Christina's Review: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Synopsis from School Library Journal: In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old KatnissÆs young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining districtÆs female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

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I want to write like Suzanne Collins. This lady took an issue of which she is adamantly passionate (child violence) and wrote an amazing science fiction novel that reaches into your soul and twists around until you feel vehemently against war and famine. Written in first person, the story follows the journey of a young girl who-for the love of her little sister-decides to fight against 23 other teens in a battle to the death (chance of survival= 4%).

THE BAD

Hmmmmm, I don't like the ending. But don't worry, this isn't a spoiler; all I'm saying is that she shouldn't have left us not only dangling but gripping the rock at the top of a cliff with only our index and middle fingers still holding on and sliding precariously further down. I honestly can't think of anything else that bothered me in this book, although my brother complained that the writing was choppy and especially hated the first person present voice (which I thought intriguing).

THE GOOD

Everything. I loved the heroine, cleverly written with depth, personality, a good dose of bravery, and a girly love for nice clothes (but not enough to make us want to toss a dirty t-shirt at her). I loved Peeta, the guy that liked/didn't like? her throughout the book; whenever he started going flat, the author instantly threw another story into the mix to update his personality with a new flaw or endearing characteristic. And the story itself? Brilliant, deep, intense, thought provoking.

THE VERDICT: AWESOMENESS

Any book that makes me cry AND tremble with excitement within the FIRST CHAPTER deserves my highest rating; so for Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games, I hereby bestow a 5 out of 5 in hopes that a little of her brilliance will rub off on my own writings in the future. Thank you, Suzanne, for a wonderful read.

Christna's Review: Wings by Aprilynne Pike

The reason I have not posted a review in so long is not because I have read nothing but rather than I have read so many things I've had no time to you about them. Just the fact that Wings, by Aprilynne Pike, is the book I am now reviewing scares me. I think I've read about 15 books since then, all of which I should review here soon!

When I read Wings, I had an experience unlike anything most will have when reading it. This is because the first half of the book sounded nail-bitingly similar to Behind Every Illusion, the book I wrote last year. Yikes! The main character turns out to be a fairy, her best friend is cool and probably the only nice and level-headed person in the book, and then she starts to sprout something . . . .aah! At that point, I got really nervous and started reading in high gear. What happened in the end? Would I be sued for plagiarism (despite the fact that my book was out before hers)?

Thankfully, halfway through--at the sprouting part, in fact, the book took on an entirely different spin (i.e. trolls, plant people, open mouth life-saving kisses, etc). And there was no environmental cause whatsoever. So, whew.

My review?

THE BAD

I felt that the book was a little simple, the characters fairly one-dimensional, the story-line predictable, and the love triangle confusing and unpassionate. Her best friend, Chelsea, came in at random times during the book, said highly confusion and irrational things and then disappeared again. The love triangle between Laurel (main girl), David (best friend) and Tamani (fairy-dude) felt very forced and awkward. Every time Laurel was kissing David, she was thinking about Tamani and every time she was with Tamani, she thought about David. It was weird. At least enjoy it while you're there!

THE GOOD

I absolutely loved Pike's idea of making fairies actual flowers. Not only do they live in the flowers or whatever, they are actually flowers themselves, so they look like humans but inside their biology is completely plant. Laurel pretty much just drinks sugar (Sprite, peach juice, etc) and during a certain season she sprouts flowers out her back that look like wings (hence the name). Also, as I read the book, I couldn't help but feel that Aprilynne and I are probably highly similar in personality. Her stories and ideas were all things I'd thought of writing before and that was fun and exciting (and highly weird!).

OVERALL

Adding the shallowness of the book with the brilliance of plant fairies, I'd give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. Read it if you are looking for a fun book about fairies that will be turning into a movie with Miley Cyrus next year (yes, you read that correctly). If you don't like Miley, fairies or Sprite, skip it.

Christina

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

I've been working on this book for weeks. In fact, it was the first book I got out of the Swanton Library after moving here at the end of July, and needless to say, while reading this book I've also managed to finish Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Wings, as well as start Evermore, Maximum Ride, and well, you get the idea. It took a while to get into.

So, why did it take so long to finally reach that point where I couldn't put the book down?

1. Every even chapter in the book is non-fiction talks about parasites. Parasites? Yep. Mealworms, lice, tapeworms. They infect your blood, your eyes, your brain, your imune system. And all of it was true. As Scott Westerfeld says many times, "Ew. Yuck. Repeat."

Okay, in case that wasn't enough for me to stop reading, why else did I sluff off instead of read?

