The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
written by Suzanne Collins



The Hunger Games is living proof that a book cannot be judged by its description. At its simplest, yes, this book can be called a survival story. There are, however, so many more layers to it all. It is all about the human to human interactions as opposed to the human to environment interactions one would expect in a survival stories. It's such a lousy summary to give, "A reality show survivalist story" when there's so much more to it all. So I was skeptical when I first began reading, and it did seem to fall into that category. I had a bit of difficulty, due to that fact, getting into the book. However, once I found a good, quiet block of time, I sat down and read straight through and loved it. It's all so suspenseful, as you really have no idea who will live and who will die going from page to page. I made predictions, some came true, some did not. Overall, I think the appeal to this book is the appealing personality of the main character and its ease of reading--I know 11 year olds who have read and loved this book. It's easy reading, but once you go up the age scale, there's more and more depth to the overall story, making lots of real world connections to pitting countries against each other in brutal wars. I was hoping to see more of this, the internal workings of the Capitol, some more background history (parts of the history they are fed seem veeery dodgy, and I'd like to know more), and I'm really hoping this is a vital point of Catching Fire. I am also definitely hoping Catching Fire is about an overthrowing of the existing system, as well as more of the interaction between Katniss and Gale. I'm getting more than a little sick of Peeta. There were plenty of hints and clues along the way, and I'm hoping some of them (the pin, the ruins, Katniss's father's death, etc) come into play in the sequel.

Rating: 5/5

I got this book from...:Borders

Liar

Liar
written by Justine Larbalestier



This book...oh, this book! This book is so frustratingly frustrating! It is the best concept I have seen in a really long time, taking the phrase 'unreliable narrator' to places unheard of previously. Prepare to have your mind messed with to the extreme, though, as you can never ever tell which of Micah's lies are truths and more importantly, which of her truths are lies. This book is revolutionary in its genre, but I'm still unconvinced by its delivery. I was excited about the fact that such a fascinating new book would be coming out, but upon reading it, I think it was a little overhyped. Once it got to the werewolf thing--no. Just no. That was the last straw. I still do not know what to think about all the other truths/lies, but...no. There is no way this girl, if she is a girl, is a werewolf. Right? I felt like the ending could have been much more powerful, ending with a massive plot twist, and while a few new bits of suspenseful information were given, it's still not what it could have been. There are plot twists, huge ones, but in context, they're not as strong as they all could have been, in terms of a story told by a compulsive liar. I just really don't know what to think about this whole story. If I pick and choose between truths and lies, there's a version or two that I really like (the idea of her being in jail really appeals to me), but the most likely versions that I'm lead to believe, I don't know, I just think they could have been stronger, more out there, than what they were.

Rating: 3.5/5
(I almost feel like there should be dozens of different ratings for dozens of different stories...)

I got this book from...:Bookdivas Contest :)

The Sandman: Endless Nights

currently reading: Liar (!!!)

The Sandman: Endless Nights
written by Neil Gaiman,
illustrated by various




Some of the writing was overly flowery, some of the chapters were utterly incomprehensible...and yet, there's just something there that draws the reader in. I found it irritating that the art was different for each chapter, and would have really liked to have seen unity both in illustration and plot. I still don't know what the overarching storyline of this was supposed to be because there simply wasn't one. Particularly disappointing was the 2nd chapter, falling into the graphic novel trap of excessive nudity with absolutely no purpose. I didn't need to see that, it served no purpose. I really did want to learn more about the Endless, though, and I found some of the dropped plot threads to be really intriguing, and I just want to know more. I hope some of the issues are cleared up in the next few volumes, because I feel like there's a really good story somewhere beneath all the clutter.

Rating: 3.5/5
I got this book from...:

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile

Fables: Legends in Exile
Written by Bill Willingham
Various illustrators



Fables is a graphic novel bringing together a very wide variety of fairy tale characters in a common world, all interacting with each other in fascinating ways. The concept itself was definitely enough to hook me, as I'm a sucker for fractured fairy tales. Everything about it was amazing and for a person who typically has difficulty understanding graphic novels, everything was extremely clear and easy to understand. Parts are a little melodramatic, but it is still an enjoyable read all the same. The various fairy-tale cameos are such a blast to spot, adding another dimension to the story. While I found the ending to be extremely predictable, it was, again, a great read, and I can't wait to learn more about this universe!

