Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins

(The Hunger Games)

(Catching Fire)

Finally, after a month of putting it off I can write about Mockingjay, it's not as good as Catching Fire but it is a very exciting and satisfactory ending to Katniss's ordeal.

The weakest part of the story is the first half of the book. We are dealing with new characters and settings and it can be a bit tedious. This is on purpose, though because Katniss is feeling that same tediousness and slowness, so in part the reader is sharing her experience. The second half of the book is much better. It brings the excitement and the panic of the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quell but on a horribly larger scale.

The characters grow and mature though the story and the love triangle between Peeta, Gale and Katniss takes a turn for the worst. Peeta has been brainwashed by the Capitol to kill Katniss, and Gale is realizing his skills as a trapper can be used in the war against President Snow. Katniss' loyalties are tested. Their ending is predictable but the journey is full of twists that damage the couple and makes their epilogue the very definition of bittersweet.

Although Katniss' story has been told (in part- another problem might rise that needs the Mockingjay) there's a lot of Panem's history that I would like to know. It's big playground and other writers might do something fun with the different districts. I wouldn't mind more stories about the Rebellion of the Districts or the first ever Hunger Game. Hopefully, the movie (which is looking very very good) can spark Susanne Collins into writing more about Panem and it's citizens.

Dead Until Dark

Charlaine Harris

The first book of the Sookie Stackhouse series is very similar and completely different from the True Blood (Season 1) TV show it eventually morphed into. I won't go into spoilers, both the book and the TV show feature a murder mystery, but I will discuss Sookie and Bill's relationship.

Sookie in the book comes off a bit more stable than the TV version. It could be because the book is narrated by her and so we understand more of her motivations. She's not as wishy washy as you'd think but she is way more naive than you could realize.

One of the biggest differences between the book and the TV show is that vampires in the book are suffering from a virus, so they can't help drink blood. Or that's what they want you to believe. Everyone can smell the bullshit except Sookie. When she understands that she's been having sex with a dead person instead of an infected one, she pukes. Then promptly forgets about it because Bill is so dreamy.

Bill for the most part is very unlikable, and treats Sookie like a pet. Once she finally gives in and has sex with him, that's pretty much all he wants to do. Not that Sookie complains, but sheesh. He's not as romantic as the TV version or as fleshed out. One could argue that True Blood is as much Bill's story as Sookie's (or Eric's for that matter) and you kind of miss that in the book.

Most of the secondary characters in the book are just that, secondary. We hardly know anyone outside of Sookie's immediate circle of friends and family.

All in all it was an enjoyable quick read, but you can see how the writers of True Blood really fleshed out the world and it's inhabitants.

Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins

(Hunger Games)

What I like most about Catching Fire is the subtle way the story raises the sense of danger for Katniss. A meeting with President Snow is filled with tension and foreshadowing. The announcement of the Quarter Quell, that past victors will have to compete makes Katniss react so brokenly, we question her sanity. Everything is charged with a sense of finality and doom. It makes Catching Fire seem like a dark shadow of the first book.

The world building in this book is much improved. Katniss narrations are not as "expositional" since we already know what she's talking about. She can revel in little details, which is what I was expecting from The Hunger Games.

The new cast of characters is very fascinating, they are all very deadly indeed. The Quarter Quell arena is something of horrid beauty with exciting new traps. I admit I was entertained by the painful deaths of the victors. Katniss carries herself expertly, using her smarts and reflexes to survive but still being sweetly naive about the motivations and machinations of her fellow contestants. She's a joy to read about.

The ending is a great cliffhanger that made me run to the third book and devour it as quickly as possible.

A Wrinkle in Time

Madeleine L'Engle

The wrinkle in time of the title referes to a tesseract, when you fold space so you can travel through great distances in a short time. If you like 90s movies, the Event Horizon traveled to Hell by way of tesseract. If you like Harry Potter tesseract is an earlier version of "dissaparate".

