Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

   Mockingjay is considered to be the least well-written book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. Fans say that Katniss doesn't do anything and the character deaths were so depressing. As for the first issue, Katniss does do something. Sure, perhaps she may not be as active as in the first 2 books, but she doesn't always just sit around in hospitals getting knocked out. Who gave the famous 'If we burn you burn with us' speech in District 8? Katniss. Who finally turned 2 against the Capitol? Katniss. albeit, Katniss does sit around a lot in the books, but half of that was only because she was shot or something, a reason no one can regard as invalid for going to the hospital, and the other half is because she was so traumatized by nightmares (well, technically her own life also) and has no way to fight it, so she literally flees her nightmares (life) by hiding away. For anyone who says that she was a puppet moving only when 13 told her to, that is NOT the book I know. See, Coin nor Plutarch actually told Katniss and Gale to run off and shoot the Capitol hovercrafts. No one really asked Katniss to lead the squad on a mission to assassinate Snow.
  As for the second reason, I can see where that is coming from. Many people died nearing the end of the trilogy. F- hold on a second, please.

GOT OF THE INTERNET IF YOU WAN TO AVOID SPOLIERS
GO READ THE BOOK

Okay, starting where I left off, many characters such as Finnick (cried) and Prim (cried buckets) died nearing the end of the trilogy. I think the most heart wrenching one was Finnick's and Prim's. Finnick, whom we met in Catching Fire and hence had a lot of time to develop. Prim, who was with us since the beginning as the only person who Katniss loved right from the start and never stopped loving. And that is not even counting the ones that we met i this book and ended up dead. I'm surprised and very pleased that Johanna didn't die though. Speaking of Johanna, where did she go? I think we haven't read about her since the vote to have the new Hunger Games. Did she go back to 7? Did I miss something? Maybe it is just me. but I can just imagine Johanna at Katniss and Peeta's wedding, where she congratulates them and goes, "Get a room, you two!"I can also see her getting kind of along with Haymitch. I assume this because it has been established multiple times that Katniss and Haymitch are alike, and since Katniss and Johanna turn out to be kind-of friends, I think that maybe Haymitch and Johanna may be able to relate. Haymitch says that Snow killed his family at the end of his games, and Johanna tells Katniss in Catching Fire that there was no one left she loved, so that supports that theory too.

Now for the summary. The book starts with Katniss walking in the ashes of District 12. This scene is very emotional as it shows Katniss what her home has become. She goes on to explain what her life is like now in 13, and how she is coping with it. When she sees Peeta's propo and everyone calls him a traitor, Katniss decides to become the Mockingjay in exchange the victor's immunity, their hunting, Buttercup the cat, and her getting to kill Snow. Upon deciding that false propos were not convincing, 13 has no choice but to send her to District 8, where they get excellent footage of Katniss' 'Burn with us' speech. After a return to 12, along with the Hanging Tree song, which becomes a symbol in the movie. The bombing of district 13, where we get to learn more about Finnick and breaking. Speaking of breaking, when Snow sends Peeta to Katniss in the state that he is, I think it is the worst for Katniss. All she ever wanted was for him to come back, and she lost him in the worst way possible, To distract herself, Katniss is sent to 2, where she gives another motivational speech that is so tense and I simply love. We also get a tip of Gale's brutal personality, which turns out to result in Prim's death. This is good character development for Gale. After an awkward lunch session in which Peeta reveals just how broken he is by contemptuously treating Katniss, Katniss decides to go to the Capitol and joins a quad. This is where we also see Johanna again, and the most vulnerable of her personality. After Peeta joins the squad we begin the game of 'Real or Not Real', whcih will become yet another symbol later. Things start getting upbeat when they are trapped underground with Rose/Lizard mutants and many die, including Finnick. This scene was very fast-paced so I had to read many sentences over and over to fully comprehend what happened, and I couldn't accept who had been left behind died. I believed that they were taken to the Capitol and they would be rescued or get themselves out, not die. The scene with Tigress is not as tense physically, but shows the urgency of the situation very well, The mass slaughter on the streets is worthy of discussion. First off, there is the issue of the bombs and Gale, As previously stated, Gale is shown to have a rather brutal personality, not scared to sacrifice a few for killing off a mass of enemy. This, however, does not lead to Prim's death. Coin plotted her murder to break Katniss, when it was proven that Peeta would not do it. Although Gale did build the bombs, he had no idea that Prim was going to be there, and as I have stated, Gale is not afraid to make sacrifices, which Coin manipulates as her weapon. Speaking of Prim's death, can we talk about this? Prim's death is easily one the most emotional scenes in the entire franchise. Prim is the one character that Katniss never doubted, not even once. 'How could I leave Prim, who is the only person in the world I’m certain I love?' 'I said that i would try to win, but to win for her.' are just 2 quotes that show just how much Katniss loves Prim in the first book alone, and if I try to recount ever single one I would be sitting here writing all day and start crying somewhere around the fifth one.