Rating: 5/5

I got this book from...: a fellow Laughliner :) Many thanks for letting me borrow this!

Fourth Comings

Fourth Comings
written by Megan McCafferty



While I did get a slight sense of growing up coming out of J. Darling (*gasp*, I know! I never thought it possible! She still had her moments of disgusting immaturity, and those moments were more disgusting than all the previous ones combined, but still...way fewer cringe moments), I still cannot believe that four books later, it's still one big massive "will they, won't they" between her and Marcus Flutie. Why can this girl not just decide already? I'm hoping the decision made at the end of this one sticks, but then again, that's what I said last time... I felt like the beginning of the book had the same immature tone as the others, but something happened somewhere around the middle. Jessica Darling somehow grew up. I'm not sure when it happened, or how, but something, somewhere, happened. Maybe it was her temporary falling out with best friend Hope? Maybe it was being asked to care for Marin if Marin's parents died? Maybe it was dealing with her own parents? I'm really not sure, but something changed, and I'm really glad it did, because for the first time, even though it was only momentarily, Jessica Darling became a tolerable character. There really are some characters in this whole ordeal that I have fallen in love with (Hope & Len, to point out two), and some that I have despised (okay, that honor has mainly been reserved for Jessica herself), but all of this, the intense emotions I have towards the characters, only demonstrates how amazing a writer McCafferty is, despite the annoyingness of her protagonist. I was really glad to finally have a book featuring Hope as an actual character, and I felt like she added a lot and fit in wonderfully with the existing cast, again proving how amazing a writer McCafferty is, blending a "new" character in seamlessly. One thing I had severe problems with in this book was the portrayal of Dexy. I was really glad to see a character with bipolar disorder treated as a real person in a McCafferty book, but this book, this book just tore that reflection to pieces and spit on it. What on earth? Why would McCafferty DO that to Dexy? That is not at all an accurate portrayal of a person with Bipolar. Bipolar Disorder does not cause someone to become a compulsive liar overnight. I have serious issues with her only showing the manic side of Dexy's life in this book, because that's just not the way that particular mental illness works. I'm really disappointed. Anyways, I'm really worried about what the 5th book may contain. Following the logical pattern of things, hm, more of Marcus Freaking Flutie. I really hope that's not the case. I've heard good things though, so I'll be looking into that soon.

Rating: 4/5

Also in the Jessica Darling series: Charmed Thirds

I got this book from...:Carnegie Public Library of Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill Branch

Dreams From my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

I'm so sorry for the delay in updating, everyone! It's been a crazy busy week and an extraordinarily dense book, but I did it, I made it through!

reading next: Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
written by Barack Obama



While the writing style was very honest and quite powerful at points, at times it just got unnecessarily wordy and unbelievably dense. I was looking for more of a lifetime memoir, more personal thoughts, rather than what is essentially one long essay on his family roots. I wanted to hear about him, not his slightly distant family. Auma was the only one I could really tolerate. I wonder if any, if not all, of the fake names have been revealed since his presidency became a reality. I also wonder what happened to the people who at any point doubted his abilities. What are they thinking of him now? This really is the part of his story that you will definitely not get in the news. I didn't know any of this about him, other than the whole "abandoned father" bit, so this was, in that way, really enlightening. I was glad to hear his idea about having "sacred stories", life events that make us tick and provide better understanding of a person--but I don't think those were the focus of the book, as they should have been. I did enjoy reading the "six years later" bit at the end, but overall, I think maybe I should go read The Audacity of Hope and find a better story there.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book from...:Chatham University's library

Psych Major Syndrome

Psych Major Syndrome
written by Alicia Thompson



Continuing a trend that seems to have been started by Megan McCafferty is another YA book set at college instead of the typical junior high/high school ones. This is really exciting for me as a new college student, watching my books grow up along side me and keeping the material relevant and interesting. It also really helped that the main character in the story goes to a tiny school that sounds very much like my own. Anyways, the plot was cute, if not annoyingly simple. Everything was pretty predictable, and it is no wonder that Meg Cabot blurbed it--it's such utterly Cabotian fluff, just as well-written in a casual conversational tone. I love it when authors do cute gimmicky things, so I was a fan of the little psych related definitions that came before chapters and symbolically related really nicely to whatever was happening. All these characters are really well developed, and you grow to love them as the book progresses. I was really satisfied with the way everything turned out at the end, after that emotional rollercoaster of suspense resolved itself. I was a little disappointed by the lack of very much to do with psychology, but it's still a cute book--just don't expect anything intellectual out of it.

