Hungry for MORE...

Except for the fact that I'm still a little bit creeped out by the whole idea of human sacrifice, I absolutely loved Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. As I wrote in my Twilight post, I'm not usually a fan of "pop" books and series, but this book is certainly an exception.

Taking place in a future time in North America, Katniss Everdeen narrates a twisted, nail biting adventure. This fabulously feisty female protagonist begins the story by explaining a few things about how this setting came to be. She explains that there are now only twelve districts remaining in what we know as North America. The United States, Canada, and Mexico are no longer existent - not even distant memories. These twelve districts are run by The Capitol, an oppressive governing body located somewhere near the Rocky Mountains. Several years ago, the districts attempted to rise against The Capitol so that they may be independent from the government's control. This rebellion ultimately failed, and the result of this action was the government's creation of the Hunger Games. This system was created as a reminder of the control that the Capitol has over the districts and that even thinking about rebelling again will only end in more destruction.

Katniss is a member of District 12 and she is a rule breaker. She has taken over the role as parent in her family after her loving father died in a coal mining explosion. Kat quickly taught herself to hunt, bargain, and trade in the black market, and quickly became the sole proprietor of food for her mother and little sister. The family is managing fine, until the day called The Reaping comes.

The Reaping is the very beginning of the Hunger Games. All districts gather in their town square for a lottery. Two names are pulled, one boy and one girl, to become the tributes (really, sacrifices) for the district. The drama begins when Katniss's younger sister, only twelve years old, is randomly chosen as a tribute. Unable to bear the thought of her sister participating, Kat instinctively volunteers herself over her sister. The boy, Peeta, is chosen and it is time for the Hunger Games to begin.

So here's how it works: two tributes from each district are selected. The tributes are trained, dressed up, interviewed (kind of like an evil Olympics) and tossed into an arena where the tributes are essentially fighting to the death. Anything goes...weapons, wild animals, weather, starvation, thirst, you name it, the tributes deal with it in the arena. It's shockingly disturbing and a fascinating commentary on governments and humanity, but this book reads like a movie. Beautiful passages that don't let your eyes blink, all the while, cheering your heart out for the protagonist. This book has adventure, social commentary, combat, coming of age, and even a little romance...You have got to check out this book. I just picked up the sequel, so I'll let you know how it goes once that's done. Just give me about four hours and I'm sure I'll finish it :)

Go District 12!!

So terrible I forgot that I read it...

Seriously. I read this book in June, and I just now realized that I hadn't written a review for it.

As a pseudo-fan of Sex and the City, I thought it might be fun to read about Carrie Bradshaw as a teenager in Candace Bushnell's newest novel, The Carrie Diaries. I was intrigued about Carrie's high school days and how it is that she came to be a writer, so I decided to give it a shot.

Disappointed. Revolted. Bored. Unimpressed. The novel was just plain awful.

Turns out, Carrie grew up in the 80s (which , I guess I knew, but just forgot about) and spent most of her high school years smoking, drinking, and chasing after boys (no surprise there). That's about all that happens for 250 pages. There are some glimmering moments of writing when Bushnell is describing Carrie's thoughts and ambitions of becoming a writer, but other than that the book is a relatively empty shell. If you like books about teenage mischief in a small town, maybe this is for you, but otherwise, I wouldn't bother. And, as you hopefully know, I don't say that about many books.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I have to admit, when I picked up Foer's first novel, Everything is Illuminated, I was maddened by his writing style. It was ridiculous, all over the place, and I couldn't stand reading it. Needless to say, I was hesitant about picking up his latest book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but I am sure glad I did.

The novel details the life of young Oskar Schell following the tragedy of his father's death in 9/11. This is the first book that I've read that really tried to grasp this date, and I found Foer to be incredibly successful. The main plot of the story focuses on Oskar's mission to find a door that belongs to a mysterious black key that he finds in his dad's closet shortly after his death. Oskar feels that finding the lock that the key opens will somehow help him feel comforted, or at least more at ease, with the loss of his father.

