Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book Info:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 1, 2009)

ISBN-13: 9780439023498

Genre: Young Adult

Source: My Shelves

Rating: 5/5

Fresh from their improbable victory in the annual Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta get to enjoy the spoils only briefly before they must partake in a Capitol-sponsored victory tour. But trouble is brewing— -- President Snow tells Katniss directly he won't stand for being outsmarted, and she overhears rumbles of uprisings in Panem's districts. Before long it's time for the next round of games, and because it's the 75th anniversary of the competition, something out of the ordinary is in order...




When everybody initially starting raving about The Hunger Games I stayed away because I didn't think it sounded like my kind of book.  Finally, after almost a year, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to see what everyone was talking about.  Once I started reading I was hooked and I couldn't figure out why I waited so long to read it.  Catching Fire was much the same way.  I knew I wanted to read it.  I bought it as soon as it came out, and it's been sitting around my house for almost a year.  Once again, I didn't know why I put of reading it for so long.

As soon as started reading I was hooked.  The characters, the setting, everything about the book worked so well.  Collins included just enough details from The Hunger Games that it jogged my memory, but not enough to feel repetitive if you'd just finished the first book. Katniss is a great character.  She's strong and brave, someone you want to be like, but not so perfect that you can't relate to her.  Peeta is still as sweet as ever, but I'd hoped to see a bit more of Gale.  I didn't know where the storyline was going since I'd stayed away from reviews, and I was pleasantly surprised. 

This series won't be put on the back burner anymore.  Mockingjay is ordered and as soon as it gets to me, I'd better be left alone until I finish it! 5 stars

Review: What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

Book Info:
What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult (July 9, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780670020959

Genre: Non-fiction

Rating: 5/5

At age forty-four, Alice Eve Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she was engaged to an inspiring man, joyfully raising her adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming. Alice tells her fiance that she's never been happier.

And then the stomach pains begin. In her unflinchingly honest and ruefully witty voice, Alice nimbly carries us through her metamorphosis from a woman who has come to terms with infertility to one who struggles to love a heartbeat found in her womb, six months into a high-risk pregnancy.

What I Thought I Knew is a page-turner filled with vivid characters, humor, and many surprises and twists of fate. With the suspense of a thriller and the intimacy of a diary, Cohen describes her unexpected journey through doubt, a broken medical system, and the hotly contested terrain of motherhood and family in today's society.

I read a lot of memoirs, and I've honestly been in a bit of a slump with them lately. Even books that I'd thought I'd love have just been ok for me. I haven't read a memoir that has kept my attention all the way to the end in quite a while. When I picked this one up last night, I wasn't expecting too much, but was very happily surprised.

Cohen's writing flows amazingly well. I originally sat down in my hammock and planned on only reading a few chapters. Before I knew it, I was halfway through the book. I only got up to move inside because it had gotten too dark to read outside. Her voice is honest, wistful at times and even included a few laughs. She sets the perfect tone for the telling of her amazing story.

The smooth writing along with an incredible story made What I Thought I Knew a book I couldn't put down. Cohen is brutally honest in telling her story. As the story unfolded I almost expected to dislike Cohen, but that was never the case. She simply came across as a very conflicted woman trying to do the best she could with a completely unexpected situation. I highly recommend this one, even for those readers who usually don't read non-fiction. 5 stars

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Clay Jensen's first love records her last words.

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker,his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains that there are thirteen reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself, a truth he never wanted to face.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heart-rending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

When I picked up this audiobook from the library I knew it was a young adult book about suicide, but I didn't know that the format of the story included cassette tapes. Because the story revolves around these tapes of Hannah's, it makes for a very powerful audio book. You are hearing Hannah's words through the speakers, just as Clay would.

There was both a male and female narrator on the audio, and they both were very well done. The emotion of the story came through strongly, and throughout the story I would get goose bumps.

Sometimes as Clay was listening to Hannah's tapes his thoughts and reactions to her statements would break into her narrative. While these often clarified or added to the story they were also a little distracting. I would be so engrossed in Hannah's story that I didn't want any interruptions.

This is a powerful and well-written story. It is definitely not just for teens, as suicide is a subject that doesn't just affect them. I highly recommend this book, especially the unabridged audio version. This is a story that will stay with me. 5 stars

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Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol.

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Ranier Academy, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship, and innocent love, that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept.

Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotel's dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice, words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

Wonderful reviews of Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet have been circling the blogosphere and when that happens I am always afraid that a book won't live up to its hype. I am happy to say that was not the case here!

