. Let's not forget the fact that if I read Joyce Carol Oates one after another, lots of antidepressants would be involved. I like to vary the books I read so that I don't get bored and to please my inner child who has a bit of ADD. There's also the part about it being summer and the weather lately has been hot. Hot like a freaking toaster hot. My poor lil brain cells either needed a fun fluff read or for my chubby butt to sit in one of the ice cream freezers at the grocery store. I chose the first for obvious reasons.
If you're in the mood for some light romance-ish reading, check out Kristan Higgins. You might just realize that you really like her and discover a new genre of fiction to enjoy.
Recommended for fans of chick-lit romance and those needing a good beach read.
If you pay attention to and follow the RITA Awards, no doubt you know about Kristan Higgins. If not, you're missing out on a ton of fun light reads.
Until There Was You is a cute story about a woman named Posey and the bad boy she lusts after Liam. Normally, Kristan Higgins writes from one POV, but this time we are treated to Liam's as well. He's a bad boy who's not really all that bad. He's actually quite the sweetums. The bad boy part comes from his love for motorcycles and that he builds custom bikes. Posey, our heroine, is a bit of a tomboy. She owns her own business, an architectural salvage company so she's usually in work clothes. Her family also owns a German restaurant. She also had her heart squashed and trampled on by Liam while they were in high school. Liam comes back to town and stirs up all these warm melty feeling in Posey, and you probably know how the rest plays out.
Part of why I like Kristan Higgins so much is she writes light fun chick lit romances without slapping some tanned up beefcake on the cover. Maybe someday I'll get up the nerve to read one of those books, but very likely in my Kindle Fire so no one can see the beefcake cover. So long as I don't run out of Kristan Higgins stories, the beefcake covers have to wait. Sometimes when there's just too much crap going on in life, books like this are fantastic escapism. Curling up on the couch in a pair of pajammy jams (pajamas for those who don't speak my borderline LOLcats language) with a Kristan Higgins book is just the ticket. Or perhaps taking her in the bathtub for a good soak if you don't mind laying in your own soup. Whichever you prefer, she's like a pint of Ben and Jerry's...pure comfort food. Some of the stuff I read is pretty heavy. Let's not forget the fact that if I read Joyce Carol Oates one after another, lots of antidepressants would be involved. I like to vary the books I read so that I don't get bored and to please my inner child who has a bit of ADD. There's also the part about it being summer and the weather lately has been hot. Hot like a freaking toaster hot. My poor lil brain cells either needed a fun fluff read or for my chubby butt to sit in one of the ice cream freezers at the grocery store. I chose the first for obvious reasons.
If you're in the mood for some light romance-ish reading, check out Kristan Higgins. You might just realize that you really like her and discover a new genre of fiction to enjoy.
Monday
It Looked Different on the Model by Laurie Notaro
Grade: B+
Recommended for fans of Jen Lancaster and David Sedaris.
This is one delicious collection of essays from Laurie Notaro. Riotously funny at times and just meh funny other times. The hilariously funny essays more than make up for the less funny. Notaro spares no one, mainly herself in these essays that run the gamut from trying on a super cute shirt in a boutique and getting stuck in it to Ambien induced highs and neighborhood Christmas parties. Throw in a neurotic Italian mother with a penchant for forwarding emails regardless of their validity. Oh and there's a Fart Chart.
Lessons I learned while reading this:
- I probably should have waited until I was rid of the UTI from hell.
- I should not have read this while the mister is sound asleep. It took every bit of restraint not to wake him up and say you have to read this part.
- Laurie Notaro, Jen Lancaster and I have the same potty mouth, snarky sense of humor, lack of a verbal firewall, and were likely related in a past life.
- Peeing your pants from laughing so hard is no where near as funny to you as it is to the above said husband.
- I hope the bouts of insomnia do not return. Ambien me is not someone I want to meet.
If you can't read an essay about Laurie's alter ego Ambien Laurie and not snort with laughter there must be something wrong with you. Because I'm a jerk, if I were friends with someone with an Ambien prescription, I would totally be the first one calling or emailing to find out if the Ambien friend could come out and play. If you can read a well thought out Fart Chart and not think it's funny, not only is there something wrong with you but you probably had no business reading this book in the first place.
Highly recommended for anyone with a sense of humor, especially if you have found yourself in one of the same predicaments as Notaro. Getting stuck in an article of clothing that has a size tag on it from the devil is a very real issue.
Recommended for fans of Jen Lancaster and David Sedaris.