Throughout Oskar's journey, the reader get's an array of observations about the world through Oskar's eyes. He must have been a fun character to write -- Oskar's quirks and obsessive tendencies are hilarious and sweet, tragic and hopeful, and altogether unique.

The writing style of this novel is completely captivating. It's artistic, fresh, and unexpected. Within the novel, photographs are interspersed that Oskar collects. There are chapters written by Oskar's grandmother that capture a whole other generation in the novel. Her chapters are beautiful and rambling and honestly work through the difficulties of immigrating to America and figuring out what it means to be married, have a family, and make a life in New York City.

In this review, I really feel at a loss for words. There aren't simple statements to wrap up the grandeur of this breathtaking novel. It is by far one of my favorite books of all time. GO GET IT!!

I finally conquered my fear of vampires...

Okay...so I'm not really afraid of vampires, but I am afraid of reading mass pop culture fiction. I didn't read any Harry Potter until the craze was over, and I really thought I'd never read Twilight. After being pressured by numerous crazed Team Jacob and Team Edward fans, I finally decided to pick it up. I am an English teacher after all.

If you don't know already, the Twilight series tells the story of a teenage girl named Bella and her new life living in Forks, WA. After her mom moved to Florida to be with a new boyfriend, Bella decided to move up north with her dad to make things easier on everyone else. While in Forks, Bella goes to a new school, makes new friends, and is especially curious about one, pale-faced, intoxicatingly attractive boy - Edward. Around page 250 you finally find out that he is, indeed, a vampire and living with his vampire family in the woods nearby Bella's home.

The story does have its moments of repute: some good actions scenes (that end abruptly) and occasional times where the narrative arcs smoothly. But here's the issue, everyone -- girls and guys. Listen up. What I'm about to criticize is not new, in fact, other critics have already said it. For those of you who haven't read other reviews, this should help inform your reading of the book.

Let's take Bella for starters. Stephanie Meyer gives her very few qualities. Bella is dark haired, pale faced, and plain. That's it. We know that school comes easily to her and that she's pretty independent from her parents, and that's it for personality. She is an empty slate...available for any female reader to quickly believe that she could be or could have been Bella in her lifetime. That's not too bad so far. It's nice to relate to characters, but that's a pretty shallow connection.

Next we have Edward. He's perfect. Tall, muscular, has really good breath (?), and is totally mesmerized by Bella. He's a bit angry and dangerous, yet protective and obsessive. So now here's what we have: Bella (insert yourself), plain and not particularly impressive physically or intellectually, devotes her whole life to this impossibly attractive vampire who is infatuated with her. My fear is that many impressionable young girls may not be thinking twice about this ludicrous idea and start to believe that giving up their lives for a guy seems like a fulfilling way to live life. At seventeen, Bella is convinced by the end of the book that all that matters in her life is Edward. Seriously?!?! Come on now! Girls!

If you're enjoying the book for the thrill (of which honestly I think there is too little) or the romance (of which there is definitely too much) then fine, but please don't let yourself be convinced that you are Bella and you need an Edward/Jacob too! It's just not REAL!!!

City of Thieves - A must read

About thirty seconds ago, I finished, albeit out of breath, the last seventy pages of David Benioff's City of Thieves. I ran the book downstairs and immediately hand-delivered the book to my brother, Jeff. Here's a little "decoding", if you will, as to the significance of that event.

My brother Jeff never read a single book in high school. He reminds me so much of the students that I see every day in my English classes. He never saw the point, didn't like being told what to read and how fast to read it, didn't like being tested on it, and was quickly converted to being a total non-reader.

Something happened about three years ago. During his sophomore year in college, I caught Jeff reading. It was the strangest thing! Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him what he was doing. Flatly, and unamused, he responded, "Reading." Clearly, he didn't want to entertain a lengthy conversation about the event, so I let it be. Over the past three years I've gleaned pieces of information from him: my prime research subject. It turns out, and not to my surprise, that teenagers really do like to read! They love getting caught up in just the right story with memorable characters and a self selected reading pace. Jeff confirmed my beliefs about teenagers and reading: give me some space, let me discover what I like, and I'll read. In fact, I'll read more than you'd ever imagine AND I'll even push myself into much more challenging texts than you'd ever expect.

