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Showing posts with label The Hunger Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hunger Games. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Lainibop Challenge - Book 23 - Mockingay Review

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READ!TO GO!
23107


The LainiBop Challenge

MOCKINGJAY
SUZANNE COLLINS

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* * * * * SPOILERS * * * * *
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Having been rescued from the Quarter Quell at the last second, Katniss finds herself holed up with the rebels in the supposedly destroyed District 13 which in fact has a well established if not very homey city underground. 

Unfortunately Peeta did not achieve the same fate and is being held in the Capitol. Suffering from severe shock, Katniss retreats into herself, however the rebels have other ideas. They want their Mockingjay to fight for them, or at least appear to fight in order to act as a symbol of the rebellion against the Capitol and to urge others to join the fight. So Katniss must make a decision, whether to join with the rebels or leave them to their own devices.

This to me felt like much more of an adult themed book than the previous two. We see how Katniss reacts to the horrors she has witnessed in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Her mental breakdown is extremely heartwrenching and displays the traumatic experiences she has lived through that are finally taking their toll. I think up until now, Katniss has played a part, in the first book, she had to be strong for her sister and mother watching her and also had to pretend to fall in love with Peeta. This act continued in Catching Fire where she was forced under threat of death to make this love appear real for the other Districts during the tours. Finally the Hunger Games are over for Katniss, and because of this, her visage falls and she allows herself to react to what she has been through. Her anger and hatred show through and she no longer has any wish to put on a show for anyone. Because of this her immediate reaction to becoming a “mascot” for the rebellion is cynical, however we properly get to see her progression from this anger to a place where she realises she is not playing a part anymore, this is who she is now, she doesn't just want to be a symbol, she wants to play an active part and get her revenge.

I was very surprised by the amount of violence in this book. Ok, I know the reader should expect some violence when the subject of the series is children being sent into an arena to kill each other, but I think this final chapter of the series takes a strange turn violence wise. There were some very graphic scenes in it, and while I enjoyed reading it, much more than Catching fire in fact, I found it hard at times to see how it fits in with the rest of the Young Adult series. On the back of that I'm not sure this book will end up translating very well to the big screen, as The Hunger Games movie was marketed at a younger audience than I would have expected. I recently saw a Katniss Everdeen Barbie doll for example. This is not the sort of film I would want a girl who plays with Barbies watching. Hopefully when they make the remaining films they will stay true to the book as I'd really like to see how they handle the topics raised.

All in all, I am giving this a higher score than Catching Fire because when I finished the final page, I had to sit back to catch my breath and take it all in. Even now, thinking about it, the book feels like it could have been a trilogy all by itself in a way as a huge amount happens, and it provoked a lot more emotion in me than the second. Great end to the series, and really looking forward to the movies.
SCORE       8/10



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Say Hello to @Lainibop

Her To Be Read Challenge - The Countdown Begins!


Book 30 - ?
Book 29 - ?
Book 28 - Sexing the Cherries by Jeanette Winterson
Book 27 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Book 26 - Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Book 25 - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Book 24 - From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
Book 23 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Book 22 - Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffery Archer


Find more reviews HERE

If we've used any videos, you'll find them on the LeedsBookClub YouTube Channel - 

Visit LainiBop's playlist HERE 
Visit Fizzy Elephants HERE
The 10 Things I Hate About You playlist is HERE!
* * * * *
Table of Contents - Guest Stars

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Table of Contents - Laini's Book Shelf

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Saturday, 5 January 2013

The Lainibop Challenge - Book 21 - Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

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21109

The LainiBop Challenge

CATCHING FIRE
SUZANNE COLLINS

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* * * * * SPOILERS * * * * *
* * * * *

The second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, was not quite as gripping as the first in my opinion. When we left Katniss Everdeen, she had just become the joint victor in the 74th Hunger Games, along with fellow District 12 inhabitant Peeta. Now, after returning home, she and her family have been moved to the prestigious winner's quarter where they will live a fairly opulent lifestyle until Katniss' death.

 Her previous victory however is far from complete, as President Snow visits her with a warning about her effect on the rest of Panem's population. It seems Katniss has stirred up a bit of a storm with her actions during the games. Between her “relationship” with Peeta, her heartwarming care of Rue's body, and her willingness to sacrifice herself at the end of the games to ensure Peeta's survival, she has won many followers and the people of the districts are beginning to question the government and their way of life.



