[Books, Review] The Hunger Games: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Goodreads

Started on: February 21, 2013

Finished on: March 11, 2013

Synopsis

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. Distric 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Captiol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this,s he must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.

Review

It took me quite a while to finish this book. The reason? is unknown. These things just happen. xD

Mockingjay, the last edition to The Hunger Games trilogy. And I can say that from all the books that I've read so far. This is right next to one of the best. "Harry Potter". I'm not saying that it's as good as HP but I'm saying that it's good enough to be on my top 5 favorite books.

This edition surrounds the whole rebellion, and how they will over through the capital. So many things happen at the same time in this book that adds to the excitement but it's hard to keep track of what's going on.

The entire series is written in Katniss's point of view and what happens around her. I honestly sometimes find Katniss annoying. First she's with Gale, then she's with Peeta, when Peeta's gone she goes to Gale, then he comes back and she goes back to Peeta. I swear, if there was another man interested in her, she would add him to their list of men and alternate them every week or every time she has a breakdown. Towards the good side of Katniss, she's pretty awesome. How she's handling everything that's happen to her in the past two books, shows that she's a strong woman, and I can just imagine her giving inspiration to her readers to be strong along with her. (great message Suzanne!)

The rest of the book, I found great and with so many events occurring at the same time or right after each other keeps the reader going. It can be very engrossing and a page turner when the battle actually begins.

In conclusion, The Hunger Games in general is a dystopian adventure novel, with a lot of death of characters your grow attached to, and a splash or pinch of comedy and romance.

If you're into slight details of killing and all the adventure and excitement, with a dash of comedy and romance to put it all together, I highly recommend The Hunger Games trilogy.

[Books] 2013 TBR Challenge

Orignal Post @ Bookish

Hey readers!

The To-be-read Pile Reading Challenge of 2013 has been announced.

Yeah, I kind of failed or lost that 2012 reading challenge because I kind of added and reduced some books, and completely forgetting about the rules of the challenge.
Hopefully, this time I'll try to remember the rules and regulations. xD

Here are the details !

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 - Dec 31, 2013.
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you've read! (On your blog, Amazon or Goodreads/Shelfari!)
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2012 and earlier! NO 2013 ARCs and 2013 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Tweet!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. On the 20th of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository.It's open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e. the entire month)
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;) 
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - a box of books. 
11. You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:
(how many books you're planning to read for this challenge in 2013)

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug <--- :3="" hug="" p="">21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children


Schedule:

January 20th: Evie @Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com)
February 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)
March 20th: Justin @Justin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)
April 20th: Tiffany @Escaping.. One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)
May 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/)
June 20th: Justin @Justin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)
July 20th: Emily @Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com/)
August 20th: Tiffany @Escaping One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)
September 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)
October 20th: Emily @Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com/)
November 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/)
December 20th: This one will be posted on all the blogs. There will also be a huge BOX OF BOOKS giveawayand this time you can link up ALL YOUR TBR Pile REVIEWS you wrote for the entire year!

~~~~~~~~~~~
This challenge, I'm not aiming for anything like Married with Children. I just want to really get these books off my shelf.

So my books that I will be reading next year are.

  

        

These books are literarily sitting on my table/shelf. Its just all piled up on top of each other and I don't have place to put anything. 

It'll be great to get these off my to-read list and my table/shelf.! xD

[Books] The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Goodreads

Started on: August 15, 2012

Finished on: August 22, 2012

Synopsis
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol -- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

Review
The second edition to The Hunger Games Trilogy; Catching Fire.

I didn't really know what to expect for this second book, since the first book was all about the hunger games and how Katniss and Peeta survived. Even if I read the wikipedia plot in the past, I was still not quite sure what to expect; plus I forgot what I read in wikipedia, since it was months ago.

Since Peeta and Katniss won the 74th annual hunger game, they both have been busy getting ready for their Victor Tour. During the tour, intimate things happen between Peeta and Katniss, they were forced into a marriage proposal by the threats of President Snow. After the tour, preparations of the wedding were being made. It was then announced that for the 75th Hunger Games, it would be apart of the Quarter Quell, which only happens every quarter of a century. On this 75th Hunger Games the tributes will be the living Victors of the past hunger games. Now 24 past victors will compete to fight to the death, with only one winner.

I knew that this book would have another hunger games involved, but I wasn't quite sure on how it was going to end. Catching Fire is absolutely unputdownable. I had to force myself to stop reading so I can do my other stuff. It is very very creative. I really think Collins did a fabulous job with this. I enjoyed reading about the new characters and knowing more of the other districts. The flow of the writing was utterly there, hence the fact that it was unputdownable.

I genuinely want Peeta and Katniss to really be together. I want Katniss to really fall in love with him, and leave Gale. I'm not really fond of Gale for some reason. Peeta gives out this vibe that allows you to feel loved, I love him.

The game were written very creatively, I thought they would be in similar to the past hunger games with the forest and all.

Their plans went well in the end I’m guessing, besides a few drawbacks here and there with Peeta kind of being captured.

Overall, the book was fantabulous. I loved it. It was something that I bet no one can put down. It was very creative and original to me. Collins has a lot of creativity in her, you can tell by her writing.
I recommend this book to those who have read the Harry Potter books, and to all the young adult readers out there.

[Books, Review] The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Goodreads 

Started on: July 20, 2012

Finished on: July 31, 2012 

Synopsis
Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death - televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

WINNING WILL MAKE YOU FAMOUS. LOSING MEANS CERTAIN DEATH

Review
I said "I will only watch the movies, no need to read the books, there is wikipedia". I took that back when I picked up the first book of The Hunger Games. Since everyone around me has already read them, I then said "Why not!".

Book 1 of The Hunger Games series. It's going to be as big as Harry Potter. Well, that's what I think.

The contents of the book was great. I enjoyed it very much, despite the fact that the Capitol is totally screwed up in so many ways. They have nothing better to do with their lives then assign kids to an arena and watch them slaughter each other.

The characters of the Capitol seem very colorful, and they do all seem to dress like clowns. Those from District 12 know how to survive, I think that is what helped Katniss and Peeta survive in the games. They were brought up with poverty, and not much food. They were taught on how to live to survive.

The tributes from the other Districts seemed to be lacking in the details, it was very vague. But since the book was from Katniss's point of view, it is understandable and very realistic.

When the games started, my heart raced every time something or someone gets killed. That's what I love about books like this. It makes my heart race and gives me heart palpitations. It makes me read more, and faster. It shows that I'm really into that book.

The love Peeta has for Katniss is just amiable. I love him for loving her for so long. I don't know how he just stood there, without even telling her. But poor thing, Katniss broke his heart. I wish I could just give him a hug and all his problems will go away. I love him.

Katniss's confusing love for Peeta and Gale. She thinks she loves Gale but no, her heart says that she's meant to be with Peeta. Its fate! They should be together.

In conclusion to my review, The book was fabulous. I recommend all those who loves Harry Potter, reading YA novels, and absolutely everyone to read it.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book!

★★★★★