This is one delicious collection of essays from Laurie Notaro. Riotously funny at times and just meh funny other times. The hilariously funny essays more than make up for the less funny. Notaro spares no one, mainly herself in these essays that run the gamut from trying on a super cute shirt in a boutique and getting stuck in it to Ambien induced highs and neighborhood Christmas parties. Throw in a neurotic Italian mother with a penchant for forwarding emails regardless of their validity. Oh and there's a Fart Chart.
Lessons I learned while reading this:
- I probably should have waited until I was rid of the UTI from hell.
- I should not have read this while the mister is sound asleep. It took every bit of restraint not to wake him up and say you have to read this part.
- Laurie Notaro, Jen Lancaster and I have the same potty mouth, snarky sense of humor, lack of a verbal firewall, and were likely related in a past life.
- Peeing your pants from laughing so hard is no where near as funny to you as it is to the above said husband.
- I hope the bouts of insomnia do not return. Ambien me is not someone I want to meet.
If you can't read an essay about Laurie's alter ego Ambien Laurie and not snort with laughter there must be something wrong with you. Because I'm a jerk, if I were friends with someone with an Ambien prescription, I would totally be the first one calling or emailing to find out if the Ambien friend could come out and play. If you can read a well thought out Fart Chart and not think it's funny, not only is there something wrong with you but you probably had no business reading this book in the first place.
Highly recommended for anyone with a sense of humor, especially if you have found yourself in one of the same predicaments as Notaro. Getting stuck in an article of clothing that has a size tag on it from the devil is a very real issue.
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Grade: A+
Recommended for John Green fans and fans of high quality YA lit.
Part love story but mostly coming of age. This is the story of Vera Dietz and her best friend Charlie, who redefine the term best friends. They feel more like soul mates who keep the deepest of secrets for each other, even when one betrays the other. Then Charlie dies. His death is very dark and Vera is determined to find out the truth about the night Charlie died.
This along with Looking for Alaska are some of the finest YA books I have ever read. The love story isn't over the top with romance. It's very subtle the way a kinda sorta romance between best friends can be. The coming of age part is so very real. Vera copes with Charlie's passing in a very real and believable manner. She grieves the way any teenager might except she doesn't drown her sorrows in tantrums of hysterical tears. While Vera grieves for Charlie, she also faces things about herself and her mother's past. The writing is stunning. For those who say they left YA books behind in junior high or high school because they are mostly fluff stories should read this book. This isn't a Sarah Dessen YA story. This is a story with heart and depth. Oh yeah and it won a Printz Honor last year. Believe my praise, this story is incredible. I still think that this should have won the top Printz award. The secrets that unfold will break your heart, maybe because you were lucky enough to have your own Charlie.
I dare you to read this and tell me it is anything less than amazing.
Recommended for John Green fans and fans of high quality YA lit.
Part love story but mostly coming of age. This is the story of Vera Dietz and her best friend Charlie, who redefine the term best friends. They feel more like soul mates who keep the deepest of secrets for each other, even when one betrays the other. Then Charlie dies. His death is very dark and Vera is determined to find out the truth about the night Charlie died.
This along with Looking for Alaska are some of the finest YA books I have ever read. The love story isn't over the top with romance. It's very subtle the way a kinda sorta romance between best friends can be. The coming of age part is so very real. Vera copes with Charlie's passing in a very real and believable manner. She grieves the way any teenager might except she doesn't drown her sorrows in tantrums of hysterical tears. While Vera grieves for Charlie, she also faces things about herself and her mother's past. The writing is stunning. For those who say they left YA books behind in junior high or high school because they are mostly fluff stories should read this book. This isn't a Sarah Dessen YA story. This is a story with heart and depth. Oh yeah and it won a Printz Honor last year. Believe my praise, this story is incredible. I still think that this should have won the top Printz award. The secrets that unfold will break your heart, maybe because you were lucky enough to have your own Charlie.
I dare you to read this and tell me it is anything less than amazing.
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Grade: A
Recommended for fans of historical fiction.
This may very well be the hardest book I have ever read. Not because the book is boring or challenging, but because the subject matter is so unsettling. This is not a book for the faint of heart.
Those Who Save Us is a World War II story from the German civilian perspective. It is the story of Anna Schlemmer, a German woman who survived the war. Anna falls in love with a Jewish man while the war broke out and tried to keep him safe. We all know the horrible things that the Nazis did during the war, and those disturbing facts are not spared here. Anna finds herself pregnant and alone doing whatever she can to stay safe. A Nazi officer meets Anna and takes her for his mistress while providing Anna and her daughter with things that they otherwise could not have afforded or had access to.