 All this just in time for the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell is a very special Hunger Games, which is “celebrated” every 25 years. Though the annual Hunger Games are a demonstration of the Capitol's control over the districts and a reminder not to rebel, the Quarter Quell is generally a more brutal and vicious attempt at this. Every one has been different, much the games themselves, but the one similarity is that they have a twist which pushes the tributes to new extremes.

 In honour of the 75th year, it is announced that 24 previous winners will compete. As the only winners in District 12 are Hamish, Peeta and Katniss, the list is quite short and it is a certainty that Katniss will be returning to the arena. As Peeta joins her to protect her, can she win a second year, and is there any chance that President Snow will allow 2 winners again?

 As I said, this wasn't quite the unputdownable read as the first one...which I read in the space of about 4 hours. It was enjoyable, but perhaps the pace could have been a little faster. Maybe it was the fact that by the time I reached the second book, the world was more familiar to me, which took away from the horrific impact that parts of the first had on me. Still definitely worth a read though, if only to get to the third one.


SCORE       7/10



* * * * *
Say Hello to @Lainibop

Her To Be Read Challenge - The Countdown Begins!



Book 30 - ?
Book 29 - ?
Book 28 - Sexing the Cherries by Jeanette Winterson
Book 27 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Book 26 - Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Book 25 - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Book 24 - From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
Book 23 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Book 22 - Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffery Archer


Find more reviews HERE

If we've used any videos, you'll find them on the LeedsBookClub YouTube Channel - 

Visit LainiBop's playlist HERE 
Visit Fizzy Elephants HERE
The 10 Things I Hate About You playlist is HERE!
* * * * *
Table of Contents - Guest Stars

* * * * *
Table of Contents - Laini's Book Shelf

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Saturday, 20 October 2012

ArcadiaLBC - The Hunger Games Write Up - GUEST

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Arcadia LBC

Venue: Arcadia Bar
Date:  Sunday, 19th of August 2012
Time:  5pm - 7pm

Discussed:
THE HUNGER GAMES
SUZANNE COLLINS

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* * * * * S P O I L E R S * * * * *
 * * * * * S P O I L E R S * * * * * 

Huge thanks once again to @CultureLeeds for writing this up! A wonderful job as always!

BLURB 
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love

Although the book this month was The Hunger Games, first in a trilogy, most of the group had either already read all three books, or did so this month. I read the three in about four days, so they kind of blurred into each other, and the discussion ended up roaming across the whole trilogy leaving one or two people a bit confused. Anyway, you should know that there may well be spoilers for all three of the books here.

The Hunger Games has really been a bit of a phenomenon in the YA fiction world, its build in popularity culminating in the release of a film adaptation in March this year. Several of us commented that whilst we enjoyed it, reading it as adults was definitely a different experience than the one we would have had reading it as teens. We found we read it in a different way: we enjoyed figuring out which Panem districts corresponded to which areas of North America, and drawing (sometimes unflattering) comparisons with similar works we’d read.

Even as adults, though, many of us found The Hunger Games surprisingly graphic in its violence – one member didn’t actually believe when he started reading that the Games would go ahead, and another thought death as a central concept for a ‘children’s’ book was very strange. We thought the violence was actually made more palatable thanks to the reality TV-style device of the Games; as the Panem president points out at some point, the Games give the inhabitants of the districts hope. If he just took 24 kids each year and shot them in the head, it would probably have a slightly different effect on morale. We also found the psychological aspect of the violence unsettling, in particular the eyes of the big dogs, and the history of the tracker jackers.

The main character, Katniss, remained something of an enigma even after three books in the first person. We thought many of the supporting characters were actually more rounded than she is, perhaps reflecting Katniss’ dislike of talking about herself. Still, we seemed to like her in general, finding her quite sharp and funny in a very dry way, if a little cold and emotionally immature. We thought her reasons for volunteering for the Games to be admirable, although we questioned her personal morals as she regularly acted based on what the audience would like to see rather than based on what she thought was right. She was compared to Harry Potter, as a character that regularly makes mistakes, but grows and learns. Beyond this, we didn’t have a lot to say about her, which is probably a bit unusual for a character that murders several teenagers. We thought it helped that her weapon of choice, the bow and arrow, was quite an indirect weapon; had
she been running around slicing people’s throats, we might not have felt so lenient. We also liked that she focussed on survival skills more than adding new, violent tricks to her arsenal in the training. Having said that, when she did kill it was often in cold blood, and the incident with the tracker jackers in particular chilled a few of us.

