Last night, I finished reading Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  It’s the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy.

I’m not going to write a synopsis of the story because it will give too much away about The Hunger Games and Catching Fire if you haven’t read them already.  However, just like its predecessors, I couldn’t put Mockingjay down.  (I was forced to at a couple of points, even though I didn’t want to.)  It has also earned a spot on my Favorites shelf.

I can’t believe I know the outcome of this series. I feel like I’ve been waiting for so long and to have it over feels kind of surreal.  I’m glad I was able to savor my first read through of the story, even though I did know about a few spoilers.

I do have a lot of mixed feelings about Mockingjay.  I’m happy, sad, and a little disappointed.  Yet, I’m actually quite satisfied with how the series ended.  There are a few things I wish would’ve happened differently, mostly because I just didn’t want them to happen because it was too sad.  I’m very glad I got to enjoy more time with some of the minor characters in the first two books.  But, I also missed the interaction between a couple of the major characters, even though it was pertinent to the story.  The ending felt a bit rushed to me because I wanted to experience the aftermath in more than just a few pages or paragraphs.

Mockingjay felt different from its predecessors.  It wasn’t necessarily a bad different; it was just different and it took some getting used to.  The story is still an emotional roller coaster like its predecessors, and it’s very intense.  I savored the beauty and sweetness when it was there because of the brutality of the subject matter.  I expected to cry more than I did, but I only cried at one point during the story.  Overall, I’m very happy and I look forward to reading more books written by Suzanne Collins.

My rating:

On Friday, I finished reading Matched by Ally Condie.  It’s the first book in the Matched trilogy.

As I’ve said in previous posts, my friend Natasha lent me her ARC so I could read Matched.  I’m so glad she did because I thoroughly enjoyed the story; it’s actually found a place on my Favorites shelf.  I’m also excited to find out what happens in the next book.

I was completely blown away by Matched.  Imagine living in a world in which everything is controlled–the things you eat, the clothes you wear, the job you do, the house you live in, the things you do during your free time, the amount of free time you get, and the person you fall in love with.  This is the world Ally Condie created for Matched.  At first, you think the world is Utopian–no violence, everyone being on equal ground, etc.  But, as the story progresses, you realize more and more how dystopian the world actually is.

During the entire story, you feel bad for the citizens’ lack of freedom, even though they’re not openly (or blatantly) oppressed like the characters are in The Hunger Games trilogy.  The citizens believe the Society is doing everything in their best interest and they’re so complacent about their lives, they don’t realize that they’re being oppressed until one little mistake is made or something out of the ordinary happens to catch their attention.  But, even then, everyone is quick to believe whatever the Society tells them why whatever happened happened, everyone except Cassia as she begins to see and realize the truth.

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I just finished reading Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.  It’s the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy.

(This synopsis–first paragraph only–contains spoilers for Shiver, the preceding book.  There are also a few minor spoilers throughout this post for Linger, nothing that will ruin the book for you.)

Linger is the continuing story of Grace and Sam.  Now that Sam is human, Grace and Sam think they have everything their hearts could desire–each other forever.  But, reality kicks in when Grace begins to feel sick, something she hasn’t felt since the time she was bitten by the wolves who lived in the woods behind her house.  Not only does Sam have to worry about Grace, but he also has the nagging suspicion that the new wolves created last winter, by his adopted father Beck, aren’t necessarily the people with whom he would’ve chosen to entrust the entire safety of the pack.

Shiver followed Grace’s and Sam’s points-of-view while Linger follows theirs and two additional points-of-view, Isabel’s and Cole’s.  I liked the addition of Isabel’s and Cole’s points-of-view because it helped add more depth to the story.  However, at first, I wasn’t sure why Cole’s point-of-view was important because we barely knew him in Shiver.  In fact, we didn’t even know his name.  But, after reading about his past and who he was, I started to like and feel sorry for him.