This is also the story of Trudy, Anna's daughter, born during the war and growing up with the Nazi presence around her. Anna and Trudy find their way to the states and settle in Minnesota. Anna does not speak of her time in Germany during the war and Trudy has only a photograph of her with her mother and the Nazi. Trudy is a German History professor working on a research project when the pieces of her mother's past begin to fall into place.
This book is extraordinarily well written and a most impressive debut from Jenna Blum. The book is emotionally heavy and at times warrants some separation to process what you just read. The story is also told in alternating viewpoints from present day Trudy to Anna during the war. Just when things start to get too heavy to bear another page, the viewpoint switches. It works perfectly. I highly recommend this book, but if you are going to read it, have a lighter book in mind to read afterwards.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction.
This may very well be the hardest book I have ever read. Not because the book is boring or challenging, but because the subject matter is so unsettling. This is not a book for the faint of heart.
Those Who Save Us is a World War II story from the German civilian perspective. It is the story of Anna Schlemmer, a German woman who survived the war. Anna falls in love with a Jewish man while the war broke out and tried to keep him safe. We all know the horrible things that the Nazis did during the war, and those disturbing facts are not spared here. Anna finds herself pregnant and alone doing whatever she can to stay safe. A Nazi officer meets Anna and takes her for his mistress while providing Anna and her daughter with things that they otherwise could not have afforded or had access to.
This is also the story of Trudy, Anna's daughter, born during the war and growing up with the Nazi presence around her. Anna and Trudy find their way to the states and settle in Minnesota. Anna does not speak of her time in Germany during the war and Trudy has only a photograph of her with her mother and the Nazi. Trudy is a German History professor working on a research project when the pieces of her mother's past begin to fall into place.
This book is extraordinarily well written and a most impressive debut from Jenna Blum. The book is emotionally heavy and at times warrants some separation to process what you just read. The story is also told in alternating viewpoints from present day Trudy to Anna during the war. Just when things start to get too heavy to bear another page, the viewpoint switches. It works perfectly. I highly recommend this book, but if you are going to read it, have a lighter book in mind to read afterwards.
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Grade: A
Recommended for fans of the movie Angus, or anyone looking for a YA book with a strong male character who is handicapped. Carl Hiaasen fans too.
Huzzah! A YA book that I really liked.
Will Halpin is deaf and transitioning from a deaf school to a regular hearing school. He's also a fat kid. Two strikes right off the bat. He meets a fellow outcast Devon Smiley who could not be more opposite Will. Devon is the skinny dorky kid who jocks pick on. The two become oddball friends and find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery when a jock gets killed during a school field trip.
This book is what I had hoped Fat Kid Rules the World would have been. Will is a strong character who also happens to be fat and deaf. He isn't too fat to be of any use like Fat Kid Rules the World. Together with Devon, a dynamic duo is formed. I couldn't help but be reminded of the gem of a movie, Angus. Grossly underrated. This story is quickly paced and can easily be finished in a sitting or two. The pacing of the story is similar to a Carol Hiaasen YA title. This is an excellent book if you are looking for a character with a handicap who is a strong well written character. If you remember the movie Angus, you should definitely read this book too. Highly recommended!
Recommended for fans of the movie Angus, or anyone looking for a YA book with a strong male character who is handicapped. Carl Hiaasen fans too.
Huzzah! A YA book that I really liked.
Will Halpin is deaf and transitioning from a deaf school to a regular hearing school. He's also a fat kid. Two strikes right off the bat. He meets a fellow outcast Devon Smiley who could not be more opposite Will. Devon is the skinny dorky kid who jocks pick on. The two become oddball friends and find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery when a jock gets killed during a school field trip.
This book is what I had hoped Fat Kid Rules the World would have been. Will is a strong character who also happens to be fat and deaf. He isn't too fat to be of any use like Fat Kid Rules the World. Together with Devon, a dynamic duo is formed. I couldn't help but be reminded of the gem of a movie, Angus. Grossly underrated. This story is quickly paced and can easily be finished in a sitting or two. The pacing of the story is similar to a Carol Hiaasen YA title. This is an excellent book if you are looking for a character with a handicap who is a strong well written character. If you remember the movie Angus, you should definitely read this book too. Highly recommended!
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