Fight for Life: The Hunger Games

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Collins, Suzanne
Genre: Distopian Literature
Rating: 10/10
Disclaimers: Violence and Deaths
Plot: Katniss Everdeen is a teenager that works hard to provide for her mom and little sister, Prim.  The family lives in District 12 in the country of Panem.  Yearly, the country holds an event called the Hunger Games.   Two tributes, one boy and one girl, from each of the 12 districts, are chosen to fight in an arena to the death.  Unfortunately, Katniss' younger sister, Prim, is chosen as tribute at the reaping.  Katniss immediately volunteers as tribute in place of Prim.  The chosen male tribute is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, who has a secret crush on Katniss.  Katniss is not in touch with her lovey-dovey side and is somewhat embarassed when she comes to find out.  The tributes are trained and prepared for the fight in the arena.  Through different factors Katniss gains popularity. While fighting in the arena the tributes are faced with many obstacles and challenges.  Not only do they have to survive each other, but they have to survive nature.
Theme: In my opinion, major theme in this novel is scheming and solving.  The leaders of Panem plot and scheme so that the games turn out the way they want.  The tributes also have to scheme and make survival plans.  Solving comes in when the tributes have to fight against the other tributes and the leaders of Panem.
Style: The Hunger Games is told in first person by the main character and protagonist, Katniss.  I like this style because it makes it seem like someone is telling me a true story about their life.  It made me care for the main character, and I found myself cheering her on.
Audience: The intended audience is young adults.  I think this is because the main characters are teenagers.  Young adults can relate to the main characters, that are teenagers also, and it helps the reader to be more engaged in the story.
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone that can handle a little violence.  I don't love to read but I do enjoy it.  This book taught me to love reading.  I could not put it down, and all I wanted was to know what happened next.  Stephen King (Entertainment Weekly) said that The Hunger Games is "A violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nerly constant suspense....I couldn't stop reading."  So many details play into this book and it is always keeping you on your toes.  The Hunger Games is "Brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced," said John Green (The New York Times Book Review)  This is my favorite book.  If you are looking for a good read, I would definately recommend this one.

Puzzle Pieces: Nobody's There

TITLE: Nobody's There (2000)
AUTHOR: Lowery Nixon, Joan
GENRE: Mystery
RATING: 7/10
WARNINGS: None
PLOT:
We all have moments when we act before we think, and Abbie Thompson does just that.  Angry at her cheating father for breaking up their family, Abbie acts out and gets arrested for malicious mischief.  Now the judge has assigned her to volunteer in the Friend to Friend program (a program which matches a teen with an elderly woman).  From the first time she met Edna Merkel, Abbie knew the old woman wasn't just your average senior citizen.  Mrs. Merkel was cranky, difficult, and not only is she a part of the town's crime prevention group, but she thinks she's a private investigator.  After getting too involved in a crime,  Mrs. Merkel brags about being onto something big, and ends up attacked.  Suddenly, the private investigator game is real, and Abbie must put all the puzzle pieces together.
THEME:
A major theme is this book, is choices have consequences.  This theme is explored in a few different areas.  First we see how some of Mr. Thompson's choices lead to the breaking apart of his family.  Second, we also see that because Abbie acts out she is arrested and assigned to the Friend to Friend program.  And third, we see that because Mrs. Merkel got too involved in a crime, she was attacked.
STYLE:
In this book the author uses third-person omniscient.  I think this style was good for this book, because there are a lot of characters and elements that come into play throughout the story.  With this style I knew everyone's thoughts and feelings, and it helped me to really tie the details together.
AUDIENCE:
The intended audience for this book is young adults.  The main character is a young adult, and I myself am a young adult.  Because of this, I was able to understand some of the things Abbie was going through.  Nobody's There is a very appropriate book and in my opinion, not offensive in any way.  Children, young adults, and adults could all enjoy this read.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
In my opinion, Nobody's There, is a fairly decent book.  It has a slower start, but the ending was enticing.  Booklist said this book is "an engaging suspense story with diverse characters, plenty of plot twists, and a staisfying ending."
I would recommend this mystery to anyone looking for a quick read with a good ending.  Nobody's There kept me curious and thinking. While I read I became a private investegator of the crime myself.  "The plot is just tense enough, not too scary, with a special focus on a family in the midst of a divorce." -Alexandra Zissu.  Adult or child, Nobody's There is worth picking up.
Signed,
Private Investegator

Bringing Warmth to the Alaskan Cold: Tisha

TITLE: Tisha (1976)

AUTHOR: Specht, Robert
GENRE: Historical Fiction
RATING: 8/10
WARNINGS: Mild Language
PLOT:
Anne Hobbs is a nineteen year old school teacher from Colorado.  Seeking for adventure she finds a job in Chicken, a small town deep in the roots of Alaska.  While traveling horseback to her new home in Chicken, Anne is already faced with difficulties. Once Anne has arrived to Chicken, she excels with her teaching and the students love her.  Due to their lack of grammar and speech abilities the children struggle to say teacher, and instead call Anne 'tisha'.  Anne quickly makes friends with the townspeople. But as soon as she befriends the local Indians, Anne's newly made friends despise her.  Anne has to fight against racism and stand up for what she believes is right, even if that means risking her job.
THEME:
The major theme of this book is being true to who you are.  Throughout the book we see that even though Anne is just nineteen years old, she knows who she is and will not lower her standards just to fit in with the crowd.  Anne sees the good in people and does not believe that skin color, or financial wealth, define who a person truly is.
STYLE:
The style of this book is first person.  Anne tells this story through her eyes and we get to see her thoughts throughout all her difficulties.  I thought it was a good choice of style because it showed me how all the hard things affected her thoughts, and how determined she was to overcome everything.
AUDIENCE:
Tisha is a young adult novel, but its true story of courage and strength, appeals to all ages.  The book is not a very hard read, but it keeps the reader interested.
RECOMMENDATION:
I read Tisha because my neighbor told me it was one of her favorites.  After reading, and growing close to the characters, I can definitely say it's on my list of favorites.  Anne Hobbs is an inspiration and she dared "to face down the community's violent disapproval when she dared to treat the local Indians as human beings..." (The New York Times)
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt said that Tisha "managed to suspend all [his] disbelief as [he] read it."  This book is informing, adventurous and truly brings warmth to the Alaskan cold.  "The memoir reads like an old-fashioned novel, a heartwarming love story with the added interest of frontier hardships and vividly portrayed characters." (Publishers Weekly)
Signed,
Heart Warmed

ADDICT: Breaking Dawn

BOOK TITLE: Breaking Dawn (2008)
AUTHOR: Meyer, Stephenie
GENRE: Paranormal Romance
RATING: 9/10
WARNINGS: Sexual Content and Mild Language

PLOT SUMMARY:
Book 1 (Told by Bella)- Most girls dream of a story book wedding, but Isabella (Bella) Swan could care less about all the details.  The only thing Bella is dreaming of is the long life she will spend with her vampire soul mate, Edward Cullen.  After exchanging vows and rings, Edward and Bella head to Isle Esme for their honeymoon.  The couple cautiously try, and successfully make love.  Edwards strength leaves Bella bruised. After a few short weeks as newlyweds, the honeymoon is ended instantly due to an unexpected factor.
Book 2 (Told by Jacob)- The werewolf pack hears that Bella is under quarantine and has picked up a South American disease.  The pack assumes this is only an excuse for the Cullens to disappear and change Bella into a vampire.  Against orders, Jacob Black (of the pack), rushes to the Cullens' house to find a very ill, very fragile Bella.  Jacob learns what is going on and breaks away from his pack due to difference in opinion.  Soon, Seth and Leah join Jacob's pack.  Eventually, Sam's pack agrees not to attack their allies the Cullens.  Bella's condition worsens but she refuses to let Dr. (Carlisle) Cullen do anything about it.  Conflict leads Rosalie Cullen to agree with Bella and act as her bodyguard.  Edward and Jacob do their best to keep Bella alive.
Book 3 (Told by Bella)- Bella awakens with new eyes.  New eyes that give her a whole different perspective on the world she lives in.  Because lack of knowledge, Irina, leads the Volturi, the ruling vampires, to believe the Cullens have committed the utmost crime.  Alice leaves and sends the seven other vampire covens to stand as witnesses of the Cullens' innocence when the Volturi come.  The Cullens prepare to face the Volturi.  All of the seven vampire covens agree to fight against the Volturi, knowing that by doing so, they were volunteering to die.  Both werewolf packs volunteer to fight alongside the vampires.  Little does anyone know Bella has been preparing something of her own.  The Volturi arrive, but only one side can have a triumph.
THEMES:
As each character strives to protect another the reader learns a lot about the elements of love and relationships.  The different relationships portray different kinds of love.  For example, as Edward watches Bella struggle for life we learn about, and come to understand his concerned element of love.  On the other hand, while Rosalie acts as Bella's bodyguard we come to understand Rosalie's protective element of love.
STYLE:
Breaking Dawn is a book from the Twilight Saga.  Meyer, the author, uses first person to tell this story.  This novel is split into three books.  The first and third books are told through Bella's eyes.  The second is told through Jacob's.  In my opinion, it was really neat to be able to see the story through two different perspectives.  I really thought it helped me, as the reader, to dig deep into the story.
AUDIENCE:
Breaking Dawn is a young adult novel.  The text can be inappropriate for younger readers.  I think a lot of people assume this book is a so called "Ooey Gooey" love story, but in reality it is very action packed and intense.  If people knew of all the twists in this book, I think it would appeal to wider audience, and not just those looking for a good romance novel.
RECOMMENDATION:
I read Breaking Dawn after seeing the movie.  The movie had me hooked and I wanted to read the details.  Although this book has sexual content and mild language, I never found myself skipping pages for inappropriateness.  Boundaries for my comfort level were not crossed.  I loved this captivating story and found myself cheering each character on. 
Stephanie Meyer is an exciting, fresh, novelist who ties many details into this story, without making any of the upcoming twists obvious.  Publishers Weekly calls Meyer one of the "most promising new authors of 2005."
I would recommend this novel to young adult females looking for a book that "seethes with the archetypal tumult of star-crossed passions, in which the supernatural element serves as a heady spice." (Entertainment Weekly).  USA Today's response to this book was "Move over, Harry Potter."  Give this book a try.  It's better than you think.
BOOK VS. MOVIE:
I have always been a movie girl, but this book gave me a run for my money.  I saw the movie first and it was so surprising that I loved it.  After, when reading the book, I still found myself with those surprises.  To me I equally love both the movie and the book.  I guess it just depends on what kind of what mood I am in. Whether I want to spend the time reading the extremely detailed story, or watch a condensed version in a couple of hours, the story line has me hooked.
Signed,
The Addict