There were things I enjoyed more in Linger than I enjoyed in Shiver.  For one, as I’ve already mentioned, I really liked the addition of Isabel’s and Cole’s points-of-view.  I also liked the dynamic of why the people bitten by the wolves shift in the first place, and look forward to learning the real reason in Forever, the third book in the trilogy.  There were also things I enjoyed more in Shiver than I enjoyed in Linger.  I liked the romance and chemistry between Grace and Sam more, and I found that I was missing that as Linger progressed.  I hope there’s more of that in Forever.

Even with the differences between Shiver and Linger, I really enjoyed Linger, and I’m anxiously awaiting for Forever because I want to know what happens.  The second book in a trilogy is always the hardest for me because there never seems to be any closure.  But, of course, there wouldn’t be any; the author and publisher want you to anticipate the continuation of the story so you’ll read the next book when it’s published.  (Because of this, I’m still giving Linger five stars.  I feel like as long as I love Forever, then I can give Linger the same rating as Shiver and Forever.  If, however, I can’t give Forever a five-star rating, then Linger‘s rating will go down to four stars.)

My rating:

Yesterday, I read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella by Stephenie Meyer.

As indicated by the title, the story ties in with Eclipse.  Bree is the newborn vampire killed by the Volturi after the war between the Cullens, werewolves, and the newborn army created by Victoria.  This novella follows about six days of Bree’s life as a newborn vampire.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this little off-chute of the main story of the Twilight Saga.  I enjoyed the change in perspective, especially the perspective into the fight in the clearing, something the reader missed in Eclipse.  I also liked being in the mind of a “regular” vampire and seeing that side of things.  Even though she wasn’t completely evil like Victoria or the Volturi, you still experienced the blood lust that newborn vampires normally feel when first changed.  You also experienced the killing and tasting of human blood, which was very interesting.

For being a novella, I thought Bree was very well developed.  I wished, as I got closer to the end, that the ending of Eclipse had been written differently.  I wanted to see her have a chance at living as a vampire with knowing the rules and possibly becoming a part of the Cullen family.  I also enjoyed meeting Diego and Fred, two of Bree’s friends.  It was also interesting to see Riley’s character in a little more depth since the reader only encountered him for a short time in Eclipse.

I loved how much information was packed into this short little novella.  It gave me a lot of insight into the other vampires’ minds.  It even answered a question I had about something Edward had said about the Volturi at the end of Eclipse.

I definitely recommend it for those readers that enjoyed the Twilight Saga.  It’s not a favorite book like the main books in the saga are, but I’ll still include it whenever I re-read the saga.

My rating:

Last night, I finished reading The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.

I tried to read The Hobbit about seven years ago, but I couldn’t get past page 42.  Consequently, for the last seven years, I’ve had it in my head that The Hobbit was this horribly hard book that I’d never be able to finish.  I also thought of Tolkien as my nemesis because I thought I didn’t like his writing style.

Now that I’ve finished reading The Hobbit, I’m glad my future English class is forcing me to read it as well as The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I realize now that the problem seven years ago was that I didn’t really like to read back then, not Tolkien’s writing or the story itself.  Now that I immensely enjoy reading, The Hobbit was a piece of cake and a lot of fun.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always said that I hated The Hobbit, but the only frame of reference I’ve had to back that opinion up with is the cartoon made in 1977.  I found it kind of surprising that I actually enjoyed the story.  I really got into the book and enjoyed reading about Bilbo and his adventures with the dwarves and Gandalf.  I was on the edge of my seat during a lot of the book because I wasn’t sure how they (Bilbo, the dwarves, and Gandalf) were going to get out of the scrapes they were in (and I couldn’t remember anything from the cartoon other than hating it).  I really enjoyed seeing Bilbo grow into an adventure-loving hobbit and seeing him save the day many times throughout the story.  I also thought it was interesting that Sauron was alluded to in The Hobbit with the character of the Necromancer.

I’m looking forward to reading The Lord of the Rings now more than I’ve ever been.  I think I’ll enjoy those books much more actually because of all the different elements in them.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to get through them all in the next two weeks so I can be prepared for my new class.

My rating:

In my current English class, we read Night by Elie Wiesel as part of our non-fiction unit.  Today, I finished it.