  

I've defended Mockingjay in my first paragraph. However, is it perfect? No, I never say that. One thing I didn't like about this book was the ending. Albeit all dystopian fiction books never have satisfying endings for me as a epilogue can never be long enough, and although it is much more satisfying than Champion, I WANT ANSWERS. WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT ABOUT THE CAPITOL CHILDREN GAMES? DOES THAT HAPPEN? I personally have a theory that Katniss decides to become Snow's granddaughter's mentor, and they help to heal each other. Also, I probably have rambled about this before, but what about all the people we left behind in 13? Do we ever hear from them again? Katniss' mother? Johanna? Annie? CAN WE GET ANSWERS?

One additional thing I would like to add is that I have found a great song to this story. It is called ,'Soldier' by Fleurie. It is known to be part of the Shadowhunters soundtrack, which I believe I have mentioned before, but I just think the tone goes very well with the book.

Thank you for reading. I hope you come for more book reviews!

-Sooyoung Jo, age 12-

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

  Many people say that Catching Fire is 'The good Hunger Games movie'.  While the movie's plot and characters wereloyal the the books, a feat in which I have great respect for, I don't know why it's called, 'the good movie'. To me, a  good book-to-movie adaptation is a 100% percent loyal one. And the movies aren't really this, I mean, it's intense and all, but really?! NO MADGE UNDERSEE? NO DARIUS AND LAVINIA?! BONNIE AND TWILL?! HAYMITCH'S GAMES?! Speaking of the movies, do you ever have that friend who always says that 'The movies are better than the books?' As a BOOK blogger who tends to enjoy intense emotional scenes that, for some inconceivable reason, cannot be shown as well in movies, not to even mention the snarky thoughts and opinions of our main character that provides a (to me, anyway) dark comedy, I disagree. Especially when you consider the fact that those people have probably never read the books, so they do not KNOW WHO MADGE, DARIUS, LAVINIA, BONNIE AND TWILL ARE! HOW HAYMITCH WON THE GAMES! Man, those scenes were so tense and added so much to the plot and the characters! YOU DON'T JUST OMIT THAT, LIONSGATE! 

Thank you for reading my rant. Onto the review. 

As usual: GET OUT OF HERE TO AVOID SPOILERS, WHICH YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THE LAST BOOK REVIEW  and every other one before that........

  The story begins with Katniss hunting in the woods for Gale's family. Gale himself is forced to work at the mines. She goes on to tell us what her life is like now, with her regular comments about them, which make me laugh so hard. Really though, I like this style of comedy used in the first two books, only in the last one things situations were too serious to make any fun out of it. Not that book Katniss is one for jokes, nut I just enjoy her little remarks about others. Nor do I hate Mockingjay for lacking this comedy,as I also enjoy, as previously stated, intense emotional scenes just as well.

  After President Snow makes his threat, we get to kind of cliche of the character not-telling-anyone-their-worries-because-they-will-worry etc. But no matter how many times I read this plot line, I can never get enough, because it adds so much layer to the story, despite myself practically screaming at the character TO JUST. TELL. THEM.

In the movie, the ramp-up-the-romance-while-not-really-seeing-each-other-for-a-while was played really well and looked a lot like a imagined it. The Victory tour scene in the movie was also very convincing all well planned. You could really feel the tense moments in the actor's expressions, and they almost perfectly show the emotions described in the books. Most of the scenes after that could be shown that way too, even the scene just after the shooting, where admittedly Peeta doesn't shout, but his fury is shown. 

The next major event after the Victory tour is, of course, the sudden change of Head Peacekeeper. Thread uses his authority with an iron grip, which he displays when Gale arrives with a turkey, unaware that the Thread is in power. Gale is whipped many times over in the square until Katniss intervenes. There is also a line that says: Maybe we're it. The only three people in the district who could make stand like this. This shows he power of the victors, and why, possibly why, Snow had wanted some of them dead to quell the rebellion. This was, unfortunately glossed over in the movie. 

Another thing glossed over in the movie: Madge Undersee. Madge is the one who gives Katniss the pin the book, who gives the Everdeen family morphling . She gets such a development in this book, where some of her past is uncovered in Haymitch's quell. Speaking of Haymitch's quell, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT?! Haymitch's quell video in the books, uncovered so much of Haymitch for us, why he acts the way he does now, what lead him to be so broken to be so drunk all the time, why he sleeps with a knife in his hand, why he can Katniss and relate to so many things. I think it was great aspect to the character. It was fit reasonably well into the book, I can't see why it wasn't it in the movies. 

The tributes. The tributes from 1-2 are mentioned as not too cooperative. At the interview, Cashmere, the tribute from 1, states that Katniss looked ridiculous in her gown. Brutus and Enobaria are the tributes from 2 who try to kill them later in the Games. From 3, we have Beetee and Wiress, and I like them. Wiress, I think, has perhaps a impediment of some sort, and Beetee makes it out alive, which is good. 4. I'm not really afraid to admit that I cried when Mags died. I think, that if she stayed alive for Mockingjay, she could have acted like a person to keep Katniss company after the war. Finnick, who is portrayed as cocky in the movies, is far more like able here, in the books. 5 and 6 are pretty much skipped or only briefly mentioned. In 7, we have Johanna Mason, who was mentioned as a passable piece of information in the first book. In the books, Johanna is more of an angry, bitter girl from all of Snows harshness. There's no one left I love. In many other books, such as the sequel to this one, the main hero's loved ones are taken and tortured before the hero's eyes. Johanna's statement makes you wonder, What if you could fight in these battles with literally nothing to lose? How would everything change? What's more, I would like a more backstory to Johanna, to understand her anger at, pretty much the world. 9 and 10 aren't put into much detail as I remember. except for Katniss accusing he stylists from 10 of stealing Cinna and Portia's ideas, asking why the tributes from that district, who are dressed as cows, doing with fire belts. 11. Chaff is a friend of Haymitch, who, and here I quote, Chaff doesn't seem too bad at lunch. He's sober, and while he talks too loud and makes bad jokes a lot, most of them are at his own expense. I can see why he would be good for Haymitch, whose thoughts run so darkly. Seeder is said to look like people from the Seam, and tells Katniss the stories of Rue and Thresh's family to Katniss, and is brutally murdered in the Games. Once again, like Mags, I think she would have been like a older sister figure to Katniss after the war had she survived, 

Lets go the ending. Okay. The ending. I did not see that coming. I was pretty preoccupied with what had just happened to even consider 13 and a rebellion, let alone one already in place. I don't really approve of Katniss just attacking Haymitch out of no where like that, but then again it is understandable. Also, the end of the end. As in the very last line. There is no more District 12.  I have never read many books where the main character's home was destroyed, so this was also an unexpected twist for me, and probably for Katniss too. 

Conclusion: This is kind of more of a movie review rather than a book review, what with constant comparisons. I hope you didn't mind too much.

Thanks for reading!~ I hope you come for more book (no more movie comparisons, I promise) reviews! 

-Sooyoung Jo, age 12-

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I dare you to go on Google or whatever internet websites you are close with,type in 'dystopian fiction', and go to Images. Most of the time you are bound to come across, 'The Hunger Games', arguably one of the most popular dystopian fiction books to ever exist, and I say this for a good reason. I have stated many times that I enjoy all books from the dystopian genre, but 'The Hunger Games' is one I liked in particular. The story is a trilogy, despite being divide into four movies, and it follows the story of-

GO READ THE BOOKS IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY PLEASE

REALLY THOUGH, HOW HAVE YOU NOT READ THE BOOKS HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK?

THIS COUNTS FOR THE MOVIES TOO. IF YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN THE MOVIES, GO READ THE BOOKS

So, you've read the BOOKS, right? Great.

