Mockingjay--Suzanne Collins

October 17, 2010

In the third and final installment of The Hunger Games Trilogy, we see the violent showdown between Kaitness and President Snow as the rebels rally together in an uprising against the Capital.

Kaitness, having become the reluctant symbol of the uprising, focuses on her personal vendetta against President Snow, Having twice become responsible for pressing her into the harrowing Hunger Games and for the deaths of so many people she knew and cared about, Snow becomes the reason Kaitness chooses to accept her role as rebel leader. Along the way, she must decide who she can trust going into a battle where she once again risks losing those she loves. By her side are Gale and Peeta, each fighting their own battles as well as they face some of the most dangerous and deadly traps ever seen. Fighting their way into the Capital to face President Snow will be as difficult as anything they faced in The Hunger Games, but now the lives of all the citizens are at stake.

Mockingjay is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy, with a satisfying ending after the crescendo of the quest to reach their villain. There are shocks and surprises, layers peeled back one layer at a time to keep the reader intrigued and guessing. If I have one complaint it might be that the ending is a bit too quiet and sedate after the high-tension action of most of the rest of the book, and a bit too quick as well. It's almost as if the author wasn't quite sure how to effectively say goodbye to the characters she had become so close to throughout her journey as a their creator. The epilogue, however, leaves the door open to the possibility that we haven't seen the last of them. If that were the case, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one anxiously awaiting a reunion.

--Donna

Catching Fire--Suzanne Collins

May 27, 2010

In her follow-up novel to The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins has not disappointed her audience. Catching Fire picks up back in District 12, with both Kaitness and Peeta sharing honors and wealth as co-victors of the last Hunger Games. Unfortunately, although life has been made easier for them and their families financially, Kaitness' daring plan to outwit the Gamemakers has angered President Snow, who sees her act as one of rebellion against the government. When Kaitness receives a visit from the President, he makes it clear that her final act in the Games has laid the ground work for an uprising against the government, and his sinister threats against her and her loved ones give Kaitness good reason to be wary.

This upcoming year being the 25th anniversary of the Hunger Games, called The Quell, a new twist is added in celebration. In a special broadcast to all districts, President Snow makes his proclamation: The Quell will not consist of new tributes--every district will be required to send two victors from previous years back into the Games to compete 'til the death. Kaitness, who still suffers nightmares from last year's Games, is faced with the certainty of having to be thrown back into the horror. She suspects President Snow's new rule is not coincidence; she is being punished with the very real threat of death so soon after she thought she had escaped for good.

She and Peeta find themselves chosen as the previous victors from District 12 to participate in The Games, so they are sent immediately to Capital City. After grooming and training, they find themselves back in the fray, up against formidable opponents from past years, as well as some older and more frail former victors who have either lost physical or mental prowess in the ensuing years, but who have nonetheless found themselves in the same harrowing position as Kaitness and Peeta.

In The Quell, the tributes encounter new trials created by the Gamemakers, form new alliances, re-think assumptions about one another, and learn once again what it is to face the horrific dangers of The Hunger Games. What makes this time even more difficult is that both Kaitness and Peeta have vowed to ensure the other's survival, even though it means self-sacrifice. Add to that a betrayal Kaitness never sees coming and an ending both powerful and unexpected, and Collins' audience will be holding its breath for the third novel in the series, due out in a couple of months. I know I can't wait to see the final showdown between Kaitness and President Snow.

--Donna

The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins

March 10, 2010

As I was reading the book (another recommendation by one of my students), I was struck by the same feeling I get that makes horror movies so difficult for me to watch--the hopeless, inescapable feeling of being trapped. In a suspenseful horror movie, the feeling is visceral; I don't want to be there, participating in the experience of walls closing in, killer getting closer, options disappearing.

Books are different for me, though I can't quite tell why. I have a vivid imagination; I can see clearly what I'm reading. For some reason, though, I don't feel quite like I have to live through the situation in order to experience it. Despite being fully engrossed and present in the story, I am not made to feel I am in peril. I get to experience the cathartic release ("Thank goodness it's not me!") from a removed spectator position, rather than participant. It's fascinating and entralling and riveting, and I love it.

The Hunger Games is another book set in the post-modern world, a dystopian society that is simultaneously familiar and foreign. The country is divided into twelve districts, many of which are suffering economically. Kaitness and her family are barely eeking out a living (by illegally hunting) in District 12, the most distressed of all the districts. Hunger is a constant companion, and the well-being of her sister and her mother are the sole focus of her days.

That is, until the annual reaping, wherein each district is obliged to offer up two tributes to participate in The Hunger Games, sacrifices to the Capitol which provides for their safety. All children and young adults are eligible, at a certain age, to become selected, and in this particular year, Kaitness' beloved younger sister is selected. Desperate to protect her, Kaitness offers up herself as this year's female tribute. Along with her, District 12 sends Peeta, the local baker's son. They will represent their District in the fight-to-the-death struggle that is The Hunger Game.

All tributes, two from each district, are transported to the Capitol, where they are fed, trained, and prepared for a brutal, televised competition in a wilderness designed to test their strength, cunning, and perseverence. It's closely followed by all the inhabitants of each district who are hoping a win will bring money and food and respect to their families and neighbors. Ultimately, there can only be one survivor who will reap the benefits of wealth and adoration, both for themselves and for their district. Once chosen, a tribute has no option. It's kill or be killed, survive at all costs. Alliances can be made initially, but trust is a hard-won commodity, since there is the ever-present knowledge that if there is to be but one victor, alliances can only survive so long.

Kaitness and Peeta face ruthless opponents, devastating wildfires, attacks by genetically engineered beasts, starvation, and lack of water. There are ambushes, broken alliances, and loss of friendship. The most difficult trial, though, that they must face is the knowledge that the bond they form with one another will become the most painful thing of all. To end the Games, either Kaitness or Peeta, or both, must fall.

Part Running Man, part Logan's Run, part Rollerball, part The Lottery, part Survivor, and part Big Brother, with Lord of the Flies thrown in for good measure, it's the kind of book that has appeal for the young adults for whom it's written and their parents as well. I couldn't put it down, and when I did finish, I felt the need to run right out and get a copy of the second novel in this gripping trilogy.

--Donna