Showing posts with label Tomorrow When The War Began. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomorrow When The War Began. Show all posts

Monday, September 20, 2010

Mockingjay

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Oh my.  This one is a long time coming for sure.  After my obsession with Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins last year I just could not wait for Mockingjay.  So on the day it came out I rushed out before work and bought it (even though I couldn't read a word of it until after work).  And guess what?  I was NOT disappointed people!!  I may be one of the rare readers that didn't have a problem with this book at all!  I thought that every thing that happened needed to happen.  Every death, every match made, every battle, every thing.  I was shocked in the appropriate places, outraged in the correct spots, and at the edge of my seat during the right parts.  Now saying all that; Mockingjay was not my favorite book of the Hunger Games Trilogy.  I liked them in the order they were released for sure.  I felt like Hunger Games even though it was politically charged it was pure adventure and action.  Catching Fire again was full of adventure and action but it dealt with even heavier issues than the first book.  Now with Mockingjay it is complete and total political propaganda and the characters seem a little jaded and lost (but that is what makes the book feel so real), if you were going though what these young people were going though you would not be yourself anymore either.  Don't get me wrong, there is enough action and adventure in Mockingjay to go around, it is just deeper and a little more mature than the other two books.


I am going to write this synopsis with out any spoilers to Mockingjay but be warned that there is going to have to be some spoilers from the first two installments (don't say I didn't warn you, and if you haven't read any of the trilogy I would recommend you turn back now and go get the books).  Anyway, in Mockingjay you are brought back to Panem after Katniss has been rescued from her second time in the arena by the survivors of district 13.  She is kind of an empty shell of the Katniss we know but who can blame her.  Peeta has been taken by the Capitol, and her District has been blown to smithereens and she is just totally lost and doesn't know who to trust.  The Districts are in full scale rebellion now, and the Capitol is losing it's foot hold of power.  District 13 know that the rebellion needs a leader or "mascot" and of course Katniss is the obvious choice.  And because Katniss now has a death wish and just doesn't care anymore she decides to become the Mockingjay, the face of the rebellion.  Something I thought was interesting was that Collins opted to not tie everything up in a pretty little bow.  She left a few strands and she left some messy strands, but in a situation like this one you can't have everything hunky dory on the end.

I have read a lot of reviews about Mockingjay and most of them have something negative to say about Katniss's character in this book.  She isn't the go getter she was in the first two books, but after the beat down she has received in the first two stories you can't really blame her, after all she is only 17 years old, and has already spent 2 years fighting for her life, and the 5 years before keeping her family alive.  When I read books like Twilight and Hunger Games I have to remind myself that the characters are teenagers, so their fickleness and their feelings, and their drama, and selfcenteredness come with the hormonal territory.  When you think of it like that you start to like the characters a little  more.

I am sad to see this series come to an end but I am glad that Collins didn't drag it out to the point of annoyingness to make a few more dollars.  She kept it to the point and a perfect length in my opinion.  I am anxious to see what the movie will be like next  year and that they cast it correctly.  I'm up for the job if Lionsgate wants me!!

Rating: 5 Stars

3 More reviews:
Books i Done Read
Lovely Little Self
Forever Young

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
{Purchased at Target}
ISBN 0439023513
Pages 400

If you liked Mockingjay then you need to read: Tomorrow when the War Began by John Marsden

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tomorrow, When the War Began

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Wow!  I flew through this book!!  It was a very easy quick read and the story was fantastic!  I really enjoy survival/dystopic stories and this is a good one (and really realistic, not to far fetched).  And the best part is that this is the beginning of a pretty big series of books, so I have quite a long way to go with these characters and that's great because I wasn't ready to say good bye to my new Aussie friends.  The story wasn't a masterpiece as far as writing goes but the story was VERY entertaining so that made up for it.

So here is the plot.  Ellie, Homer, Fi, Corrie, Kevin, Lee, and Robyn decide it would be great fun to go camping during the Christmas break (which by the way is Summer time in Australia).  They head out on their week long camping trip to a place called Hell, a secluded wild area surrounded by cliffs and hills.  When they return home after their little adventure they find their houses abandoned, their animals dead, and their families no where in sight.  They head into town and start to realize that something has gone terribly a-rye.  Military from some other non-English speaking country has invaded their town and are holding their the entire town prisoner at the fair grounds.  The 7 friends have to find a way to survive for an undetermined amount of time by pillaging houses, and literally moving to Hell.  The story ended with a HUGE cliff hanger that I am not going to talk about, because I want you to read it for your self!

I loved this book.  Like I said before it was easy to read, and though it wasn't very challenging (I LOVE challenging books), there were enough Australian words to keep my brain stimulated.  I loved how the enemy was up to your imagination, they never mention the way they look or the way their language sounds.  I found this quite interesting that they were facing this nameless army.  I am looking so forward to reading the second installment called The Dead of Night.  Bravo John Marsden for such a creative and exciting tale!

BOOK vs. MOVIE:  I would absolutely LOVE to see a movie version of Tomorrow, When the War Began. And it looks like we won't have to wait too long either.  The movie adaption is in post-production and is scheduled for a 2010 release!!!  Woot woot!!!

RATING: 4 Stars

3 More Reviews on Tomorrow, When the War Began:


Tomorrow, When the War Began
by John Marsden
ISBN 0-439-82910-0
Pages 279

If you liked this book read:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins