Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

I know, I'm a little slow. I just got around to reading these books and people have been talking about The Hunger Games for a couple years now. Well, I'm glad I waited because I read all three in less than a week and I really enjoyed reading them back to back.

Because I read them so close together, I honestly would probably get the plots confused and forget where one book ended and the other began, but here's a brief synopsis of the trilogy:

Katniss Everdeen is the main character, a 16 year old girl who lives in what is known as District 12. There are 12 districts in this fantasy country, supposedly where the United States is right now. The 12 districts basically feed the Capitol. Each district is responsible for a certain industry. District 12 mines coal. In order to keep the districts in line, every year the Capitol hosts "The Hunger Games": a gladiator-like competition where 2 kids from each district (24 total) are thrown in an arena and have to kill each other. The last survivor wins. Clearly the districts don't like participating in this, but have no ability to fight the Capitol, so they send their children each year to this awful spectacle.

I can't really tell you much more, otherwise I'll ruin it. But you can guess that Katniss is a participant in the Hunger Games in the first book, and if she's going to be in the next 2 books, you can bet she wins! Basically she ends up helping the rebels fight against the Capitol to stop their totalitarian control of the country. I LOVED the twist at the end of Mockingjay. I wasn't prepared for it at all and thought it brought a great conclusion to the series.

I wasn't dying over these books like some people are as of late. Apparently, I have read too much young adult fiction. These were just like "Among the Hidden", "The Giver" and even "Ender's Game". Clearly, teenagers really relate to these societies in which the citizens feel no control over the way everything is set up. Teenagers often get really upset at clearly morally wrong things. As an adult reading these books, I can't help but ask more questions like "are there no other countries in this world?". I think that's why they are written as young adult fiction, because adults would demand more explanation and you can keep it simple with young adults.

That being said, they are very well written, full of suspense, and entertaining to read. I highly recommend them. I am so mad to find out they are being made into a movie. Seriously?! Why can't a book just stay a book instead of becoming material for Hollywood? I'm sure they'll make it PG-13 because it needs to be available for the young adult audience, but they are so violent that it really should be R (if it were to be shown exactly how it is written). I think it's so sad that any popular book has to become a movie so the whole country can enjoy it. Why can't people just read the book to enjoy it? I still haven't seen any of the Twilight movies just to boycott the whole thing!

Escape to Zion

I've been on a dry spell as far as reading is concerned (as you can tell from my lack of posts). I needed something to read, and my mom gave me this. I had it for a while before I actually picked it up. I was hesitant because it was clearly an LDS book (don't know why that made me not want to read it--I loved The Work and The Glory). Anyway, so I picked it up and read it in a couple days.

It's a really quick read. I don't know much about the author, but I know in the preface she said she tried to make the book as accurate as she could with a historical fiction. That may be true, but I found her talent pretty lacking. There were some major cheesy parts in the book and the end was the worst ending I think I have ever read. I was really disappointed.

That being said, the plot was actually pretty good. The main character, Maria, was an indentured servant from Germany. Her parents died on the ship ride over to America, so she was sold to pay for the passage. She was supposed to gain her freedom at age 18, but her master at that time was a southern plantation owner and claims she's a slave. He rapes her and she runs away. The entire book he chases her across the continent because he believes she has his child (I'll let you read it to find out if she really did). Anyway, she meets up with some LDS people in Mississippi and ends up joining the church. She travels to Salt Lake City and goes through some pretty trying stuff on the way and after she gets there. I did want to keep reading to find out what happened to her, but honestly, the literary talent was pretty lacking.

If you're looking for a really quick, easy read and are interested in LDS church history, this might be a book for you. The book isn't about church history, it's just part of the setting, so don't let that deter you!

The Help

WARNING: Do not pick this book up unless you have nothing to do for a couple days! It's that good!

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is a book set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. The author herself grew up in Jackson, so she had some personal background with the material. This is her debut novel and I can't wait to see what she writes next. She was a fabulous writer. It was so refreshing to read something so well written!