In a nutshell, some of the kids in the Murray family have been selected by a trio of angels disguised as old ladies to save their abducted Father in a distant planet. Charles Wallace (A five year old super genius), Meg (his rebellious sister) and Calvin (some popular dude) travel with the old ladies across the universe. First to Uriel, where winged half horse people are really happy about being winged half horse people. Here they see the big bad of the story, the Black Thing, an evil entity philophers have been fighting since forever. Eventually, they arrive in Camazotz. Here they find their father, and after many setbacks including losing Charles Wallace and Meg being seriously injured, Meg defeats the first Boss of the story. A huge brain working for the Black Thing.

This is the first of a series of books and it ends in a cliffhanger. I must admit I am not very curious about the story, and although I can't say that I didn't like the book I didn't love it either. I was put off by the overt christian themes, and Charles Wallace's dialogue. I like Meg but as a main character she was so unsure of herself. It was frustrating how everyone seemed to underestimate her. They accepted that she had loads of potential but didn't help her realize it. Given the stakes of the story (ultimate evil swallowing the Earth) I thought the romantic subplot of Meg and Calvin was forced. I still don't get why Calvin was in there at all.

I'm looking forward to Hope Larson's graphic novel adaptation. I'm sure it will help me get a different perspective on this story.

Pygmy

Chuck Palahniuk

Forget about Trainspotting, Pygmy is the most difficult to read book, at first. Urban legend says that Chuck Palahniuk wrote it in English, then had it translated into Chinese and then back to English. If it's true, the result is a mishmash of language that makes your brain hurt, but underneath this heavy style is an almost heartwarming tale of a 13 year old terrorist sent to the US to kill millions of people.

The most interesting part of the story is how Palahniuk humanizes Pygmy. We learn how deadly Pygmy is at the beginning when he rapes the bully harrasing his host family's younger male sibling. It's a brutal scene and serves dehumanize Pygmy in the eyes of the reader. Since the book is written in first person POV, the fact that Pygmy is describing the rape in detail to his superiors makes it even ickier.

As the story progresses, Pygmy finds himself remembering things from his trainning that shed some light on his upbringing. Little by little these memories move towards a more nostalgic space, especially when remembering his parents. He also finds love (albeit unrequited) in the host family's female sibling who is smart and athletic.

The story serves to critique American culture, especially religion and sex. Despite it's heavy and difficult style, it's a tame story (for Palahniuk) and pretty funny/disgusting. It even has a happy ending...kind of.

The Gunslinger

Stephen King

I fished this book out of the trunk of a friend's car. She was going to throw the books away or give them to charity and since I had read a bit of the Dark Horse comic I jumped at it and read it that week. (I am terribly behind with this blog).

The Gunslinger, Roland, is following the Man in Black across his world, a mixture of cowboy culture and sci fi-fantasy. Roland means to kill the Man in Black and get to the Dark Tower. The story has some flashbacks, to be honest they are the most interesting part of the novel, but the story feels very linear. You can see how Roland and the Man in Black are stuck in a "point A to point B" story, a path their creator makes them walk without any deviation.

The story is divided into vignettes as Roland encounters enemies or supernatural elements that hinder or aid him in his journey. The most dangerous to Roland is Jake Chambers, a small boy from another world stranded in this one after his death. Jake is the worst sort of trap for Roland, as he grows more affectionate and protective of him. Their relantionship leads to the two climaxes in the story.

In the flashback (I feel like I'm writing a Lost recap. The Lost writers worshipped Stephen King) Roland's mother is having an affair with Marten, a wizard. Roland feels betrayed by his mother and trying to avenge his father's honor takes the Gunslinger test earlier than expected. Roland chooses his hawk and sacrifices him so that Roland can win at all costs. We later find out that Marten is the Man in Black.

In the present the Man in Black forces Roland to choose between saving Jake or following him to the land beyond the mountains. Roland, of course, sacrifices another innocent in the hopes of destroying the evil Man in Black.

The book is richly layered and most of the characters get enough motivation and development. The female characters get the short end of the stick, as they are easily corruptible by the Man in Black and very subservient. It's a boy-man story through and through but I enjoyed it enough that I want to read the rest of the Dark Tower series.

On the subject of Race in The Hunger Games

Back in December I read The Hunger Games. Now as casting for the movie is well under way it seems Jennifer Lawrence is the top choice to play Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence was the lead in Winter's Bone which I thought had a LOT of similarities to Hunger Games. Both book and movie deal with the poverty predominantly white people suffer in the Appalachia.

