Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Originality- 20/20

Characters- 20/20

Remembrance- 10/10

Quote-ability- 10/10

Entertainment- 20/20

Ending- 10/10

Recommend to read- 10/10

TOTAL- 100/100

Grade- A

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

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Wow. Just wow. I can't even begin to explain how wonderful this book was. I'm going to keep this review mostly spoiler free. Which pretty much means I'm not going to tell you who dies.

Mockingjay was a really sad book. It left me crying at the end and I had cried several other times throughout the book. Collins didn't take the easy way out, that's for certain. This book could of just came out like pie, but she didn't let that happen. Just like the first two books were tragic, Mockingjay is at least twice as much.

The characters were completely amazing and heartbreaking just like always. Everyone had to struggle so much through the book, you couldn't help but feel so strongly about them. Every time you think things are getting better, or everyone is safe, think again because there is never a dull moment in this book.

The ending blew me away. Collins could have made everyone squeal with delight by making the ending super awesome for Katniss and the rest of the protagonists, but instead she makes it real. After all they had been through, how could it end happy?

Overall I have to say Collins did a wonderful job wrapping up the trilogy. I envy her skill. I'll be thinking about this book for a very long time.

-Amanda

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Originality- 18/20
Characters- 18/20
Remembrance- 8/10
Quote-ability- 7/10
Entertainment- 17/20
Ending- 8/10
Recommend to read- 6/10
TOTAL- 82/100
Grade- B

Scarlet March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?
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This book was much better than I expected it to be. It's not like I expected it to be bad, I've just learned from experience to have low expectations from fantasy books.

Rosie and Scarlet as characters are very realistic. I honestly felt everything they were feeling. A lot of books tend to get the feeling across, but it doesn't make me completely understand why they were feeling that way.

At some points it was hard to read about how much Rosie loves Silas, and vice versa, because keeping it from Scarlet was both impossible but necessary. I really loved reading these scenes though because it's all forbidden love. Rosie feels like she owes Scarlet her life, so how could she betray her? But again, how could she betray her heart?

The story had layers, which is rare. It's not just an adventure, it serves a purpose, and the purpose serves a purpose. Nothing was just done on a whim, real thoughts were put into play.

Overall I would say the characters were amazing, and the plot was pretty darn original. I was pleasantly pleased with how the story was laid out. I would recommend this book to fantasy and romance lovers. It's a book you won't soon forget.

-Amanda
Book received free from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a post where I tell you the books that I received this week either by buying them from the bookstore, going to the library or from my mailbox. In My Mailbox was created by Alea and turned into a meme by Kristi.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

The Bent Sword by Stephen Gashler

When a daydreaming peasant named Steffin decides to take control of his own destiny, an adventure begins that has serious consequences. Though his adventures are reckless, Steffin's passion is contagious, and he eventually recruits men to fight against his nemesis, the Lord of Boredom. Yet, the journey is difficult, and problems constantly block the path these comrades are taking. Will the Lord of Boredom succeed in quelling what could be the greatest of all adventures? The Bent Sword is as an inspiration for anyone who ever wondered why life isn't more like a storybook.

A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion

Skyla Plinka has all she could ask for - at least that’s what her mother-in-law Audrey thinks. On most days, Skyla agrees, yet there’s a part of her that longs for her free-spirited days before husband, child, and the humdrum life of rural Wisconsin. Close friend Roxanne (and the five sons she can’t seem to keep tabs on), offers a reprieve, but it isn’t until Skyla takes a part time job at her local bookstore that she starts to feel at home in her own skin. Her growing independence causes conflicts with her husband, her in-laws, and even her best friend, but in the end, Skyla learns what it means to love and be loved in this unsure journey called life. . .

Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg

MILO is the funny and poignant story, told through text and cartoons, of a 13-year-old boy’s struggle to come to terms with the loss that hit the reset button on his life. