Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mockingjay Review


Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Okay, first of all I had the HIGHEST expectations for this book. I loved the first one to death (Five Stars), the second one got a 4.5, and this one?... 3.5 stars. *GASP* I know right. Well, before you exit out and start hating me, hear me out.

The characters were so aggravating. Katniss turned emo and depressing on us. Peeta's "true love" didn't conquer (you know what I mean if you've read it). And Gale, ah, dear Gale... I wanted to slap him for being so feelingless. Does this make sense? The characters I thought I had known did a sort of 180 degree turn.

The writing was... eh. The last few chapters or so were so completely confusing! I had to read and re-read to figure out what was going on! And at the climax of the book, Suzanne puts a blindfold on us and has us stumble through. I felt like she had suddenly gotten tired or something and had taken the easy way out. I did NOT like Katniss' love interest, I was rooting for the other one. The ending sort of dropped, literally. I was like "what", out loud. Another thing was that some of the characters completely disappeared. I kept asking myself, "so where is this person exactly?"

This was still a good book, I read it in one sitting. And yes, this book was not all crud. It made me laugh out loud and even cry. But, the ending, in my opinion, was terrible, and I feel Suzanne Collins got lazy and just ended it all. That made me mad. After I finished it, I closed the book, sat in shocked silence for five minutes, and then began punching pillows. You know, that leaves me feeling very disappointed, because I was really looking forward to a spectacular conclusion. But, I still like the series and I don't regret reading it. It's just that "Mockingjay" wasn't the best book out of the three.

Well, if you read this far, thanks. And please, comment and tell me what you think.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Re: Why do we read books that make us sad?




I saw this question on bloggers-heart-books and I wanted to share the comment I made on it with all of you.

I read sad books to sort of remind me of the reality of things. There are thousands of books out there that are all fluff and happy endings. But life isn't always like that. What about that family who's mother died of cancer? What about that man who lost his wife in 9/11? What about that single mother who lost her son in a car wreck? Sure, we read books so we can enter a world other than the one we live in, but if we only read books with completely happy endings won't we forget about the realness of life? And anyway, you know the book was amazing if it made you cry :)

Oh, and "My Sister's Keeper" made me bawl.

My Favorite Book Couples

*WARNING! MAY CONTAIN SPOLERS*

10th Place - "The Gemma Doyle Trilogy" - Libba Bray
Kartik and Gemma (Their love was so beautiful and heartbreaking... read it to find out why.)
9th Place - "The Graceling" - Kristin Cashore
Katsa and Po (Again, heartbreaking... reminded me of the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester. If you know the ending to both books, I bet you're all, "OH YEAH!")
8th Place - "Jane Eyre" Charlotte Bronte
Jane and Mr. Rochester (Look above for explanation :P)
7th Place - "The Goose Girl" Shannon Hale
Ani and Geric (They loved each other before they new they were both royalty... and I think they're just so adorable ^.^)
6th Place - "Dragonfly" Julia Golding
Taoshira and Ramil (I have a thing for main characters hating each other and then falling in love *cough, Sailor Moon, cough*. Yeah, and the last sentence Ramil said in the end... oh my goodness, I nearly died.)
5th Place - "The IronKing" Julie Kagawa
Ash and Meghan (Forbidden love. Complete opposites. Yadahyadahya.)
4th Place - "The Looking Glass Wars" Frank Beddor
Dodge and Alyss (Oh, I also have a thing for childhood friends...)
3rd Place - "The Darkest Powers Series" Kelley Armstrong
Derek and Chloe (These two are soooooo adorable together! I love them!)
2nd Place - "Romeo and Juliet" William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet (Gosh, they are the lovers of all lovers. Their love has transcended death and they are an icon for all couples today! Well, just don't kill yourself.)
1st Place - "Pride and Prejudice" Jane Austen
Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth (Oh my gosh, who doesn't love these two! Ah! They didn't fall for each other the second they saw each other. They both had faults... Gosh I adore them!)

Okay people. Please comment. But, no flames. This is just my opinion. I'm not forcing you to agree with me. Oh, and favorite couples change for me all the time.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Help?

Okay, I want to make my blog pretty. You know, a bunch of gadgets, widgtets... whatever. But I want to make my blog neat and organized, I just don't know how to do that. Anyone want to explain? ^.^

Powells Books

I'll be posting a Powell's Books haul ASAP. I spent waaayyyyy too much money. But hey, tax free cheap books.... you couldn't stop me.

Immortal Series DOWNFALL!!

Ok, remember earlier how much I loved the Immortal Series by Alyson Noel... yeah, that changed. The books got worse as each one came out. I still loved them. But when the latest book "Dark Flame" came it. IT. KILLED. ME. I can't say too much without spoiling, but the main character kept on making STUPID AND DUMB mistakes over and over again! Gah! I couldn't handle it. I slammed the book down and slid it on my shelf. I'll finish it when I think I can handle it.

Book Haul no. 1

Okay people, so I can't do book haul's on youtube. I'm not allowed to show my face, but now I'm a smarty pants and I'll do the book hauls here :D

These are the books I've gotten in the past two or so weeks.

Barnes and Noble:

"High School Debut vol. 12 & 13 - Kazune Kawahara" (SERIES COMPLETED!!!!!! ROCK ON!)

"B.O.D.Y vol. 10 -Ao Mimori" (If you've never heard of this series, I just wanted to let you know, despite the title, there is no smut. Promise.)

"The Eternal Ones - Kirsten Miller" (Another book about undying love?! LE GASP!)

Book Warehouse:

"Prism - Faye Kellerman" (I got this in hardback for $4.99! Talk about good deal!)

"Before Green Gables - Budge Wilson" (Looked cool, so I picked it up. I loved "Anne of Green Gables".

"Sonnets from the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning" (How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...)

Curriculum Convention:

"Under the Lilacs - Louisa May Alcott" (This is an antique book I purchased there, I believe it was published in 1919... don't quote me.)

(These next few books are books that went out of print a loooong time ago, but a company re-released them.)

"A Peep Behind the Scenes - Mrs. O.F. Walton" (1877)

"The Hidden Hand - E.D.E.N. Southworth" (1859)

"The Lamplighter - Maria S. Cummins" (1854)

"Ishmael - E.D.E.N. Southworth" (1876)

"Self Raised - E.D.E.N Southworth" (1876, sequel to "Ishmael")

OH YEAH. Awesome haul, SCORE!