Yes, like everyone else who has read this series, I'm madly in love with all things Hunger Games! That means the books, the swag (I am dying to have a Mockingjay pin), and, perhaps most of all, the movie. I am dying to see it. I can't wait until 2012... I want it now! For the time being, we all have to sit tight and wait for pictures and trailers to be released, now that casting seems to be done. Ah yes, casting. The only definitive thing I think can be said about the casting is that it's not uniformly appreciated. Everyone has an opinion about it, including me, and since it has come up a few times, I thought I'd share my thoughts.

This Entertainment Weekly cover is what dragged me into the fan frenzy. I was resisting, I was trying to ignore all the talk about the movie because once I'm in, I'm in full-on fangirl mode. I saw a few of the casting choices and, honestly, I wasn't terribly pleased, which only helped me to ignore all the talk. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, I thought, really?  She's so beautiful, so blonde, so... everything Katniss isn't.  Not that she's not attractive, but she's not glamorous. Jennifer Lawrence is glamorous! Bleh.

Then this cover came out and I swooned. Almost literally, swooned. I love it, I think they really captured the essence of who Katniss is. She looks just like that in my mind and seeing it on paper (well, the screen, really) I was completely drawn in. After that, it was almost impossible not to give in to my feelings about the rest of the casting, particularly that of Peeta and Gale. If you read my reviews, you know I loved them, and the whole love triangle thing. I live for love triangles! So, when I saw the casting for Peeta and Gale, I had seriously mixed feelings.

First, Peeta. There's no doubt that Josh Hutcherson is quite good looking. He's adorable, really, and every time I see his smile I just want to hug him. That reaction, I think, is why he was chosen for this role. It took me a while to realize that he was the bad vamp kid in the Cirque du Freak movie. But, his appearance is all wrong for Peeta as far as coloring. He's dark, both hair and eyes, but I'm trying to reserve serious judgement because I didn't think Jennifer Lawrence could pull of Katniss, either, and look how wrong I was on that call. I'm sure he'll make a great Peeta and, best of all, he can actually act. It's going to take monumental acting talent to pull off Peeta convincingly, especially considering that Peeta is so charismatic. I think he can do it and I don't think you have to strain your brain to guess which "team" I'm on here. I loved Peeta from the first, loved him, and I always rooted for him and Katniss. Always.

As for Gale, well, Liam Hemsworth is just gorgeous! Look at his eyes, he's crazy good looking (never mind that his older brother is Thor!).  I have zero problems with this casting. He looks just like I'd imagine Gale to look and I'm sure he'll pull it off. I've never seen him in anything, but even if he's a terrible actor it doesn't really matter all that much because Gale strikes me as the strong silent type. Still, I'm sure he'll be great. I have tremendous confidence in the pick.

As for all the others, I really like the rest of the casting, particularly Haymitch, Prim, and Rue. I think they really did a good job capturing the essence of all of the characters. I'll be interested to see how the movie comes together. More than the casting, I'm concerned about the script. It's going to take a genius script to do this book justice. I hope Hollywood's doesn't extend to casting and make-up and stop short of the script. If so, this will be the biggest disappointment ever. Until we know for sure, here's hoping that our faith is not misplaced.

Quick update to what I've said here. Check out this pic I found on HungerGamesMovie.org a few minutes ago. It's a fan-made pic of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta...


Goodbye doubt! If I had it before (and I did, really), this seals the deal. I know it's not official, but it helps to see what he may look like as a blond. Love it!

Author: Suzanne Collins {site}
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Format: Kindle
Published: 24 August 2010
Disclosure: Purchased at Amazon for Kindle.

Synopsis: {via goodreads}

Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

Review:

**Could include spoilers from this point on**

I really enjoyed Mockingjay, but not as much as I thought I would after the previous two books. It was substantially slower than The Hunger Games and even Catching Fire, but what I did like about it was the scope and the resolution. The scope of this book is ramped so far up from where we began in The Hunger Games it's almost unimaginable. It's not two kids from 12 going to the games anymore, it's a war. Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch and the crew are back, but not in the way anyone expects and there're moments when you worry, or wonder, what might happen next. It's a good book, nearly as good as it's predecessors, but quite different overall.

The Story:

The plot of this book was obvious from the first pages. If you've read the other two, and you really must to get what's going on in any meaningful way, then the plot of this book will come as no surprise. The way the characters behave, after all they've been through, is likewise no surprise. That's something I really enjoyed about this book overall. Collins keeps pace with what she's been doing all along, making this book the natural progression of events. Things occur just as you would expect them to, Katniss behaves just as you would expect her to, and the plot pushes forward.

The Characters:

The characters that change most throughout, I think, are Peeta and Gale. I keep coming back to them because they're two of my favorites. Initially, I loved them because of the love triangle aspect, and while I still do, there's so much more to them now. Peeta is missing in the beginning of this book, for reasons I'll not spell out (to avoid as many spoilers as possible) and for me, he was sorely missed. He's one of my favorites, and when he shows back up, it's with a vengeance... but he's different. It made me sad, really, that he was so... un-Peeta-like, but it did make sense. Of Gale, on the other hand, we get to experience two sides of him we haven't completely seen before: his emotional side and his vengeful side. Now, we have seen them, but this book gives us more, more, more of that. Ultimately, both of them are a little more ragged and worse for the wear in the book, but they're still amazing characters.

Katniss doesn't change so much as grow and evolve. Good characters should and she's a good character. I could feel what she was going through, how she was going through it, and my heart went out to her on several occasions. Okay, more than several, but I'll get to that.  We also see more of Primrose in this book and she's much more grown-up than she was before. She gives amazing advice, seems to be flourishing in District 13 where they're going to train her to be a doctor, and she puts up a much braver face than I think I could have at any age.  Haymitch is still Haymitch, really.

The Feeling:

This book was heartbreaking. Not from the very beginning, but as it draws to a close, it becomes so much more difficult. There are things early on, like Peeta, that make it hard, but as the book, and with it the series, draws to a close, the book becomes very emotional. Things happened, people were lost, and I cried. It's been so long since a book has elicited this sort of response from me, I almost forgot it was possible to cry over a book. This one reminded me that it is possible to connect with characters, a plot, a world in a meaningful way.  Even the Epilogue made me cry. I felt like such a basket case when this book ended.

The Verdict:

Again, I enjoyed it but maybe not as much as those that came before it. I was, however, very happy with both the resolution and how that resolution came about. The way she ends up, and with whom, work and make sense. It's a natural progression to the end of Katniss's story and I liked it. I also liked the feeling, and emotion this book elicited, and the plot and scope. I didn't so much enjoy the pace, the loss of some amazing characters, and the fact that some of the characters didn't get a resolution the way they should have. However, this was Katniss's story, and the story of Panem, and on both of those counts, the resolutions were agreeable.

Overall, this series was fantastic. The best I've read in a while. I highly, highly recommend it to everyone. If you enjoy Dystopian and YA fiction, you'll love it. If you enjoy an emotionally charged read, however disturbing, you'll love it. I did.

Rating:
Book: 4/5




Series: 5/5




Check out my reviews for the other two books in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games Trilogy:

• The Hunger Games
• Catching Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I want to glare at them, but I feel it would be a mistake to turn my attention from Coin. I can see her tallying the cost of my ultimatum, weighing it against my possible worth.

If you've read the series, do let me know what you thought of it. I've reviewed both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and will get up a review for this one as soon as I'm done with it. I hope you're having a great Teaser Tuesday. Please take a moment to say hello, I always enjoy meeting new people and saying hello to those I already know!

Author: Suzanne Collins {site}
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Format: Kindle
Published: 1 September 2009
Disclosure: Purchased at Amazon for Kindle.

Synopsis: {via goodreads}

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.

Review:

**Could include spoilers from this point on**

Katniss and Peeta are back in the spotlight in Catching Fire, dragged into something they could never have forseen, nor planned for. A rebellion... and Katniss is unwittingly its symbol. Unfortunately, this means death for everyone Katniss and Peeta love. The book unfolds as they go on their victory tour and we learn about the Quarter Quell, an event that happens every 25 years. This time the Quarter Quell means breaking all the rules of the Hunger Games and Katniss and Peeta are tossed right into the middle of it.

While we learn a great deal about Panem, and it's people, and start to feel for some of the people who live in the Capitol, this book doesn't have the breakneck pace that The Hunger Games had. It's slower, and more cereberal, but because of this we get to see how Katniss's brain really works, when she has time to think about things completely. We also get a sense that she might be more scarred than she's willing to let on. When the announcement of the Quarter Quell comes, her reaction clues us in on the psychological trauma she's truly feeling about her time in the Arena. I felt for her, my heart went out to her, but it also went out to Peeta, who picked himself--and Katniss and Haymitch--up by the bootstraps.

The characters, in Catching Fire, have matured, even little Prim who we can't help but feel sorry for in her immediate loss of innocence through the games and the events thereafter. We feel even more conflicted, right along side Katniss, about Peeta and Gale, particularly because Gale plays a bigger part in this book. Only slightly, but he does. There're also new characters, like Finnick, who I couldn't help but fall for and President Snow, who, while he isn't exactly new, is more present in this book and more hate-able.

Overall, I enjoyed the pace of this book, though there were moments when I longed for the action that made The Hunger Games so amazing. I was, however, shocked by the ending, but I also felt it was a little bit too abrupt. Cliffhangers are fine, but this one felt a bit like the rest of the book was just missing. It was too abrupt for my liking. Luckily, I had Mockingjay on my Kindle and was able to start it right away, but had I been reading these books when they were new and the final chapter wasn't yet released, I'd probably have been quite upset at how abruptly the book finishes.  I was also fairly upset about the turn of events where Peeta was concerned, right at the end... I nearly cried, then I got upset, and waited for something more to be said about it but the book ended. I hope Mockingjay is quick to pick up on that one, because at this point I'm reading it for Peeta, which I think was probably the intention.

