Book #27 -- Mockingjay

Derrick has already given you his thoughts on Suzanne Collins' final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. Now it's my turn. I waited over 24 hours to gather my thoughts on this, and I'm still not sure I'm ready to review it. I'm going to try anyway. I'm going to try not to be too specific in case anyone reading this hasn't read the first two (and if you haven't, you should be ashamed), but there may be some spoilers.You've been warned



In Mockingjay, Katniss finds herself in the center of a revolution. The rebels are using her as the "face" of their cause, and the Capitol (the old regime in Panem) is determined to get rid of her. She's adjusting to a new way of life now that she's living outside of Panem's law, and she's also dealing with the fact that she feels personally guilty for so many deaths. Then there's the whole Peeta/Gale thing, and the fact that a lot of her former "team" members are being held and tortured by the Capitol. You know, basically the same thing every seventeen year old deals with. No big deal.

Despite the fact that there's a lot of stuff going on in this book, it's somehow still pretty slow. I read both of the first books in a couple of days each, in that "couldn't-put-it-down" fashion. This one took me... oh... almost a month. The pacing just seemed a little off. It seemed like the first 3/4ths dragged and the last 1/4th was rushed. Or that there just wasn't so much of an ending at all? I don't know, I'm so conflicted about this.

I wouldn't say that I'm disappointed, it's just that it feels a little empty. But I think it's supposed to. It is empty. There's no sense of hope and triumph and "yaaaay, it all worked out!" Strange for any book these days, but especially a young adult book. I was sad when I finished it, for sure. Much like Derrick said, I think the more I think about it, the more I understand why things happened the way they did, but man... I got so invested in all of these people that I wanted a little better for them.

Obviously, I still recommend the entire series, and for God's sake, if you've read the other two, don't skip the last one. But don't expect an epic feel-good ending, 'cause it ain't there.

Here's what I found the most interesting, though. At the end of the book, in Collins' acknowledgments, you will find this:

"... Jason Dravis, my longtime entertainment agent, I feel so lucky to have you watching over me as we head for the screen."

Well. That's intriguing.

3.5/5 stars

Read from October 5, 2010 to October 25, 2010.

--C

Drawing a Blank: Or How I Tried to Solve a Mystery, End a Feud, and Land the Girl of My Dreams (16)

I picked up Drawing a Blank by Daniel Ehrenhaft for next to nothing on the clearance shelf at BAM! one day last summer, and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since.  For some reason, when I was looking for my next read, I picked it up, and I'm glad I did.

The book centers around Carlton Dunne IV, a loner who is more at home in his published comic strip than in his own life.  His mother has died, his step-mother has left, and his father has shipped him off to a boarding school, where he suffers the tortures of adolescence.  Soon, however, he is drawn into a world shadowed in his comics where he learns things about his father, his family, and himself along the way.

With it's 17-year-old protagonist, you would think that the target audience would be high school students, but I found that it would probably fit better into a middle school classroom.  I could see myself teaching this to 7th or 8th grade students (or possibly 9th), but nothing much higher than that.  The chapters are short, which makes for a really quick read, and the comic panels sprinkled throughout add an element of creativity and depth.

Overall, I'm really glad I picked up this book.  I may even try to work it into a lesson some day.

4/5 Stars

--D

Fluke by Christopher Moore (15)

Yeah, I went with another Christopher Moore book. I loved Fool so much, I pretty much had to.

Fluke was quite a bit different than Fool or Lamb, though. The satire in this book is much more subtle, but definitely there. This book actually reminded me a lot of some of Kurt Vonnegut's books, with a humanist slant and a dash of sci-fi.

The writing quality was excellent, and the story was well crafted, if a bit like a roller coaster. The beginning of the book is a bit of an uphill climb, as it takes a while to get going. Once it does, though, it's a fast-paced, up-and-down ride with plenty of twists and turns and a nice coast into the end.

Fool is still my favorite Christopher Moore book, but Fluke was a good read.

4/5 Stars
--D

Fool by Christopher Moore (14)

This was almost my second review of a book by Christopher Moore.  His book Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff was the last book I read before we started the blog, and I loved it.  However, it wasn't until I read Fool that Moore cemented a place in my top five authors, putting him up there with my other two favorite satirists, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Mark Twain.

Fool is Moore's take on a classic Shakespearean tale with the punchy satire of Vonnegut and the riotous British comedy of Eddie Izzard.  It follow Pocket, King Lear's court fool across five acts set in the early 13th century.  The key to its humor (humour?), though, is the blend of medieval society and Shakespearean language with modern memes and cheeky British wit.  I found myself laughing hysterically on several occasions (be sure to read the footnotes!).

Like the last few books I've read, I read this on in a mix of traditional and audio, but both were great.  The audio version was great because, as an American, British slang is funnier when I hear it spoken.  However, the audio version did not include the footnotes, and I often found myself reviewing chapters I had already heard just to read them.

All in all, Fool is one of the funniest book's I've ever read, and Christopher Moore is one of my favorite contemporary authors.  I cannot suggest this book enough.

5/5 Stars
--D

Book #26 -- Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery

A historical fiction Kindle freebie! Yes! This book is the first of a series, and undoubtedly this is offered for free on the Kindle so that you feel compelled to buy all of the other ones after you read it.

In Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery by James R. Benn, Boston cop Billy Boyle finds himself drafted into the army in the middle of World War II. His uncle is some dude named Dwight Eisenhower (heard of him? I haven't), so he manages to land a desk job instead of being sent to the front lines of battle. He goes to London and is stationed at the Norwegian headquarters there. He quickly learns that there is a German spy somewhere within the Norwegian headquarters. Soon enough, there's a murder to solve. Even though he's naive and unprepared, Billy has to put his police training to work to help the U.S. Army in the middle of World War II.

I enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure everyone would. Toward the beginning, there's a lot of political/military talk that I can take with the bat of an eye after five years of history courses, but it might be a bit confusing to someone who's not interested in history. Some of the background information kind of seemed like they were written like a textbook instead of a story.

Billy isn't the strongest of characters to carry an entire series, if you ask me. He's rather "aw, shucks" and "dang, this crap is hard," which I guess is supposed to make him relatable and endearing, but I have no patience for... um, anything, so he kind of just got on my nerves. There's enough going on that it didn't ruin the book for me at all, but unless he toughens up a little, I'm not sure I could handle him as the protagonist for a whole series.

This is one of those rare books where the sub-plots were more interesting to me than the main plot. The whole spy-murder-conspiracy business was intriguing until they started figuring it out, and then I was just like, "... OK." For a book set in the middle of a war with so many opportunities to include some crazy, twisted, mind-blowing vigilante stuff, I felt like the route Benn took with the plot was lacking. Especially the ending.

If I stumble across these books in the future, I may pick them up... And who knows, I may get a wild hair for some World War II fiction one day and actively seek out another book in this series. For now, I'm going to say this was a decent piece of historical fiction and move on to the much-anticipated Mockingjay.

2.5/5 Stars

Read from September 23, 2010 to October 4, 2010

-- C

The Hunger Games Trilogy (11-13)

I started The Hunger Games last Monday, and really didn't spend much time with the actual book in my hand.  The Audible version, narrated by Carolyn McCormick instead made my hour-plus commute much more enjoyable than usual.

I don't plan to go into too much detail where plot points are concerned, as Chassi has already hit the main points in her posts on The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and I want to save the meat of the Mockingjay review for her since she's the reason I read this series in the first place.

I will echo her sentiment that the world Collins builds in the trilogy is very reminiscent of the world of Lois Lowry's The Giver, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The way Collins plays on the (dis)connectedness of those in the districts and the power and control of those in the Capitol makes for a heart-felt and finely crafted world.  My only complaint in this area is the lack of a map, but that just may be the fantasy novel lover inside of me. 

The story itself is extremely compelling, playing on both the action and the emotional aspects and motivations of the characters.  In places, it brings in quite a bit of social commentary, which is always a plus in my opinion.  My complaint here is the tired trope of so many YA books with female heroines--the woe-is-me, Team Peeta-Team Gale love triangle.  A little less focus on that and a little more focus on the social aspects would have served the story well.

As far as the end of the trilogy, parts of it seemed a bit rushed.  At first, I was disappointed in the final chapter of Mockingjay, but the epilogue saved it for me.  In fact, the more I reflect on the book, the more I understand why Collins had to end it the way she did.

Overall, this was a great trilogy, especially for young adults, but with plenty to offer for older readers as well.

4.5/5 Stars


--D

Book #25 -- The King's Nun

As a historian of sorts (a degree in history and social science education counts as being a historian, right?), I was drawn to this book because of its historical theme… Oh, yeah, and also because it was in the big box of $1 books at Books-A-Million. Admittedly, I knew as soon as I read the description on the back that it very well could have been a cheesy, terrible romance-esque novel, but I’m proud to say that it wasn’t. My $1 and I are pleased.

Catherine Monroe's The King's Nun is about a young soon-to-be nun named Amelia who is chosen by her abbess to lead King Charlemagne on a tour of their monetary when he comes to visit. The monetary is in need of some financial aide, and Amelia’s job is to convince the king to give them some dough. When King Charlemagne arrives, Amelia realizes that she’s met him before, only she didn‘t know he was the king back then. Juicy, right?

King Charlemagne is impressed with Amelia’s intelligence, and soon he sends for her to come to the palace to advise him on some family issues. She’s not too thrilled about it, but she and the king become very close over the course of her stay at the palace. Not close like that, you gutter-minded animals, but, you know, emotionally close. Sort of. But eventually the king has to go to war with those dirty Saxons, and Amelia goes on with her life. I’d say the vast majority of the novel doesn’t even taken place with Amelia and Charlemagne in the same place.

Anyway, this easily could’ve taken a turn for the trashy side, but it really didn’t. There are no gratuitous sexual scenes, no mention of “loins,” and no trite happily-ever-after ending. I like that. Because of the subject matter, it kind of reminded me of The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, which is hands-down my favorite book ever. Monasteries and royals and history and all that.

I feel like I should mention one tiny thing that bothered me, even though I know I’m a total snob and this wouldn’t bother most normal people. The chapters go back and forth between Amelia’s point of view and Charlemagne’s point of view, which is totally fine. The problem is that Amelia’s chapters are written in the first person and Charlemagne’s are written in the third person limited. Why does that bother me? I don’t have a clue, but it did. I’m cool with bouncing to different view points (in fact, I think most of my favorite books do that), but aaarrgghhh, keep it in the same person.

All in all, it was a quick, entertaining little story, and I think it was well worth my time. I dare say it might have even been worth more than I paid for it.

3 out of 5 stars

Read from September 14, 2010 to September 22, 2010

--C