The Hunger Games Series, by Suzanne Collins

Last week I told you that I was reading the final book of The Hunger Games Series, Mockingjay. Pam commented that the third book got mixed reviews. I was intrigued, but didn't want to look up those reviews because I didn't want it to influence my opinion.

Having finished the book (literally reading just over half of it on one Sunday morning), I have to say that I have mixed reviews of my own. Please be warned that if you are one of the few deprived people that have yet to read the series, there are spoilers in the rest of this review.

First, I would like to say that the first book, The Hunger Games, was by far my favorite! I loved Katniss's character because she was strong, independent, and rough around the edges. She continued to be engaging and strong in Catching Fire, which was such a riveting sequel. I am not going to break down each book for you, but I must say that Mockingjay didn't quite live up to my expectations. Really though, with how much I fell in love with the first two books, I don't know that there was anything Suzanne Collins could have done to live up to my unreachably high expectations.

See, I felt that as the story progressed in the sequels, the strong Katniss that I loved became somewhat of a bystander through a lot of Mockingjay, even part of Catching Fire, and missed pretty much all of the major events; being broken out of the arena during the Quarter Quell, the rescuing of Peeta, the ending of the civil war that she helped start and was the voice of. I wanted Katniss to be an active part of the story, but she either was passed out or just waiting around.

I should probably take the time to mention, though, that I was so engrossed in the final book that I felt like I had rushed through it and had I taken my time, I likely would have cried a lot during the third part of the last book. Taking my time could also change the way I feel about the book overall. But I was just so anxious to find out how this saga ended: Do the rebels prevail? If so, does a new kind of Capitol emerge (because really, although District 13 doesn't have the Hunger Games, they are still oppressing their people)? Does Katniss choose Peeta or Gale? More importantly, do all the main characters even live?

Hence, came my biggest problem with Mockingjay: The death of Prim. Of all the characters that I felt Suzanne Collins could have killed off, Prim was not one of them. Katniss's entire reason for living was to protect her little sister. It was the reason that she was in The Hunger Games to begin with. With the death of Prim, Katniss failed at her mission and, for me, it marked the end of the Katniss that I had come to know and love. It wasn't bittersweet, it was just bitter.

Having said all that, though, I have to say that the very end of the book, specifically the last couple of paragraphs and the epilogue, couldn't have been written any better. In fact, I read those last few pages several times after I had finished the book! It was just that good. The character development of Katniss as a woman was perfect; her deep seated fears were still there, but through Peeta, she was able to have that little bit of hope for the future that anyone would need in order to continue on with their life after such a traumatic event. My bitter ending became bittersweet.

I can't express enough how much I enjoyed this series and I am very sad to have finished it! I had recommended the books to my boyfriend, John, and he got the audio version, which I am now listening to so I can relive Suzanne Collins's wonderful story and characters. Hopefully this will keep me occupied enough until the movie comes out!

I can honestly say that the next time I am asked what my favorite book is, it will undoubtedly be The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

The Secret Year, by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Wow, another book review! This is very unlike me. But I had put The Secret Year, by Jennifer R. Hubbard on hold at the library and it finally came in. I have been wanting to read it ever since I first read about it from Nathan Bransford's blog and was super excited to read it right away!

From the book jacket:


Colt was with Julia for a year, but nobody else knew about it. Julia lived on Black Mountain Road in a mansion - with servants - and had a country-club boyfriend to complete the package. Colt definitely didn't come from Black Mountain, and no one would have understood why they were together. But it never mattered to them. Until Julia dies in an accident right before her senior year, and Colt is suddenly the only one who knows their secret. He tries to pretend that his life is the same as ever, but he's haunted by memories of Julia. Things get worse after the journal she kept about their romance falls into his hands. Colt searches every entry for answers: Did Julia really love him? Was he somehow to blame for her death? But the ultimate question - one nobody can answer - is how he's supposed to get over someone who was never really his to begin with.

I fell for the plot immediately! It was juicy and tragic and intriguing. At 192 pages, it was a rather short book and I finished it fairly quickly. I enjoy yound adult books, but I would have preferred for this to be longer.

I had thought that there would be a lot of Julia's journal entries, but there were only a handful that were shared. The meat of the story wasn't so much the relationship that Colt had with Julia, but the social divide between the two and the way he deals with his grief over a relationship that was meant to stay secret.

I have a problem that when I start a book, I already have some preempted ideas about who I am supposed to like and dislike. I felt like I was supposed to like Julia, the poor little rich girl who loves her guy from the wrong side of the tracks (the wrong part of Black Mountain in this case), but is forced by high school's social hierarchy to stay with the guy that was "approved" to be with her. So it surprised me that I didn't like Julia the more I read. I came to realize, however, that Julia was never meant to be an exception to the popular rich girl rule; Julia was getting her hands dirty, toying with something new. Despite all her promises (which I am sure she had meant to keep), her upbringing would always steer her into the path that was paved for her. Colt never stood a chance.

I have to say that this is another book that I very much enjoyed. I loved the way Hubbard was able to smoothly transition between the present and the past. Something I have yet to master with my own book. I think she fully grasped the way that teens are today and the decisions they are faced with every day.

If you enjoy young adult books about forbidden loves, this should be on your list to read. 

P.S. My next book review won't be for a while since the current book that I am reading is a little over 600 pages!