Peeta seemed to be a real favourite among the supporting characters (for the ladies, at least). He was described as honest and kind, and he seemed to be a lot more concerned with the ethics of the Hunger Games that Katniss was. Katniss simply wanted to live through it, whilst Peeta wanted his integrity to survive. Most preferred Peeta to Gale, who they saw as a bit sulky and a bit extreme in his views. Everyone liked Haymitch as
a character too, and wanted to see more of him. We felt he was the only one who saw the Games for how terrible they were, and was genuinely disgusted at the situation and the role he had to play in it. We thought he and Katniss were very similar, which added to his appeal. 

When it came to the concept and how well it worked, there was a bit of debate. Some found it too contrived and therefore not believable: it seemed a bit gimmicky to them and they couldn’t believe that such a system could exist without a rebellion having risen up earlier. One reader, who had recently read The Running Man for another book club, said that he simply thought King had done a better job of a similar concept. Others leapt to the book’s defence, pointing out that actually we have seen similar oppressive governments in the past, and that Collins does a reasonably good job of explaining why the Capitol hasn’t been overthrown in the past – the population is largely uneducated, some districts actually like the Hunger Games, and train their children to compete, communications between the districts are heavily restricted, and the inhabitants of the districts are largely too hungry and tired from manual labour to be staging coups. Regardless, everyone agreed that you do need to buy into the history and the political situation if you’re going to enjoy the book.

Overall, book clubbers generally agreed that the story was better than the writing. There was a wide spread of rates – a few really enjoyed it, a few were distinctly underwhelmed but most lingered around the middle ground, acknowledging that had they read the series as teens, they would have been a lot more enthusiastic.  

Score  
7/10

For further details, please email me at leedsbookclub@gmail.com or tweet me @LeedsBookClub!

Contact the bar on @ArcadiaBar

And feel free to let us know your thoughts using #ArcadiaLBC!


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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games - Book 1 - The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games - Book 1 - Podcast
The Hunger Games - Book 2 - Catching Fire
The Hunger Games - Book 3 - Mockingjay

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Arcadia LBC


21 - Nov - Hard Times - Charles Dickens
20 - Oct - The New York Trilogy - Paul Auster - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
19 - Sep - The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
18 - Aug - The Princess Bride - William Goldman
17 - Jul - A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini - GUEST
16 - Jun - Cry the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
15 - May - 1984 - George Orwell - GUEST - @CultureLEEDS
14 - Apr - BloodChild and Other Stories - Octavia Butler
13 - Mar - The Year of the Hare - Arto Paasilinna
12 - Feb - Heat Wave - Richard Castle
11 - Jan - The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall
10 - Nov - Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes


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Book Club - Table of Contents
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Tuesday, 14 August 2012

The LainiBop Challenge - Book 12 The Hunger Games - GUEST

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READ!TO GO!
12118

The LainiBop Challenge

THE HUNGER GAMES
SUZANNE COLLINS

* * * * *
* * * * * SPOILERS * * * * *
* * * * *

I got a present of The Hunger Games boxset for Christmas but have been trying to put off reading them. There were a couple of reasons for this, namely because I had heard so much hype about them. Now in my opinion there are 2 main problems which can stem from a book in particular having so much hype behind it.
  1. It could be awful. Lots of people have read it and think it's brilliant so the rest of the world feels compelled to agree for fear that they will be thought “uncultured” for not enjoying it. In which case I really didn't want to put myself through something painfully horrible to read. Why would anyone do that to themselves?

  2. It could be brilliant.....now a lot of people may not understand why I think this is a problem, but they are probably the same sort of people who wouldn't understand how I ended up with 130 books on my to be read shelf. See if a book on my shelf is in fact brilliant and I read it, then it has to go on my Read shelf and then I won't have it to look forward to anymore. It'll be one of those that I've read once upon a time. No more suspense, no more carefully caressing it, or pulling it off the shelf to look and then carefully placing it back to be read another day. It's done with and that's it.
    I have a weird relationship with books.
Despite all of this, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, after originally picking a Jeffrey Archer book to begin, I changed my mind and decided I needed to try this out. If it was going to be brilliant, then I can't think of any better time that a sunny Sunday afternoon to find out.

Let's just say, I finished it that evening. It took me 2 sittings, only because I had to make an emergency trip to the shops; even then I dragged myself away from the sunlounger.

Katniss lives in a very different world to ours. In her world the Capitol rules and the 12 districts surrounding it, must comply. Part of this involves each district sending 2 young people between 12 and 18 to an event called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games just happens to be a fight to the death. The rewards however outweigh the losses in the eyes of many, for whoever wins, will never have to worry about poverty again, and until the next Hunger Games the winner's district will be showered with gifts and food.

Unfortunately for Katniss, her district, number 12 is the poorest one. Unlike 1, 2 and 3 they cannot afford to spend time and money training the young people to fight, district 12's teenagers must just survive if they can. On the day of the Reaping, everyone must gather in the square to watch the names being picked out, and on this day, Katniss Everdeen's younger sister who has just turned 12 is the first name out of the drum. Sacrificing herself for her sister, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

What I loved about this is the immense detail which is given about the world they live in. The rules of The Hunger Games are detailed as are the ceremonies and rituals leading up to it, but it never feels like exposition. It feels real. I flew through the book but yet there was so much information that my mind was reeling after it. I really want to read the next one but now there is even more pressure, see points 1 and 2 above!

Hype in this case was well and truly deserved. I just wish there had been Young Adult books like this around when I was growing up. There seems to be a plethora of them now, with really good, gripping stories and I'm delighted that young people get the chance to indulge in these fantasy worlds and hope they enjoy them and keep reading as adults.

Spotify:

Youtube:


SCORE       9/10



* * * * *
Say Hello to @Lainibop

Her To Be Read Challenge - The Countdown Begins!


Book 30 - ?
Book 29 - ?
Book 28 - Sexing the Cherries by Jeanette Winterson
Book 27 - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Book 26 - Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
Book 25 - Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Book 24 - From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
Book 23 - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Book 22 - Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffery Archer


Find more reviews HERE

If we've used any videos, you'll find them on the LeedsBookClub YouTube Channel - 

Visit LainiBop's playlist HERE 
Visit Fizzy Elephants HERE
The 10 Things I Hate About You playlist is HERE!
* * * * *
Table of Contents - Guest Stars

* * * * *
Table of Contents - Laini's Book Shelf

* * * * *
Categories , , ,

Sunday, 15 July 2012

The Hunger Games - Book 3 - Mockingjay - GUEST

I made this: Unknown at 1:45 am 0 comments

*****SPOILERS*****
*****SPOILERS*****
*****SPOILERS*****

So, as you know, I've become a HUGE fan of these books and am constantly telling friends and book clubbers that they are MUST READS! (Thinking about how I started reading the books - it feels like a very full circle kind of thing!)

One of our #MedusaLBC and World Book Night buddies has very kindly agreed to write up her review of the third book in the series - the explosive Mockingjay. 

Say Hi to @MissRadders here!

THE BLURB (first from Amazon; second from Reviewer)
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. 
Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12.  
* * * * *
Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But she’s still not safe. A revolution is unfolding and everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans – everyone except Katniss.

And yet she must play the most vital part in the final battle. Katniss must become their Mockingjay – the symbol of rebellion – no matter what the personal cost. 
*SOME SPOILERS (BUT NO BIG ONES!)*

So Avid Reader has left yet another Scientist in charge of writing a review. What is the world coming to?! (EDITORIAL NOTE - I like Scientists - they officially do good write up!)

I, like most people I have spoken to, absolutely devoured the first two books in this series: the first was amazing, the second a little less so but still a great read. So I was keen to see what this, the final book in the trilogy, would bring. I wasn’t expecting hearts and flowers and a fairy-tale ending but even my hard Northern grit and composure were tested to the max along the way.

The concluding part of the trilogy focuses on the aftermath of the Quarter Quell. Katniss finds herself in the (not unoccupied after all) District 13 where she is to become the public face of the rebellion. The first chapter sees her return to her home district, 12, devastated by the Capitol, homes ruined, residents killed. Katniss agrees to become the Mockingjay under the strict conditions that they grant immunity to the surviving tributes, including Peeta and give her the ultimate prize of assassinating the creepy, evil President Snow.

The first part of the book is much less pacey than the Games scenes in the previous books and focuses on the politics and planning behind the rebellion. It sees the return of familiar characters; Haymitch, Gale, Finnick, Octavia, Venia, Flavius…all playing their part in the final battle. Love interest Peeta is in captivity at the Capitol. 
The slow(er) pace doesn’t detract from the novel. I loved the way Collins developed the characters here, probably the first time we’ve seen extended interactions between them outside of an arena.

The second section of the book is much pacier, lots of combat scenes. Full of suspense. A trip to District 8 to film some propaganda commercials for the rebellion throws Katniss into the realities of war and Collins pulls no punches here. Characters are introduced, seeing Katniss arrival as a spark of hope, only to be snatched away in a few pages. It’s harsh, it’s cruel, it’s heart-wrenching; everything a war really is and Collins writes it so well. 

Then the war takes over. 

A Capitol attack on District 13 is unsuccessful due to a brave warning from the ever-faithful Peeta. Peeta is rescued by the rebels but returns showing all the signs of his ordeal and captivity. Then the big mission begins; first up the Capitol stronghold of District 2, then the final mission to the Capitol with the inevitable devastation and loss of life. The book ends back in District 13 where we finally find out how the Katniss-Gale-Peeta love triangle is resolved. Collins adds a short epilogue some 20 years hence updating us on the characters and their stories.

The whole book oozes with Katniss’ guilt; guilt for Peeta, guilt for the weight of all the deaths she feels responsible for, the hopes of Panem weighing heavy on her shoulders. Throughout the book, Katniss comes of age. The girl who, in the previous two books, just got on with it and justified her actions to herself is much more reflective in this installment. She deliberates, she agonises, she pains and she suffers emotionally as well as physically. 
It’s an at times uncomfortable read; but a real read: a human read. 

Throughout, Katniss struggles to work out who she can truly trust as she is used as a pawn in a dangerous game. As we have come to expect the events are all televised, although in a more scripted way in this book.

I can even find the adjectives to sum up my utter love for this book. For me the best book in the trilogy. I’ve read reviews that say that the book feels forced and rushed. I didn’t feel that. For me, this was a much more layered, intelligent novel. Politics, love, war, trust, betrayal, emotion, death, loss, suffering– this installment has it all.

Collins achieves the perfect balance when constructing the world of Panem – fictional yet
real. You believe it could all happen. You can see parallels to the world we live in: reality TV,
surveillance…Once you get this far with the series the characters are so well constructed you feel every emotion with them. Collins doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war at times this is a gruesome read. Mix in some truly terrifying Capitol creations and you won’t be able to put it down.

Or breathe.

Many times I found myself at the end of a chapter, mouth agape staring at the page not quite
believing what I’ve just read. Collins doesn’t wrap you up in cotton wool. Do people die: yes.
People you wouldn’t expect her to kill off: yes. (I cried but ssshhh… don’t tell anyone)

Overall, this is a fitting conclusion to a fantastic trilogy. A look at the human cost of the Games, how the main characters deal with their survival and face their demons.

My glowing praise still stands but I have two criticisms:
I found the epilogue an unnecessary addition. I can see that for the teenage audience it was a goodway of tying up the loose ends but for me I’d rather it had been left at the end of the final chapter so that I could draw my own conclusions about what the future held.

The second? Surely no one would choose him over the other – would they? (EDITORIAL NOTE - Oh it's so right! How could she possibly...we need to talk lady!!!)

YouTube Videos!


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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games - Book 1 - The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games - Book 1 - Podcast
The Hunger Games - Book 2 - Catching Fire
The Hunger Games - Book 3 - Mockingjay

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* * * * *
Table of Contents - Guest Stars


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Full - Table of Contents 

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