Rating: 4.5/5
I am going to have to make half stars, I think. I'm still not entirely sure how I might go about that. But there you have it.


Also, check out my review for The Hunger Games.

Author: Suzanne Collins {site}
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Format: Kindle
Published: 2008
Disclosure: Purchased at Amazon for Kindle.

Synopsis: {via goodreads}

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Review:

This book got so many good reviews, I couldn't ignore it anymore. For a long time, I tried resisting YA lit, but it's just so impossible. YA has so many amazing titles. This one is no exception, it was amazing. Disturbing, but amazing. As the beginning of a trilogy, this book does not disappoint. It does what the first book in a trilogy should do, make you want more. It's so fantastic, I spend a whole day reading it (from about 10%) and when it was over, I went to Amazon and bought the other two books in the trilogy and immediately started reading Catching Fire when it was delivered to my Kindle. It was that good. I've not done that in a very long time and I would venture to say that this book, The Hunger Games, is the best book I've read for leisure in a very long time. Okay, okay, so, enough gushing.

The crew:

The characters, I loved them. They're so believable, you can't help but love them--Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Primrose & Rue, Thresh, Cinna & Portia, even Effie and Haymitch!  Katniss Everdeen, the narrator, is a wonderful character. You don't always like her, or her choices, and there are moments when you'll want to scream at her to open her eyes and see what's right in front of her face. The fact that she doesn't always see what's right there, or the subtext going on between the other characters, is what makes her believable. It's what makes her human and likable. She has emotions and you see them clearly in her reactions to what's happening. Suzanne Collins is so good she makes the reader able to see things through Katniss's eyes, and from Katniss's perspective, that Katniss herself is missing. It takes one very capable author, with a clear understanding of what she's doing, to pull that off.

The other characters are all fantastic too, but I think I want to talk about Gale and Peeta here. In her interactions and relationships with Gale and Peeta, you can see that Katniss is very much a sixteen year old girls. She misses things, she makes assumptions that someone with more years wouldn't make, she suffers a great deal of conflict where these two guys are concerned. You can't help but root for her, and for them, even though she can't end up with both of them. You feel her attraction to Gale, even if she denies that there's anything romantic between them.  You feel her conflict about Peeta, the boy with the bread. I admit, though, that I love a good love triangle!  This is a good love triangle.  Both Peeta and Gale are desirable, in different ways, and in her feelings about them, the reader is almost as torn as Katniss herself.

The Story:

Okay, this is where the disturbing comes in. This story is dark. It's not for the faint of heart. It's about children (ages 12-18) killing one another. They're doing it for survival, and for the entertainment of the people in the Capitol of Panem. This is not a feel good, happy-go-lucky book. It's a live or die book. There are some reviewers on Goodreads who took strenuous objection to the whole kids killing kids thing, and while it's very poignant, I agree that it's difficult to stomach. What I don't agree with is that this book should be skipped. This book is great, the setting is dark, but that's what makes it good literature. It has a point. The setting is very well thought out, the actions and reactions are very clear and often unsettling. You see why they're doing it, how it's received in the Districts, and the difference between the people dying to survive in the Districts from those in the Capitol, where there's wealth. This is dystopian and dystopian is not always pretty. As a matter of fact, it's never pretty. That's what makes dystopian what it is. It always has a point. Always. I suppose it comes down to this: If you can't stomach kids killing kids, don't read it. Otherwise, try.

The Verdict:

I loved it and recommend it to anyone.  Not just anyone who enjoys dystopian, but to everyone. I don't generally read dystopian and I loved this book. If you've been on the fence, and think you can deal with the unsettling themes, go get it.  You won't regret it.

Rating:

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. If you'd like to play along, just answer three simple questions...

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Here's mine...

What are you currently reading?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I'm really enjoy it, but I've not had much time to read of late as it's the last week of the semester. I have both work (as a GA/Tutor) and class stuff to take care of. As soon as things die down a little bit, I intend to finish it. My last final for the semester's tonight, so tomorrow should be a better day!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Vampire Narcise by Colleen Gleason. I could not have loved this book more. Truly, I couldn't have. My biggest regret is that I'm done with it and that it's the last book in a trilogy, which could easily have been a series. I loved the characters, the story, the whole thing was fantastic. I highly recommend it. If you're interested in reading more, check out my review.

What do you think you'll read next?

With any luck, I'll be reading The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross next. I am dying to read it for several reasons. The first, I'm a sucker for a good cover and this one's the best!  I adore it!!  The second, I love steampunk. I requested it on NetGalley and if they approve my request, it's up next. If not, I'll be reading the next book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

So there you have it!!  If you're stopping by, please take a moment to say hello. I always enjoy meeting new people. I look forward to seeing everyone elses!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The pair last year were two kids from the Seam who'd never, not one day of their lives, had enough to eat. And when they did have food, table manners were surely the last thing on their minds.

You know the kicker is that I don't generally read dystopian. I don't know that it's because I don't enjoy it, I just don't often get around to it. If this is representative of that genre, then I might like to read some more. I'd love some suggestions!