2. The book is sci-fi, not fantasy. Like Uglies, this book has no "magic" in it whatsoever. Everything is scientifically based. Even the giant worms. That can get a little boring to me sometimes. Especially when the book's theme is explaining vampirism through scientific theories. Yawn. Sleep. Repeat.

But, you protest, I DID read this book! In fact, I finished it about 5 minutes ago. So, here's my review:

Peeps was written by one of my very favorite authors, Scott Westerfeld. The first half of the book was slow in my opinion. Too much about parasites and vampire history (in a scientific way) and too little about the cute girl, Lace(y), who pops into our narrator's life as he tries to discover what happened to the girl who infected him. I read on and off for a while, enjoying the parasite talk (while imagining all the conversation's Scott had with his poor wife about the subject the year he wrote it), but hating the science.

However, once Cal tells Lacey what the heck is going on, things get interesting and I couldn't put the book down at all. Yes, I ate dinner while reading about mealworms. Fun times. But it was amazing! All the parasite talk fit in perfectly with the story so that by the end, huge worms from the underground made perfect sense and only aided in making the story BETTER! Yes, better!

I can't tell you what happens to Lace (although, even just from reading this review, you're probably guessing it's a) she's infected and becomes a cannabalistic vampire, b) she runs to New Jersey to escape and lives happily ever after or c) she gets eaten by a giant tapeworm).

I know this review is a bit basic, especially since I had to keep mentioning the parasites all the time (did I tell you there are giant worms in this book?), but remember: the book was highly fascinating, finally giving us a logical reason for Vampires and making them believable. (And no, in this book, becoming a Vampire does NOT mean you sparkle. Sorry!) It was funny (laughed out loud many times, as the narrator has my sarcastic sense of humor). It was romantic (despite all the raw meat eating going on). It was interesting (did I mention the giant worms?). And it was really really good.

So, thank you Scott, for writing yet another thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi adventure to blow my hatred of the genre right out of the water again. Even if it did include giant worms.

Christy

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

[SPOILER ALERT: The ending isn't given, but some interesting information not told until 1/4 way through the book is revealed in this review]

Trouble-prone teen Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out school - but that's the least of his problems. The gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology texts and into his life - and they're not happy. Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends must embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true thief, save Percy's family, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

In reading this book, I broke my two unbreakable rules:

1. Never read a book with a kid under 14 as the lead

2. Never read a book where the (even potential) romantic interest is under 16

However, ten minutes into reading--and Percy has shot water out of a fountain unintentionally spraying everyone around him while remaining dry himself--I was completely hooked. A kid whose dad is the god of the Sea? Um, that's just a no brainer to me. I absolutely love stories about demi-gods because they are partly human and partly super-awesome. So, I pretended Percy was 15 and the girl he befriends is 16 and all is well. In fact, I think that Chris Columbus, who is directing the movie coming out next February, had the exact same idea.

My review? If you love demi-gods and boys with a strong sarcastic sense of humor who also have water powers, and you can ignore the lame idea that kids like him go to "Camp Half-Blood" where they are trained in fighting and (yawn) magic items and stuff, then you will adore Percy Jackson. It's a fun, fast-paced, laugh-out-loud kind of book that keeps you reading to see what will happen to him next. What I truly loved about the book, aside from the fact that all the side characters were a hoot (especially Grover--Grover? where did that name come from???--his best friend and satyre), is that Percy himself is super lovable. At least, to me, because he's an out-spoken, spunky, dyslexic, ADD twelve-year-old, and those are my favorite kinds. Add in superpowers and I'm hooked for the entire series.

So, this review will excite you if you are exactly like me, and may turn you off if anything in here is just not your thing. All-in-all, you've got a story that is cute, entertaining and will teach you A LOT about Greek Mythology. Oh, and this is a little hint (that if I'm famous someday, people will wish they'd read this review): My next series will also be heavily focused on the gods of Greek Mythology.

I've included the preview for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, coming out President's Day 2010. Enjoy.

Susie's Twilight Review

The first thing I said about Twilight after reading the first book was "this is not my kind of love story". I continue to stand by that. Stephenie Meyer is not a great writer, but to her credit, every time I felt like throwing a book across the room she introduced another cliffhanger that had me turning 'just a few' more pages. I also have some very close friends who love the series, so please take no offense to what I'm going to say.

Twilight managed to take the dark, dangerous world of vampires and turn it into a Harlequin romance. No, not all vampires are dangerous! In fact, if you can get past their overwhelming desire to kill you, they really are sweet, sparkly, sugary-scented supermodels. Bella is described as being mature beyond her years, but there is really nothing to back up that assessment. She stomps her feet, whines, grunts, hisses, cries, spits and faints. Somehow every male in the town of Forks is drawn to her, but we never really find out why. I have no problem with an introverted, pale, socially awkward teenage girl - I was one of those. I do have a problem with reading 300+ pages about how Edward is "godlike", "angelic", and how his perfectly perfect chest makes Bella get all warm and gooey inside. I have no doubt that Bella is 'irrevocably in lust' with Edward, but I don't need to read a 500 page book about it.

New Moon was semi-bearable for me. Why? Because they introduced a character with personality: Jacob. We get a good 300+ pages of an actual story; not just the 'Edward was hot and I want him so bad' nonsense. Bella refers to Jacob as her "sun" and he makes her laugh, makes her a motorcycle, and brings her out of the deep-dark depression that her obsession with Edward caused. There's some humor, some good writing, and for a while I could understand why people loved the series so much. Then...the return of Edward! Please, say it isn't so! We're back to the same old 'I love you', 'I love you more', 'no I love YOU more' melodrama....seriously....

At the end of reading Eclipse I was so bewildered that as I was getting up from the table I did a mortifying Bella-esque move and knocked a plate onto the floor and it shattered everywhere. UGH. Not good.

Back to the book....Bella is as annoying and self-absorbed as ever and Edward is only slightly more bearable just because he has no personality, so there's really no personality to hate. Bella's obsession for Edward is really extreme, to the point of becoming downright annoying, even unhealthy. She worships the ground he walks on, and is all too ready to ditch her parents and friends just so she can spend more time with him without growing old. She doesn't seem to have any serious problem with the idea of making her parents worry, or the thought of never seeing them again... she's willing to stomp over anything that isn't Edward, even things that can enrich her life. The character of Jacob has some merit, however. He wasn't perfect, but he was fun, honest, and very human, making big mistakes, but always trying to do his best. He was real, not a perfect porcelain doll with no flaws. Sadly, he was mostly wasted.

Breaking Dawn finally takes us to the big climax in Bella's life; can you guess what? However, they can't just leave it at her becoming a vampire; they have to throw in an unexpected pregnancy with ridiculously freak-ish results, and I don't mean freak-ish in a good way. As for the story development, my greatest frustration is that Meyer created a very intricate world, complete with detailed descriptions of what could and could not happen in it. Then she decided not to play by these rules. Yes, I am referring to the sudden and inexplicable ability of a vampire to father a child. This felt very contrived and unbelievable, and introduced such an absurd, nightmarish chain of events that I found myself wishing I could take back all the hours of my life I'd spent on this series. Bella has to drink human blood, while she’s still human, to save the life of her child - And she LIKES IT! The same Bella that turned green and almost passed out while doing blood typing in Biology class, right? Okay, obviously her aversion to blood was going to go away after becoming a vampire. But while she was still human? Really? I felt sick the whole time I read about her drinking gallons of blood a day to sustain the child. Blech. I still don’t get the whole scene where Edward asks Jacob to offer to make babies with Bella. Seriously?! Is this Meyer's attempt at showing us the extent of true love? It was twisted and disturbing.

My biggest problem with the book? This whole imprinting idea. They take the only redeemable character in the whole series (Jacob) and turn him into a pedophile....yes, I know, he doesn't think of her THAT way till she's um...what, seven? I don't care how you spin it, that whole storyline is just plain wrong and clearly contrived so that everyone has their happy ending at the end.

Meanwhile, a series of events which I don't feel like explaining happen which lead the Volturi to come to try to kill Renesmee; a.k.a. Spawn of Bella. Concerned, the Cullens gather seventeen other vampires as witnesses. Don't ask me why, I don't feel like explaining.

And of course all of these vampires get along, even though most of them prey on humans and a whole neighborhood of them live a few miles away.

And as if that weren't enough, all of them have superpowers, completely deflating one of Meyer's earlier claims.

So here they are, all gathered, we're ready for the final big battle scene, when suddenly the Volturi get convinced that Renesmee is not a threat and they all leave peacefully--though not without killing Irina, who ratted all of them out but did so on a false claim.

And then everyone lives happily ever after.

Yes, that really happened. The title of the last chapter was even "Happily Ever After."

OK, so to sum it all up this series is completely absurd, takes all the folklore about vampires and throws it down the drain so that we think they're 'angelic' as opposed to dark and dangerous. I have a bad habit of not wanting to leave a series unfinished, even if the series isn't worth my time, so I did read all four books. However, I would like to save anyone else the trouble and just suggest now not to waste your time.