This has stricken a cord with people who didn't place a specific race on Katniss (the main character in the books). She's described as having dark hair and grey eyes, but there's no mention of her skin color...no "creamy, rich, or luminescent" adjectives anywhere. So in theory you can place yourself in Katniss no matter the race which is a good way to play it. Kudos, Suzanne Collins!

But the book does hint at problematic race relations in the Districts. They are separated by race, because Rue is clearly described as African-American(/Panem?).

"And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor."

[On a side note, the Hunger Games Wiki has a picture of Rue and she's shown as white. Whitewashing Wikis-- Good Lord!] Anyway...

So Rue has dark brown skin and District 11 (where she's from) deals with agriculture. She's kind of living in a "slave" like environment where they pick crops, get very little food, and have their lives dictated upon by higher ups. Oh yeah and Rue sings to signal the end of the day-- which I hope is a play on stories where slaves are so happy to be slaves that they sing-- or I also hope it's a small tribute to how slaves communicated escape planes through song so the higher ups wouldn't get it.

In this case, Katniss' life sounds more like the poverty stricken white people working in coal mines. Her District is more lenient, and Katniss enjoys a great deal of liberty compared to Rue. Katniss hunts and is respected for her ability and skill. But Rue is just another cog in the agriculture machine. Race plays a subtle but important part in The Hunger games and it would be a shame to lose it in the movie where in can play a more prominent role.

The Hobbit

J. R. R. Tolkien

I had read The Hobbit in high school a couple of times. I think my mom bought it for me when she used to bring me used books from her shopping trips to Rio Piedras. I wasn't aware of the Lord Of The Rings, but I liked The Hobbit fine as it was.

Reading it now (after watching the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and almost finishing the books) it feels like a very rushed book. There are big battle scenes that flash by, and there's world building chapters that screech to a halt. Contrast the description of the Halls in the Lonely Mountain which go on and on in detail, with the really quick resolution to the Smaug problem. It's a similar situation with the characters, some you really get to know and others you forget are there. I forgot about half the Dwarves in the company of Thorin.

The Hobbit is more filmable than the Lord of The Rings trilogy so I'm not worried about the movie. What I'm very curious about is how the Ring will work. They really built it up as a sinister force in LOTR and in the Hobbit the Ring is just another magical object. When Frodo puts the Ring on it's a direct line to Sauron (because he was looking for it), but when Bilbo puts on the Ring it means harmless invisibility (and he exploits a lot). Since Bilbo loves to hide in times of trouble, and since in Fellowship of The Ring we never see Bilbo's point of view while wearing the Ring, I'm almost afraid that Bilbo won't be seen for a whole movie!

The Carnivorous Carnival

Lemony Snicket

This is the eighth book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events collection. The books follow the misadventures of the Baudelaire orphans as they escape from Count Olaf, who makes his living by killing families and children by setting their homes on fire to steal their fortunes. The Baudelaires prove too smart for his schemes though, because Violet is a fine inventor, Klaus is a fine reader and Sunny (the baby) is a fine biter and recently a fine chef!

Their lives since their parents died have been a series of miserable adventures, where not one of the adults who are supposed to take care of them do a good job. Count Olaf disguises himself and he either murders the Baudelaires' guardians, or sends them running. We know all this, because Lemony Snicket is researching the lives of the Baudelaires, and one of the most charming aspects of the books are he tantalizing tidbits he drops of HIS adventures and connections with Count Olaf.

The Baudelairse have been hiding in plain sight as freaks in the Carnival, while Olaf has been getting hints about the kids whereabouts from Madame Lulu, a fortune teller. Everyone is looking for the Snicket File which may contain information about who survived the fire in the Baudelaire mansion. The kids have hope that one of their parents is alive. They also want to know about V.F.D. which can mean many, many things. However, Olaf proves too wily for the kids this time and the ending of The Carnivorous Carnival is truly heartbreaking.

The theme of this book is whether trying to please everyone is a good thing since, if you give everyone what they want, you may end up giving in to the desires of murderous people like Olaf. It also teaches us to not give in to what other people expect of us, just because you are freaky doesn't mean you can't function in society. It also talks about how people enjoy violence and messy eating, which is a good definition of "Reality TV" as any.

I can't explain the charm of these books without mentioning just how clever they are. The writing is witty and super smart. There's a lot for the adults to enjoy, they are the most mature children's book you'll ever read. They are complex, and funny, and sad, and wonderful. You'll fall in love, I guarantee it.

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman

I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman's comics and novels (who isn't?) but I'm the first to admit that sometimes it's hit or miss. Neverwhere and Stardust are good, though not as great as American Gods or Coraline.

The Graveyard Book sadly, falls into the good not great category. Neil Gaiman has stated that this is his version of The Jungle Book, which I haven't read. I'm sure that most of my complaints about the story are because this is a retread of The Jungle Book and not a truly original story.

The story follows a little baby whose family is murdered by one of the Jack of Trades. The baby wanders to the Graveyard and is adopted by the ghosts, and given Freedom of The Graveyard. The books are divided into short stories from Nobody's life (the little baby), and his guardians (the ghosts and Silas- a mysterious creature). There were a lot of great ideas in the stories, and in true Gaiman fashion all the threads are tied neatly in the end. Still, the big picture doesn't flow at all, some important elements are abandoned for Bod's relationships with the ghosts, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying, and it's all because Neil Gaiman was set on doing The Jungle Book. The Graveyard Book would've shined as a comic, but as a novel it's just ok.

Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games is a YA sci-fi survival story much like Battle Royale. Scratch that, it's exactly like Battle Royale, but in this case it's a plus more than a minus.

A few hundred years have gone by since our present, and the United States no longer exists. The nation is now called Panem, and ruled by the Capitol, a decadent and wealthy city-state. The rest of Panem is divided into Districts, each serves it's own purpose like Agriculture, Factory Production, Coal, etc. There are some Districts wealthier than others, and inside the Districts there are social structures so that it's common for people to starve while wealthier merchants and the Peackeepers (Po-Pos) watch.

There used to be 13 Districts but when they tried to rebel, the Capitol won and punished District 13 and established the Hunger Games, where each District must choose by lottery a boy and a girl to fight to the death as Tributes. The Games are viewed all across Panam like Reality TV. It's gruesome and bloody and it keeps the masses entertained and the Districts hopeless.

Our main character is Katniss Everdeen, a hard 16 year old who supported her family after her father died in the coal mines of District 12 (in the Rockies). She's a good hunter, she's light on her feet (undernourished and half starved) and she's very very cynical.

Katniss knows how to play the Hunger Games (much like people who know exactly what to do and say to keep the cameras on them on Reality TV). She volunteers for her sister and plays the game almost expertly. What she lacks in graces is made up by her partner in the games, an impossibly naive young man called Peetah. In order to win the favor of the audience and so receive gifts from their "sponsors" they play up a "Romance" that for Peetah is very real (stupid, stupid boy) and for Katniss is her ticket to survive and get home (cuz you know... she's cynical).

The Hunger Games run as you would expect and we get tidbits of this depressing future where genetic Muttations were bred for war to spy and destroy. They also play a horrific part of the end of the book, the only truly nightmarish thing in the story, and a clue as to what the Capitol and the Gamekeepers are capable of.

Although I liked the story, I felt there was something missing (maybe I'll find it in the other two books!) There should have been more Americana involved in the Districts, otherwise why bother with the United States setting. The world seems too new with no historical or cultural attachment to the past. We witness some rituals but don't really get the importance of them. This in turn makes it very difficult for me to understand what the Capitol sees as defiant and what could be "drama" played for the audience (which is one of the points of the game, calling attention to yourself and being a camera hog)

Katniss narrates and explains everything but I found myself wishing I was shown instead of being told about this new world. There are tantalizing bits of criticism to our society: body modification, media gluttony, Reality TV, desensitized society, among others that really make this book a nice read. It's an addictive story, today I start Catching Fire, and I'm looking forward to the Hunger Games movie because I can't imagine how they'll film this.