This book is so many things at once, and all of them work so well together. It is a historical novel, a tale of past and present, love and loss, and a moving family drama.

The writing is descriptive without being flowery. There aren't long passages of details, which I can usually do without anyways, but I still have a very clear picture in my mind's eye of the settings and the characters. There are a couple of wonderful minor characters in the book too and they left as big an impression as the main characters.

The story moved seamlessly between past and present and the WWII setting was very well done. The Japanese internment camps and the mood of the times was portrayed very honestly. It is a focal point of the book, but it doesn't overwhelm the people part of the story.

Ultimately, this is a love story. It is about the love of family and friends, and all the things you do, and don't do, for love. It is a heartwarming story, and one I wouldn't be surprised to see as a movie. 5 stars

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Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends -- and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society -- born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island -- boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

I'd heard so many wonderful things about this book from fellow bloggers that when I saw an audio copy at the library I couldn't resist. And I am very glad I didn't!

When I first started listening I was afraid it might be hard to keep track of the characters as the entire book consists solely of letters and telegrams. I soon realized that I had no need to be worried. The letters flow smoothly from one character to another. This gives you many characters perspectives without missing any of the action.

I was immediately drawn into to Juliet's story and often found myself laughing out loud. Her letters were honest, fun and wonderfully entertaining. All of the characters had such well defined personalities that I felt like they were all good friends by the end of the story.

The narrators, I believe there were five, did an amazing job! I could tell as soon as they started speaking which character it was. They all had such distinct voices and the accents were absolutely charming.

I finished listening to this one on new years day and still haven't started another audio because I loved this one so much. 5 stars

Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali by Kris Holloway

What is it like to live and work in a remote corner of the world and befriend a courageous midwife who breaks traditional roles? Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Mali Midwife is the inspiring story of Monique Dembele, an accidental midwife who became a legend, and Kris Holloway, the young Peace Corps volunteer who became her closest confidante. In a small village in Mali, West Africa, Monique saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter and where many children are buried before they cut a tooth. Kris worked side-by-side with her as they cared for each other through sickness and tragedy and shared their innermost secrets and hopes. Monique's life was representative of many women in one of the world's poorest nations, yet she faced her challenges in extraordinary ways.

In Mali, the maternal death rate in childbirth is one of the highest in the world. True, Malian women average 7 children to the US women's 2 children, but the absence of modern medicine makes childbirth a dangerous activity. That is why Monique was such an asset to her village and to those villages nearby. Her training could be lifesaving to mothers, and to their children afterwards as she counseled on proper nutrition.

This story isn't just about a Peace Corp trip and making life better in one Malian village, it is also the story of a true and lasting friendship. The bond between Kris and Monique is evident as they share their dreams, hopes and fears with each other.

The glimpse into daily life in a Malian village is also fascinating. The descriptions of the village and people are vivid, and the hardships they endure are eye opening and heartbreaking. I highly recommend this moving memoir.

A portion of the proceeds from this book are donated to Monique's children for their well being and for capital in a new clinic in Monique's village.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide--for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul.

A beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life--and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete--and her time on earth will be finished.

This book took me a while to finish, not because it wasn't good, but because I loved it. It is one of those rare books that you can't wait to finish because you have to know what happens, while at the same time, you can't bear to see it end. I found myself reading slower and slower over the last 100 pages, just to have the experience last a little longer.

I loved how this story winds back on itself. There were a few times I would wonder about the sequence of events or how a situation really fit into the story, but, more often than not, they were neatly tied together in the end. My one complaint was that the focal point would switch during flashbacks and Marianne would be telling the story instead of the narrator. The narrator told us this would happen, and yet, almost every time I would have to back track a bit to see who was talking. Maybe it was just my bad luck that I seemed to set the book down at these voice shifts.

The one aspect of the story that I really wondered about was how Marianne found the narrator, and how she knew that this was her long lost love. She tells him throughout the book how their stories intertwine and how she knows he is the one, but she never says how she comes to find him in the first place.

I have never read Inferno and wonder if I missed out on some of the more subtle connections between the two stories. Even without having read it, the basic story line of Inferno is well enough known that I still recognized the setting, and hope I didn't miss out on too much.

One word of warning, some of the descriptions of the narrators burns and their treatment were fairly graphic, and could be disturbing to some.

This story, with it's unanswerable questions, will be rolling around in my head for quite a while. The characters made a lasting impression, and I found myself flipping back through the book to re-read sections, which I rarely do. This is one of the best books I have read in quite a while and is a wonderful first novel. 5 stars

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