There are 3 main characters in the book and there are sections written in each of their voices. The first is Aibleen, who is a 54 year old black maid. She recently lost her only son and it has affected her greatly. She works for a woman named Elizabeth who has a young girl. Aibleen is basically mother to Mae Mobley because Elizabeth could care less that her daughter is there. She's the consummate southern woman: plays bridge, is a member of The League, etc.

Elizabeth's friend, Skeeter, is another of the main characters. She is a graduate from Ole Miss with an English degree. She wants to be a journalist. She comes back to Jackson and is pretty much the only one who hasn't gotten married yet. She's quirky and awkward, but very loveable. Her maid, Constantine, raised her and mysteriously left when she was at college. Skeeter spends the entire novel trying to locate Constantine and find out the story about why she left.

The final character is Minny. She is hilarious! Definitely the comic relief in the story. Minny is another black maid, with 5 kids of her own. She was working for the mother of one of Skeeter and Elizabeth's friend--Hilly. But Hilly is the town's busy body and b*tch. Seriously, there's no other word to describe her. Hilly fires Minny after a big ta da that you don't find out about til the very end.

The plot of the book is woven around the idea of Skeeter writing a novel about the stories of these maids. She gets Aibleen and Minny to tell her their stories so people can see what life is like for a black woman in the south in 1962. Obviously, this is in the heat of the civil rights movement. It is poignant, sad and makes you think about your own prejudices and the plight of suppressed people everywhere.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I'm on a Roll!

I haven't blogged on this blog in a long time, so scroll down to see what I have read lately.

On a friend's blog a couple weeks ago, she asked for recommendations for a picture book. Here is one of my all time favorites.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub is written by Don and Audrey Wood. I think my mentor teacher, Shenla Jones, introduced me to it. The illustrations are fantastic (which is why it won an award!) and it's a predictable book, which is always good for the young ones.

Kate and Clark come over and I watch them while Jel does her lessons. We play, eat, sing songs and of course read books. King Bidgood is one of their favorites. One day, we decided to be King Bidgood ourselves.

I put pillows in the bathtub and they played in it for a while. Then they went and got books and had quiet reading time in there. I'd say this is one cool reading corner!

The Bonesetter's Daughter

I loved The Joy Luck Club when I read it in high school (don't ask me what's it's about now because I can't remember!). So, when I saw this one at a used book sale, I thought I'd give it a chance. I started reading it probably over a year ago, but never got past the first chapter. It went back on my shelf until just a week or so ago.

After we moved into this new house, we couldn't get reception for the TV on our digital antennae. It was a real bummer because we had gone so long without dish or cable, and I was glad. Well, we had to do something, otherwise we would have had no TV. So we got cable. And I hate it! I waste so much time watching total trash like "Keeping up with the Kardashians". Seriously, I have way better things to do with my time. One night there was nothing on, so I turned off the TV and went into the office. There I saw this book on the shelf and thought I'd give it another try. I'm glad I did.

The first part of the book is set in current day San Francisco. Ruth is the daughter of a woman who came over from China as an adult. Ruth resented the fact that her mother didn't speak very good English and really didn't get along with her mother at all. She discovers that her mom has Alzheimer's and it really shakes her world. She remembers a pile of papers that Ruth's mother had given her, all written in Chinese characters. She gives the papers to a professor to have it translated.

The second part of the book is the words from those papers. It's Ruth's mother's story told in her own words about what her life was before she came to America. This was the best part of the book. I am fascinated with Asian culture and I really know so little about Asian history. It's quite sad. After reading The Last Empress I wanted to know more, but I hate to admit I still haven't learned much!

Ruth comes to understand and love her mother so much more after reading her life story. I thought to myself, how would reading my mom's journals help me understand her better? Would I love her more? (Would she let me read them while she's still alive?) I know my mom has written many journals, so I hope someday I do get to see a part of her life that I wouldn't have otherwise.

The book ends with Ruth putting her mom in an assisted living place, but it really is a happy ending. I highly recommend this book.