Rating: 5/5

Also, cutest U2 references ever!

Coffehouse Angel

Coffeehouse Angel
written by Suzanne Selfors



Everything about this book screams 'cute!' From the adorable homely cover, to the coffehouse setting, all signs point to this being a comfort book. Everything about this book is like that, to the point where it's one big walking cliche, and not the interesting kind, either. The kind that every cliche-bashing indie girl falls right into. It gets no better. I found it to be a cute story, but I thought it would have been an even better one had it been a short story. There is very little complexity, and everything is highly predictable. I did like how everything was wrapped up plotwise. The love triangle, if it was ever that, works out wonderfully, and Malcolm's resolution is handled with the perfect amount of emphasis--it's a huge deal, but not played off as such. I just really do think this would have been better suited for a cute little short story rather than as a full-blown novel, and I'm still not really sure what to think. Plot was fantastic overall, characters were lovable, but nothing much happened.

Rating: 3/5

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University
written by Kevin Roose



I'm quite certain that if anyone was to ever ask me what the scariest book I've ever read was, this will be my answer. The ideas contained inside this book are not for the faint-hearted (or maybe, the liberal-minded). The book is one surprise after another, terrifying ones for the most part. First shock--at the time of his experience at Liberty, Kevin Roose was only 19 years old. That takes guts. The idea of an evangelical university is scary enough to think about, but actually reading about what goes on behind the scenes is mind-numbing. It is difficult to believe that this stuff is real. Liberty University is a training ground for ignorance and misjudgment. While some of the material is presented by Roose in a comical way, it's a grave mistake to take this book lightly. Shallow friendships with his classmates make sense. Deeper connections do not. It was reassuring to learn that there are some Democrats and closeted gays attending Liberty, but they are still in a great minority position. I have so much that I morally cannot condone that goes on in this book, and you probably don't want to hear that ranting, but suffice to say, this was a highly frightening but very eye-opening book for me. It was interesting to see Roose's thoughts and beliefs evolve throughout the book, although I was very glad he didn't end up converting or anything. It's an amazing concept behind the experiment, and definitely worth the read if you're ever interested in the horrifying world of evangelical Christianity.

Rating: 4.5/5

Elsewhere

Elsewhere
written by Gabrielle Zevin



The idea behind Elsewhere is a fascinatingly unique one. It is set in a world where one dies and then ages backward in a land called Elsewhere, until they are babies set to be reborn in the real world. So the natural assumption I had was that this would be a tragically depressing book--but surprisingly enough, it was absolutely NOT! The progression of time is done in such a great way that there are no periods of time when you think to yourself that it's going too quickly or too slowly, it all just moves naturally along. I was surprised by how much was in this book--it wasn't just a girl getting over her death, there were elements of mystery, suspense, romance, plot twists where you'd least expect them. All of this is tied up with what could have been a horribly sad ending, but is short and sweet and leaves no room for tears other than happy ones. What surprised me most was the elegance found in the symbolism. I can tell you with all honesty that before this, I had never found a book in which I enjoyed the symbolism or thought it contributed to the well-roundedness of a book, and I probably never will again. The symbolism (Charlotte's Web, Tuck Everlasting, the Nile river, etc.) is actually relevant and easy to find and understand. It actually makes sense, adds to the story, and I have never encountered that before. Well done, Ms. Zevin!

Rating: 5/5

Magic Lessons

Magic Lessons
written by Justine Larbalestier



Magic Lessons starts off strong, asking lots and lots of exciting new questions, building suspense, as any good book does. This, however, gets overdone. By the time the reader is in the denser middle section, there are too many questions and not enough answers and a lot of frustration. I'm still extremely ticked off that Sarafina doesn't show up at all in the book, as she is my favorite character and the one I would love to learn more about, so it's frustrating, and I'm really hoping the third book sheds more light on this intensely interesting woman. Magic Lessons does a great job of combining realism with a greater dosage of fantasy than seen in Magic or Madness, and it does so with perfect balance. Reason's dilemma at the end of the book was painfully obvious, though, and I was disappointed--it was the one part of the book that definitely lacked the suspense the rest of the book upheld. There are still questions left unanswered, but since it's a trilogy, I expect they will be answered shortly! The one thing that left me most gleeful was the SPAGBOL reference--hooray for married authors!

Rating: 4/5