I spent this past week re-reading some old favorites, while waiting for Amazon to ship me my copy of Mockingjay which is out next week, Tuesday!
So…here’s a recap of the first two. (These are really just reprints of my initial reviews, nothing new here.)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yes.
That is what I have to say about this. Just yes.
This is a teen book with a strong dystopian twist, relatable characters. When she is chosen to the annual Panem Hunger games, Katniss is forced to battle for her life – a horrible situation, where not trusting the people around her leads to just as dire of consequences as trusting them.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I said yes to Hunger Games and I would give this sequel the same resounding affirmation.
It would be hard for any book to live in the shadow created by Hunger Games, at least for me. Like most trilogies, this is not as strong as the first, but it convinces me that Collins has a spectacular finish in her. Nonetheless, Catching Fire holds its own. The aftermath of the stunning, rebellious finish of the Games for Katniss and Peeta grabs hold and doesn’t disappoint. President Snow (a creepy villian if ever there was one) wastes no time letting Katniss know what he thinks of her charade with Peeta and leaves Katniss examining her options and her motivations while hurtling herself and her loved ones towards destruction.
It’s much more complex than that, naturally, and there is a bunch of stuff that I would love to discuss but I won’t, because I refuse to wreck it. Just know that when you finish it, you will be scouring interwebs for any prospective publication date for the third book.
*****
Then, just because it came up in a conversation on The Peanut Gallery, I re-read another favorite:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is beautiful, in the Greek “Beauty is harsh” vein. This book is simple, a story of growing up, but it is also complex, a story of a society and a world not that far removed from ours, where a new class of people has been created to serve the good of the whole. This is a story about growing up, of idealism shattered , and of love despite all odds. It is also an incredible commentary about where our ethical decisions might lead us.
I remember in high school having lunch with an old friend and we got onto the discussion of cloning. I don’t remember specifics about our opinions, but I do remember one of his questions “Do clones have souls? I don’t think they would.”
Ishiguro addresses this from the inside, as his characters struggle to survive within a world that doesn’t believe in their innate personhood. I thought this was a heart-breaking story.
Sorry for no new reviews. I read Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now today, but I wish to anti-recommend it. It could have been good, but the cousin-cest ruined the whole thing. Now I’m in the middle of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, enjoying it more than the first 80 pages and two false starts suggested. And in just a few days, Mockingjay will be here. And my sister. From Memphis. With my nephew baby.
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