Night is a horrifying, moving, and emotional account of the atrocities of the Holocaust.  Elie Wiesel relates his experience as a fifteen-/sixteen-year-old boy in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.  Of his six-member family, only he and his two older sisters survived.  Elie witnessed the death of his father only a few months before the liberation of Buchenwald, and it’s presumed that his mother and younger sister died while in Auschwitz.

While reading Wiesel’s account, I learned more about the atrocities of the Holocaust.  There were things I never realized happened, and I’m even more horrified than I ever thought possible regarding the treatment of the Jews and others who suffered while in concentration camps.  It’s hard for me to believe that human beings can be so cruel, yet I know it happens and continues to happen, even today.

I found two passages especially moving while reading Night.  The first is a poetic recount of how Wiesel’s world changed during his first night in Auschwitz.  Not only did he witness the horrible things that happened to the people in the concentration camp, but he also realized how very real everything was and began to lose his faith.  This was especially disturbing to him because he had devoted most of his life, his short life, to becoming closer to God.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.

Never shall I forget that smoke.

Never shall I forget the small faces of children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.

Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget the nocturnal silence that deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.

Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.

Never shall I forget those things, even were I condemned to live as long as God Himself.

Never.

The second passage is one that I find the saddest in the entire book.  When you read this passage, you may think I’ve lost my mind.  How can it be more sad than witnessing the hanging of a thirteen-year-old boy?  How can it be more sad than witnessing the tossing of babies into a fiery pit?  I’ll explain after.

But now, I no longer pleaded for anything.  I was no longer able to lament.  On the contrary, I felt very strong.  I was the accuser, God the accused.  My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without man.  Without love or mercy.  I was nothing but ashes now, but I felt myself to be stronger than this Almighty to whom my life had been bound for so long.  In the midst of these men assembled for prayer, I felt like an observer, a stranger.

This passage saddens me more than any other passage because I believe that with God anything is possible.  I believe God brings purpose to life.  I believe God helps us through these horrible tragedies.  And, without a belief in God, what reason is there is live?  What reason is there to keep going, especially in the horrible circumstances Wiesel was in?  To be left alone to deal with such a horrible experience would be my undoing.  I couldn’t imagine facing those tragedies alone, and it saddens me that Wiesel found himself in exactly that position.

As I read Night, I often found myself thinking, “Would I have forsaken my faith like Wiesel had I been in his shoes?”  I like to believe I wouldn’t have.  I like to believe that my faith would increase and that I wouldn’t find myself angry at God.  However, only God knows because no matter how many accounts I read of the Holocaust or of someone suffering in such horrible conditions, I can’t know how it feels to be there unless I am/was there.  I can only have empathy for those people, but I cannot know how it really was to suffer like they did.

My rating:

I finished reading Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare on Friday.  Even though I was required to read several of Shakespeare’s play in high school, this is only play I’ve actually read from beginning to end.

To be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to reading Othello for my current English class.  I’m not a fan of Shakespeare because I don’t understand him.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  Because of the footnotes, some help with Spark Notes, and looking up words I didn’t understand in the dictionary, I actually understood most of what happened in the play.

Before I read Othello, I had no idea what the play was about.  I’m only familiar with a few of Shakespeare’s plays so it was quite a surprise to find out that this play had elements of racism, sexism, infidelity, betrayal, and murder.

To help us see Othello as more than a play, we were required to find articles with critical reviews of the play. I thought it was very interesting to read those reviews.  Many critics complain that Othello is racist because of how the character Othello is depicted in the play.  Whereas, other critics complain that the sexist plot elements should be what people are concerned with, not the racism.  Personally, after having read different reviews and the play itself, I feel that some of the characters are indeed racist and/or sexist, but I don’t feel like the play itself is racist or sexist.  Because Shakespeare made Othello the hero of the story and in such a high position, which would’ve been unheard of in his time, and because he had Desdemona go against conventional norms for women of the time, I feel that Shakespeare was trying to get people to think outside the box not perpetuate racism or sexism.

Othello definitely isn’t one of my favorite reads, but I did enjoy it for its beauty and controversial story.  It made me think and I like those types of reads.  Because of my experience with this play, I actually look forward to reading more Shakespeare in the future.

My rating: