Nope, this isn't my giveaway (sorry peeps) - it's Rachel Coker's!
Rachel Coker is a published author of two amazing books, and she's only 17...that is, she's only 17 for a couple more days. In honor of her 18th birthday she is giving away 18 books, two of which are her own works of awesomeness!
Yeah, pretty exciting.
Anyways, here's the link to a giveaway I'm sure none of my fellow book lovers could pass by:
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.
~
I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. I had already seen the trailer, which confused me like crazy, and was excited to read the scenes I'd seen and piece it all together.
My thoughts while watching the trailer:
"Aww, I'm so glad Katniss is home!"
"Ohhh, here comes the rebellion..."
"*sigh* Peeta..."
"I bet that's district 11"
"Hope. Cameras. Mockingjay."
"The odds are never in our favor"
"Dun duh DUH."
"Peacekeepers?"
"Katniss, noooo! Don't kiss him!"
"Now you're in TROUBLE."
"*gasp* Gale!"
"Prim is so adorable..."
"What?"
"What?!?"
"WHAT?!?"
"Effie..."
"What is going on here?!?"
"I love her dress!"
"Woah, who's that guy?"
"That lady has freaky teeth."
"Go Katniss!"
"Okay, now I REALLY love her dress!"
"More fire costumes. Cool."
"There's no way that's a coincidence! Water. Girl on Fire. Water."
And finally:
"This is going to be EPIC."
~
Reading the book answered all my questions, thankfully. Let me explain the whole 'Katniss and Peeta are going back into the arena and some of the tributes are old' thing.
Every 25 years there is a 'special' Games. This is called the Quarter Quell.
Before the Games begun (or so they say...) the rules for future Quarter Quells were written in envelopes and put in a box. Guess what? The tributes are pulled from the existing victors.
Just try to tell me this was a coincidence. Go ahead.
I mean, seriously Snow? It just so happened that in the midst of a rebellion rising, you are able to get rid of the cause. Yeah, I think not.
Anyway, this book was SO good. I might even say better than The Hunger Games. If I had to describe Catching Fire in one word it would be: intense.
I couldn't put it down. My mom had to suffer through my ramblings about districts and Finnick and clocks and Finnick and Peeta and Finnick and sugar cubes and Finnick and wedding dresses and Finnick and, well, let's just say I like Finnick. He made me cry, so did Mags, and not a lot of character's can do that.
Plot line: Amazing.
Characters: Amazing.
Finnick: Amazing.
~
5 Stars
Age 15+ (depends on maturity)
Reasons: sexual references, kissing, suspense, and death
~
Just for conversation's sake: Who's planning on seeing Catching fire in the theaters?
Since this is a very popular book, I doubt I really need to write a summary for it. Never-the-less, I will give you the general blurb.
(Adapted from Goodreads)
Katniss, 16, takes her
sister's place in the televised annual Hunger Games, competing against
Peeta, the boy who gave them bread to survive after their father died.
The cruel Capitol forces each of 12 districts to submit a boy and girl, ages12-18, to fight to the death. There is ultimately only one survivor.
~
When this series first became a big thing, I wasn't part of it. First off, when I heard they were making a movie called "The Hunger Games" I was like 'what in the world?'. Then as I started to hear more of what it was about I was even more apprehensive. A bunch of kids fighting to the death? Gross.
It wasn't until a while after the movie was out on DVD that I got truly interested in the story. I'm sure part of my wanting to read it was because it was so popular, but it was more the plot; the idea of a nation that could one day be the one I'm living in right now. It seemed impossible...but is it really? I'm not saying I expect America to turn into something exactly like Panem, but I believe it's not that far-fetched.
Anyway, back to The Hunger Games. as I said, it wasn't until after the movie was out, and the fandom had quieted down a bit, that I was actually interested in reading it. My parents, however, weren't sure if it was something I should read. It took some time, but eventually my mom and I sat down and watched the movie.
Now, I know what you're thinking: What? She watched the movie before reading the book?!? Hypocrite!
(I'm just going to hide in a corner now, while your anger cools off...it's probably not the best time to mention I haven't read the Lord of the Rings trilogy yet, is it?...)
... ... ... ... ...
I'm back! Are you done shooting furious cyber-darts at me? Okay, good.
So, yeah I watched the movie before having read the book. I really wish I hadn't though, the book is SO much better! (not to mention I think the movie was pretty poorly directed...)
Reasons to like The Hunger Games:
1. You don't find a lot of well written books in first person. This was a reason why I had wanted to read it. I like writing in first person. Also, The Hunger Games does not have a lot of dialogue, which surprised me because I didn't even notice until halfway through that something was missing. I guess it was because it's written in a way that dialogue isn't needed. All you need is Katniss' thoughts and emotions.
2. I felt pulled on to an emotional journey: Katniss' emotional journey. It was so easy to feel what she felt and see what she saw. She is an amazingly written character.
3. The plot. Even though the plot was ruined for me from watching the movie, it still is a twisty-turney plot that leaves you wanting more.
4. The secondary characters are very well written. You get a good feel for them, their lives, their past, their emotions.
5. If you've seen the movie and haven't read the book there are still plenty of surprises they left out in the film. Read the book!
So, overall this book is so worth reading. Just as long as you're up for a futuristic distopian about death, loss, love, courage, rebellion, trust, confusion, and grumpy cats. :) ~
5 stars
Age 15+ (depends on maturity level) Reasons: brief sexual reference, kissing, and kids killing each other. The gore is well handled and not too gross, but definitely not written for someone who doesn't like death, blood, or killing.
~
Question for those who've read the books/seen the movie:
Who do you prefer, Gale or Peeta? Why? What do like of their personality?
My answer:
Peeta for sure. I mean, Gale is nice and sweet and a good friend, but I just feel like Katniss and Peeta are made for each other. Besides, Peeta's a baker. I'd choose baker over hunter any day ;)
Scarlet's grandmother is missing. The townspeople suspect suicide...what else could it be? No note. No missing items. Just gone. Scarlet refuses to believe her grandmother would do such a horrible thing. Her grandmother, the kind and somewhat strict woman that raised Scarlet after the passing of her mother. No. It was not suicide. But what?
Then she meets Wolf, a cryptic street fighter with information on her grandmother's whereabouts. What Scarlet doesn't expect, after she decides to let him help, is to fall in love.
Meanwhile, Cinder, with the humorous and 'charming' convict named Thorne, escape from prison and flee to outer-space. Cinder is still very apprehensive of her Lunar gift, not just because she doesn't want control people, but that she enjoys it when she does.
Queen Levana is on the move - sneaking her way through Prince Kai's defenses - and is coming closer and closer to having the Eastern Commonwealth in her clutches.
Here it is folks! My review on Scarlet, the sequel of the amazing book Cinder.
I'll start by saying that this book is just as epic as it's companion. The characters were just as well written and the plot was just as awesome.One thing that I liked more about Scarlet was the plot-twists. Cinder was pretty easy to predict, but Scarlet surprised me more frequently. No worries, I won't give anything away! Just be prepared...(cue suspenseful music...)
The Characters:
Scarlet - In one sentence: A spunky redhead who delivers produce from her grandma's farm to neighboring businesses. That is, until her grandmother goes missing. I enjoyed reading her stubbornly funny character.
WOLF - Sorry, I couldn't help putting his name in caps, he's just such a bold, strong character. After a few chapters, I thought I had him sorted out, but NO. At first, he's just so mysterious and strange, then that all changes, then it changes again and again, until I barely knew what to think of him. Really neat character here.
Thorne - Now, this man...he's one of my favorites. Made me laugh and want to slap him at the same time. In three words he's: Arrogant (not in a really bad way, he's just good-looking and knows it), Charming (maybe flirtatious is a better word...), and Funny, really funny.
Grand-mère - Yeah, I forgot to mention Scarlet and her Grandmother live in France...Anyways, this grandma rocks! Even though she's only in a few scenes, you get a sense of who she is: A spunky, stubborn, retired military officer. A woman who may or may not have vital information on the missing Lunar Princess Selene...
Besides these four characters, and a group of villians, there isn't really any new characters - all the rest are from Cinder.
The Plot:
As I've already stated, it's full of twists and turns that left me spinning. The chapter are mostly written in either Scarlet's or Cinder's perspective, but a few are in Thorne's, Kai's, and even Queen Levana's, which I personally liked. I must admit though, I was eager to get to Cinder's chapters more than Scarlet's...
Overall, this book was AMAZING. I can't wait for the next one titled Cress, which doesn't come out until February of next year. *sob*
Callie Woodland lives in a futuristic Beverly Hills. Her brother is sick, she's too young to be employed, and they're both unclaimed minors hiding from marshals. The only way Callie can make money is to sell her body for periods of time.
You see, a company called Prime Destinations developed a way to give the elderly a chance to be young again. A way for the old and invalid to do things they might other-wise never have been able to. Sky-diving, snowboarding, racing!
Basically, they get put into the teenagers' bodies.Can anyone say creepy?
So, Callie, with no where else to go, signs the contract with Prime destinations. Then, something causes her to wake up during one of her rentals and she finds herself tangled in a messy scheme that will most likely end with her being killed.
~
Okay.
This book looked really interesting when I picked it up. Distopians are what I seem to be most interested in lately, and this looked like it'd be cool, so I was like 'why not?'.
Plot-line: Pretty well done. I didn't feel dropped into a wad of futuristic terms and complexity, so it was easy to understand what was going on. The over-all idea of the book was cool. I mean, people who know how to put other older people into kids' bodies? Neat idea!
The beginning is slow and took a little getting used to. Callie goes to Prime and decides to go through with renting out her body. She gets a complete make-over, complete with laser treatments. She's insured, of course, and the renter is under a strict 'no doing dangerous things that could harm your rental and no sex' rule. So, what could possibly go wrong? Ha.
The middle is where something goes wrong. During her third rental, Callie wakes up. She receives a cryptic message telling her that, for her own safety, she mustn't go back to Prime. She listens and proceeds to live like she's her renter.
The end was probably the best part of the book. I was actually mildly surprised!
Characters: Hollow. Even the Callie, who should be the most fleshed-out character, was hard to relate to. It was all so messy. For example: I think there's supposed to be a love triangle, but you can't really tell because their emotions aren't portrayed well. Oh, and the Old Man (villain) wasn't...well, scary or threatening. Just mysterious and strange. Personally, I like a villain I can hate, and I can't say I hated the Old Man. I can't say I have any connection at all to any of the characters. It was disappointing.
~
3 Stars
Ages 14+
(brief kissing scene and sexual references)
As some of you know, I recently read Veronica Roth's fantastic book Divergent...and in the book there are these simulations where the characters are put through their worst fears. This made me wonder, what are my fears? At first, I couldn't really think of a lot. I mean, I'm not afraid of heights or water or snakes. None of the big things I hear others say they're scared of. So, what am I afraid of? Even now, as I'm writing this, I still can't think of a lot of things that are scary to me. There are things I'm grossed out by, like bugs and blood, but does that mean I'm scared of them? There's also things I'm nervous about, like performing and meeting new people, but does that make me scared of those things? I don't think so.
Going new places, like a new church, will make me nervous, but it takes me (at max) 30 seconds to start a conversation and talk like I'm bff's with the person. Well, most of the time. There's always that odd relationship that you kind of hide from; that person you skirt around to avoid awkward conversation. I am really bubbly, random, and crazy, so it's usually not difficult for me to jump in to a situation/conversation. Except awkward ones. I can't stand those. Just sitting there, in silence or having small talk, isn't enough for me. I want to be laughing and babbling and having a good time...all the time!
Wow, please stop me next time I decide to go on a totally off-subject rant.
Anyway...What am I afraid of? Well, below is a complex, weirdly reasoned list of the first five to pop into my head.
(Note: These are not greatest to least or least to greatest - it's just a list)
My Five Fears
1. Falling to my death. I'm not afraid of heights in general, but if it doesn't seem safe to me, then I get nervous.
2. Being alone forever. Now, believe me, I like my alone time as much as the next person. I just have this fear of having no-one/losing everyone.
3. Icky, crawly bugs. In my bed, or in my closet - laying nests of more icky, crawly bugs.
4. Being
blind. I don't know...I think I'd get used to this one...maybe, but I
still have this irrational fear of my vision slowly fading away like
Mary Ingalls... (sorry, no gif for this one)
And last, but certainly not least:
5.Statues. Thank you, Doctor Who. Or should I say, Moffat.
(Sorry to any Whovians out there, I just couldn't resist this gif)
~
There you have it: my top five fears. Honestly, I can't really think of any more things that I'd actually consider "fears"...More like figments of my paranoid imagination...
Beatrice Prior lives in a society divided into five factions, each established on particular virtues. She's part of Abnegation: the selfless, serving faction. Each year, all the sixteen-year-olds go through simulation to determine what faction fits them best. Then they have the choice to leave the lives they've known, and join a different faction, or remain where they are for the rest of their lives. When Beatrice goes in for her simulation, she gets more than one result. She is told she is Divergent, and that being so is dangerous.
This book is fantastic.
Can I just leave it at that? No?
I guess I'll give you a proper review then, if you insist.
First, I'll explain the factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Candor, and Erudite.
After the war ended, society divided into the five factions based on what they believe the cause of the war was. For example:The Dauntless believe cowardice was the cause, therefore they are dedicated to bravery. At least, that was the original plan. With new headship, the Dauntless seem to have lost the virtues they were founded on. How do we know this? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot to mention that Beatrice chooses Dauntless and changes her name to Tris. (I promise this is not spoiler! It's very obvious that she's going to pick it)
Now that we've got the factions down (it took me forever to get them all straight) we can take a look at the characters and plot.
The characters are well written, relatable, and lovable (some of them, not the villains, obviously). Especially Tris. She is smart, brave, and most importantly, selfish. Selfish? Why would I like a selfish character? Well, because that's what makes her human. When a character has unrealistic qualities, it's pretty hard to attach to them because you don't know them in a physical way. Tris is not one of those characters.
And neither is Four.
I really like him, and that's statement, because I usually don't care for the male love interests. It might be because of my curiosity to learn why he's called "four", which, by the way, you do learn by the end of the book (so I'm not gonna say anything...). But I think it's also because he's portrayed well. I feel like I know him. There's really nothing more to say.
The other initiates were written well too. Even though they have smaller parts in the story, you seem to get a good look at their personalities and pasts. I was pretty attached to one of them, then, of course, he died.
Funny Sad how that works, huh?
Plot: The beginning was interesting, stepping into this society of factions and learning how the story-world worked. The middle was...painful, funny, and sad. Becoming Dauntless isn't easy, and Roth doesn't make it seem so. The end was pretty shocking, sad, and gripping. I cannot wait to read Insurgent! (unfortunately the waiting list at my library is really, really, agonizingly long...)
I'd recommend this book to Hunger Games lovers and people who like dystopian fiction.
Five Stars
Age: 15+
(Violence, brief kissing scene, and sexual reference)
There's a movie adaptation coming to theaters March 21, 2014! So excited!