 SUMMARY
The story begins with our main character, Katniss Everdeen, waking up on reaping day. Katniss goes on to explain to the reader what has happen to the world, which I will not describe as I am sure, if you are reading this, you already know. Katniss goes on her routine trip of hunting in the woods with her friend Gale. They have a small conversation about running away, and although is pretty insignificant in this book, it will actually become an issue in the next one, which I am sure you also know, After gathering some berries to trade with the mayor, they encounter Madge Undersee, the mayor daughter, who will also become a important character later in the series. Katniss and Prin are then brought to  the reaping, where Prim's name, by some inexplicable stroke of unluckiness, is drawn, Katniss, driven by her love towards her sister, volunteers as tribute in the Games. When she hear Peeta Mellark's name being called, Katniss recalls a certain moment where he saved her life when she was younger, and how she thinks she may not be able to kill him in the Games, This thought goes through forms of fear, determination, and rage. The reader also encounters Haymitch Abernathy, District 12's only living victor, and so acts as a mentor to the tributes, Katniss and Peeta.

In the movie, the next scene is rather short compared to the one in the book. In the movie, only two groups meet Katniss in the Justice Building. In the book, Katniss meets with not only her family and Gale, but with Peeta's father, who offers to feed Prim, and Madge, who gives her the mockingjay pin as a token from her district. This also differs from the movie, where Greasy Sae, (though her name isn't mentioned in the movie, I believe) gives her it. After that, the two are taken right to the Capitol. On the way, Katniss notes Peeta's obvious crying and wonders if this will be his agenda for the games. She mentions a Johanna Mason, a person who used this idea, who she will meet in Catching Fire. 

When Haymitch vomits all over the floor and Peeta offers to clean him up for Katniss and yet attacks Haymitch the next day, Katniss is lead to believe that pretending to be nice will become Peeta's strategy to win the Games. Haymitch, upon recovering from Peeta's sudden assault, agrees to help them survive if they do not interfere with his drinking. Haymitch's first instruction is to not object to whatever the stylists want. True to her word, Katniss keeps her thoughts of her prep team to herself and does not try to object when Cinna, her stylist, a very likable person, lights her with fake, synthetic fire. The fire is a great success with the Capitol people, giving Katniss a piece of hope for survival,

Katniss and Peeta then spend several days in the Training Centre, where they have the opportunities to impress the Gamemakers with their talents. During her kast moment, Katniss shoots an arrow at and apple in the direction of the Gamemakers, thereby earning an eleven, further raising her chances of surviving the Games. The next day, the day of the interview, Peeta declares his love for Katniss, which Katniss acts negatively to. On the roof on that night Peeta says that he wants to die as himself, but Katniss has no idea what he is talking about.

The day of the games. Katniss, despite orders from Haymitch to simply run from the Cornupcopia, garbs a backpack and gets away. Katniss battles the various survival problems for a night until she discovers that Peeta is working with the Careers.  Katniss, upon being trapped in a tree, is shown by Rue, which she drops on the Careers. Katniss agrees to be Rue's ally. Together, they blow up the Career's supplies, where Rue dies in the process. This is where Katniss understands what Peeta meant by that he wants to die as himself; he doesn't want to become a killer because the Capitol says to be. (At least, that's how I understood it). She buries Rue in flowers. Sometime after that, there is a rule change that tributes from the same districts can both win. Driven by this, Katniss realizes that Peeta's hooking up with the Careers was just an act and determines to find him.

Katniss finds Peeta badly wounded and takes care of him until he is better. Katniss goes, mostly without choice, to the feast to get Peeta the cure for his infected leg. Thresh spares Katniss' life as he owes Katniss Rue's. Together they act as a team, occasionally acting in love for food, until the final days come. The two hunt down Cato and fight with dog mutts until Katniss finally sends the killing blow that mercifully ends Cato's life. However, the Capitol changes back the rules stating that now only one could win. When Peeta and Katniss attempt suicide, the Capitol stops them just in time, crowning them both victors. This leads to the Capitol growing to hate them. At the end, Katniss tells Peeta that she thinks that acting in love was indeed just an act, which Peeta (Kind of) breaks her heart with his response.

THOUGHTS
I find Katniss to be one of the most relatable character of them all, to be honest. Katniss tends to have a negative view of certain things and happens to stick with them unless they are proven wrong. I happen to be very much like this and so I agree with Katniss' philosophy, particularly about the Capitol. Though Katniss is hardly a shy character, she admits that she tends to be closed off at the interview. This aspect is also quite like myself, as I prefer to have some privacy in my life,

 As I reader. I am not really ashamed to say that I am, currently, sick of love triangles. However, this was the first time I read a dystopian book, and so this love triangle is, for the moment, not utterly exhilarating. Although it gets rather shoved in one's face in Catching Fire, in this book, the love triangle is a little less obvious, and this helps a lot.