So here we are. City of Thieves thrust into the hands of a previously labeled "non-reader". That has some serious weight to it. There are many delightful moments and many that I'd like to quickly forget, namely the cannibalism and the graphic deaths of many throughout the novel. Set in Russia during the German occupation of World War II, City of Thieves essentially tells the story of two men on a seemingly simple mission: to find one dozen eggs for a specific army commander. The narrative arc constructed by this ancient quest like story line was comforting to me. It made me feel like I belonged in the narrative even in the moments where I felt like I was so distant from two men freezing, crossing enemy lines, and conversing so frequently about sex and women.

The unique setting and characters were nothing short of compelling. Lev, the main character, is full of adolescent quirks that the reader can't help but want to reach out and hug him through the pages. Lev's heroic counterpart, Koyla, is one of the funniest and darkest characters that I've read since the last time I read a Kurt Vonnegut novel. This unlikely pair on an unlikely mission pulled me through page after page of horrifying violence, cannibalism, and gruesome imagery. I really wanted to hate this book. I wanted to be done with it. Done with the vulgarity (and there is plenty of that), done with the cursing, done with the murderous Germans, but I couldn't. I couldn't hate this book because I feel like that would be so unfair to Lev and Koyla. David Benioff, what have you done to me?

Perhaps the most alluring aspect of this story is the way Benioff has framed it. Chapter one begins in present day as Benioff visits his grandparents in Florida to finally get the real story of what it was like in the war. Benioff's grandfather reluctantly fills tape after tape with stories from the war, and from there, Benioff launches into his retelling of these stories that came from his grandfather. The memoir-esque feel to this novel appealed to me the most. It even left a pang of regret in the bottom of my stomach...I really wish I would have taken the time to hear my grandfathers tell me about what life was like for them in the war.

City of Thieves? Pick it up. You'll want to cry, throw up, rip it up, cradle it, and devour it all at the same time. This book truly is for those of you who love an adventure story, aren't offended by vulgarity, and can stomach some pretty nasty scenes.

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger

It feels appropriate, on this rainy, foreboding day, to review Niffeneger’s haunting, yet surprisingly realistic, ghost story. The thunder and dismal landscape of today’s Memorial Day holiday mirror closely the London graveyard setting where most of this novel takes place.

Let’s back up for a sec.

Before the twins, Valentina and Julia, arrive in London, the back story is set. The story opens up with the death of a frail woman, Elspeth. She leaves behind the man that she loved, Richard, her twin sister (whom she has not contacted in years), Edie, and two twin nieces, Valentina and Julia in Chicago.

The reader learns quickly that Elspeth was a clever woman. In what seems like an underhanded, bitter slight of hand, a letter comes in the mail informing Valentina and Julia that as part of Elspeth’s will, the twins have been granted the flat in London, as well as “never have to work again” sum of money, under the condition that the twins’ parents may never set foot in that flat. Edie has her reservations as to what Elspeth may have been up to, but the twins, eager to get out into the world, end up moving to London.

The story unfolds as the twins move into Elspeth’s flat that backs up to the famous High Gate Cemetery. It is here that the twins discover how similar and intertwined their lives are and how each of them wonder how they will ever live separate lives. This question is what builds the ultimate conflict in the novel. Through relationships, mysteries, encounters with ghosts, and death, the twins endure life changing events that reveal their own individuality.

Although this book is long (401 pages), I cherished it in one hundred page chunks. I adore Niffeneger’s narrative style and I really grew to love the characters in the novel (especially Richard). I would recommend this book to someone who has the time to invest in it and simply enjoys stories. This is a classic “story”. It is enjoyable without the “in-your-face” plot twists or voracious page turning suspense. It’s simply enjoyable. It’s completely unlike her earlier novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife. Personally, I liked Time Traveller better, but they’re totally different stories.

Happy reading, everyone!