The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins

8 out of 10
YA post-apocalyptic fiction.  This is part of a three-part series leading up to my review of Mockingjay, book three of this trilogy, which came out just recently.

Essentially, I loved it.  It had great pacing and was at times thrilling, sensitive, and romantic.  One major issue which pervaded the entire series was the lack of practical writing, which is explained in the podcast.  Collins seems unsure of how many people are really present in Panem, how big each of the districts are in terms of both population  and physical space.  I know district 12 is the most sparsely populated, but the inconsistencies require a suspension of disbelief that could easily have been fixed with an understanding of basic economics.

The games themselves are intriguing and thought-provoking as well as full of action.  I highly recommend this book to both young adult and adult alike.  There is mature subject matter, but little to no sexual innuendo.

East

East 
by Edith Pattou

10 out of 10

YA fantasy.  I rarely give a full 10 to anything, but I think this book deserved it.  Not that it was perfect, but because I would have no reservations about recommending this book to anyone.  No caveats, no hedging.  If you're a person who can read, I think you should read this book.

Rose has been brought up in a superstitious household, and there is some element of supernatural in her life.  This is a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon (the fairy tale), which in and of itself is unusual.  I have actually read The Blue Fairy Book, in which the fairy tale is recorded, but it's much less well known than, say, Beauty and the Beast, of which this is not a retelling.

As a retelling, I think Pattou does an excellent job.  There are elements that are taken directly from the fairy-tale, like the drops of candle wax, sleeping potions, and trolls.  There are completely new elements, also.  The guides that Rose encounters are developed characters in their own rights, and the birth-direction superstition is new and intriguing.

One thing that may throw readers is Pattou's use of shifting narrative.  At the beginning, we learn that this story has been recorded in a book, each person faithfully recording parts of the story.  The prologue seems almost contrived in that aspect, but the book itself holds up very well.  I typically don't like first person or shifting narrative, and this book employs both; however, Pattou does it so successfully that by the end of the story it seems like exactly the right way to have done it.

The Mermaid's Madness

The Mermaid's Madness
by Jim C. Hines

8 out of 10

YA fantasy, fairy-tale retelling. I couldn't decide between 8 or 9 out of 10, but settled for 8 just because it's very genre-specific.  If you don't like fantasy, YA, and fairy-tales, this probably isn't the book for you.  If you're willing to give it a try, though, there's a lot in it that is very well done.

I always think about who I could recommend the book to when I'm reviewing it.  If there's really no one that I think would enjoy reading it, it's not worth a lot of effort on a review.  When I was reading this one, I knew before the first chapter exactly who I would be letting borrow it next, which is a fun thing about reading.

My cousin, a 14-year-old girl, loves fairy-tale retellings.  I've read some that were okay and some that were pretty good, but this series has so far been awesome.  They're very different from the original stories and have a complete world they are all set in, which lends it a dashing-adventure feel.  Each book still stands alone, though I would recommend reading them in order so that you can get the character development progression.

That is one thing well done in this series: the character progression.  There are three main characters:  Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, and they each develop along the way.  As I'm reconsidering this book (it's been over a month since I read it), I remember enjoying so many different things about it that I want to get book three now.  As in, I have to be done with this review so I can find it online.  See ya!

The Overton Window

The Overton Window
by Glenn Beck

4 out of 10

I have to say, I really wanted to like this book.  At best, I can only give it a 'blah' review.  There were lots of interesting points in this book, but it was interesting in the same way that Beck's show is interesting.

As a political thriller, it was distinctly lacking in the 'thrill' department.  The pacing and tension is very methodical throughout and doesn't have a lot of ups and downs.  At any point during this book I could have put it down without having to pick it back up immediately.  That's not a good thing in a thriller.

I had a hard time identifying with the main character, Noah Gardner.  Noah is the son of a progressive big-wig, and he doesn't have a lot of redeeming qualities.  He's not bad, but he's not really good, either.  It's probably pretty realistic, but it's not very interesting to read.  Molly was much more likeable to me, but by the end, I liked her less, not more.  As for the side plot with Danny, it ended up being majorly involved in the climax of the story, and I liked neither.

Without any spoilers, the climax was a little ridiculous.  And it went downhill from there.  Reading my review, it seems like I thought this book was really bad, but it was mostly just 'blah.'

The list of resources in the back in which Glenn shows where he got most of his ideas  was probably the best part.

The Forbidden Game

 

The Forbidden Game
by L.J. Smith

9 out of 10
YA urban fantasy

This isn't a vampire book, in spite of being written by L.J. Smith (author of the Vampire Diaries, which I also enjoyed).

I read this while at Girl's Camp.  It is already a creepy story, but being alone in a tent reading by flashlight made this so much creepier.  And yet, I couldn't put it down.  That may be because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't finish it.  There was a satisfying amount of romance without being overtly sexual, which is something I really like about L.J. Smith.

The premise is that Jenny, who is somewhat shallow at the beginning, wants to buy a game that her friends will think is cool.  With some reservations, she chooses The Game, which turns out to be a portal to the Dark World.  Her nemesis, Julian, has been watching her for some time and wants her soul.  In order to defeat him, she must win three games against him with the help of her friends.  Each book in the omnibus edition details one game.

The Sunday Philosophy Club

The Sunday Philosophy Club: an Isabel Dalhousie Mystery

Alexander McCall Smith

6 out of 10

Not a great score, but it gets slightly better than even because I did actually finish it. As a mystery novel, it was sincerely lacking. As a philosophy book, more interesting than not. Of course, I would like to point out that it is supposed to be a mystery, not a course in philosophy.

The main character is Isabel Dalhousie, a middle-aged editor of a philosophy journal. She witnesses a young man's death and feels morally obliged to investigate. That is the motif of this novel: morally obliged. She actually ponders (and does so at great length, I might add) the philosophical grounds for the majority of her actions, some of which could actually inspire debate, while others merely helped cure my insomnia.

There is really no fast-paced action or suspense. The whole book is like an exercise in the practical application of ethics. We could have read this in my philosophy class in college. At least in comparison it would have been interesting.

And there's just one little thing: Isabel is in love with the boy who is in love with her niece. It's excessively weird, and I just wanted to ignore it, but it kept coming up. By the end of the book, I was screaming "cougar" in my mind.

That being said, if you're interested in philosophical debate, it is fairly well written, and there is a plot behind all of the educational material.

Uglies

Uglies

by Scott Westerfield

10 out of 10

I loved this book. So much so that I bought all of the trilogy (and I'm a library kind of gal) and then made my husband read it. He is currently sitting in the bedroom doing just that.

Tally is an Ugly, and has not yet undergone the surgery that everyone in her society gets at age 16. She befriends a group who have chosen not to get the surgery to be Pretty, and this book is about the fallout of making that choice. I don't want to give away too much of the plot because YOU HAVE TO READ IT. Seriously. You HAVE to.

It's a post-apocalyptic novel and coming-of-age all in one, and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait until book 2 comes in the mail!