Mockingjay

Goodreads Summary:
My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

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. District 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 Capitol. 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, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

My Review:
The last in the Hunger Games series. This one was really slow going. At first I was disappointed, but the ending made up for it. It really gave closure and I thought was quite fitting for the series. I'm glad I finished it as it was a very rewarding read.

Here Katniss is the face of the rebellion and she must figure out who is friend and who is foe. All the while she must decide what role she wants to play as well as what life she wants to lead. She has two love interests and must decide as both would bring her down very different paths.
4/5 stars

Catching Fire

Goodreads Summary:
Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss 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 in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

My Review:
The second book in the three book Hunger Game series. Even though it's the middle book, it's by far my favorite. Loose ends are beginning to get tied up. Love interests are heating up and the games are getting exciting. There are so many twists and turns in this one it's almost impossible to put down.

I really don't know how to review this one without giving out spoilers for the first, but I want to try my best and I implore anyone who wants to read this series to not read the blurbs on the books after the first one. I was really upset to discover that the blurb on the back of the last book, Mockingjay, totally ruined Catching Fire for me by giving away the biggest and most important plot point in the book.

Anyway, this is a continuation of The Hunger Games and you get to follow the main characters as they become central to a rebellion they inadvertently started as well as becoming pawns for the capitol. Katniss is the main focus throughout and she never loses momentum and continually finds a way to provide for her family. This character is quite endearing. I wish there were more positive female role models like her. She is strong, focused, and more mature than most adults, which makes this book so powerful and ultimately so fulfilling.
4/5 stars

The Hunger Games

Goodreads Summary:
Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

My Review:
Oh this was like Twilight as far as me getting sucked into the story and the lives of the characters. And it wasn't like Twilight in the sense that it talks about important issues, has a strong female lead with very concise, tight writing. I really loved this one and highly recommend it.

This is about a North America of the future, one in which there is a capitol that rules the 12 districts that the people are divided into. Each year two children, one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen from each district to fight to the death. The one survivor is the victor and these games take place to remind the residents of the districts that the capitol is in control. Those in the districts are poor, and conversely those who are better off live in the capitol. The story revolves around Katniss, who after her father's death, provides for her mother and sister by hunting. She is an intricately woven character who is a joy to follow through the series.
4/5 stars

While My Sister Sleeps

Goodreads Summary:
Molly and Robin Snow are sisters, and like all sisters they share a deep bond that sustains them through good times and bad. Their careers are flourishing --- Molly is a horticulturist and Robin is a world-class runner --- and they are in the prime of their lives. So when Molly receives the news that Robin has suffered a massive heart attack, she couldn't be more shocked. At the hospital, the Snow family receives a grim prognosis: Robin may never regain consciousness.

As Robin's parents and siblings struggle to cope, the complex nature of their relationship is put to the ultimate test. Molly has always lived in Robin's shadow and her feelings for her have run the gamut, from love to resentment and back. The last time they spoke, they argued. But now there is so much more at stake. Molly's parents fold under the devastating circumstances, and her brother retreats into the cool reserve that is shattering his own family. It's up to Molly to make the tough decisions, and she soon makes discoveries that destroy some of her most cherished beliefs about the sister she thought she knew.

My Review:
This one was pretty good, but not great. I thought there was a shallowness to the characters and while it moved pretty fast, I didn't feel much for any of them. It would be a great beach read, though.

This is about sibling rivalry in many ways. It is about a family who caters to Robin, the daughter who is in the running for the Olympics (in running, of course). The other daughter, Molly, tends to the family business, which is a very large nursery. Her passion is for plants and she loves her work, however, the entire family is devoted to Robin's Olympic dreams. The son creates a subplot as he struggles to hold his marriage together. The story begins with Robin having a heart attack during training and the family learning to cope as well as placing blame on each other for this event. As we weave through the adult lives of these children we learn the meaning of family and what we are willing to sacrifice for others.
3/5 stars