Do I like the books? YES with a capital everything. Do I like the movies? Yes, but with only a capital Y. It is impossible, admittedly, for me, for a movie to be on par with the book. The books that I enjoy the most are the ones that convey the emotions of a character, and screens simply cannot show all the emotions a character is feeling at once. In complicated situations such as in these books, a character is likely to have conflicting emotions which some actors may not be able to portray. So I found the movie a little less to my liking than the book.

Do I dislike the movie? NO, and I mean NO. I believe that the characters and the plot was fairly book-loyal enough, which pretty automatically means a good movie for me. Before you object, in my opinion, the entire series was so epic, that as the movie followed the book, the movie was good. It seems to be a pretty common fan opinion that book-loyal movies are better than the ones that are not Take the cries of joy from fans about the Divergent, (strictly the first movie), and the kind of dislike towards the Percy Jackson movies.

In conclusion, I simply loved this epic book. I normally don't like survival stories, because alot of them just fall into place and is former supplies deus ex machina, and this book is nothing along those lines. I like this trilogy, and I am lucky that there are 2 more epic books.

Champion by Marie Lu

Champion takes place after 8 months in San Francisco, where we are with Day. Day is at San Francisco because of both his/Eden's health problems. Day gets a call from June Iparis, who is currently training to be a Princips Elect, a partner to the Elector, who he has not heard from in 8 months (that's over half a year !) to join a emergency meeting. This emergency meeting is about the Colonies withdrawing from the peace treaty between it and the Republic. The Colonies claimed that a plague virus has spread to them, and that they are willing to destroy the Republic to get a cure. The Elector, Anden, sees the only solution is to take Eden into experimentation, which Day objects to.    Commander Jameson and Thomas are on trial before this, and they are sentenced guilty. 

 On the night after the banquet, Day suffers a severe headache, which confirms his dying state. June listens to Thomas talk about his killing Metias, and I think that this scene made me have a little pity for Thomas. Though the entire Thomas/Metias couple came out of nowhere, I think that this scene was great for Thomas's character development.This is when June hears about Day's dying state, which they talk a bit about. I think that moments like these, the I-won't-tell-you-I'm-dying-because-it-will-hurt-you cliche is rather exasperating , but yet every time I read it, it just hacks my heart in to pieces. 

 Suddenly the attack happens, and it turns out that Africa, a superpower in the dystopian world, has combined forces with the Colonies, which makes it hard for the republic to win. There is also an intense scene between Anden and Day, where Day insists on evacuating the poor, and Anden insists they have to wait. I think that this is where the two's tensity is at it's peak, as it shows the difference between logistics and acting instinctively, showing the problems and depending on either alone. When they were taken to the bunks, they found the Patriots. Day offers to lead them on a mission if they were freed, and June and Aden go to Antartica for help, which they give if the Republic could find a cure. Meanwhile, after Day has bombarded the Colonies ship, the Chancellor, the leader of the Colonies threatens to kill June if Day refuses to cooperate with them. Upon the three's arrival at a meeting, it is decided that the Republic will fake a surrender to keep June alive. Day promises to motivate the people of the Republic to go against the Colonies. After this agreeement, word goes that Eden will not do to create a cure. June develops a theory that she may be another key to create a cure. Her theory turns out to be correct, and it is then there is an attack. Meanwhile, Day keeps to his promise and gives a small speech. On cue, bobs go off, and there is mass chaos. Day is almost shot in the midst of it all, and Day is saved barely by June, but not before getting amnesia. In the epilogue, Day and June start over with a brief, and here I quote, "Hi, I'm Daniel." June responds, "Hi, I'm June."

Conclusion: This ending is easily one of the most unsatisfactory satisfying endings in my reading history. The idea of starting all over again, without the turmoil of the plot is something couples rarely get, especially in dystopian novels. That is probably why I think it's unsatisfactory, because so many things can from from this. I certainly wouldn't mind another 5 year gap epilogue telling us about their life.

I hope you liked this book review! I hope you come back!
-Sooyoung Jo, Age 12-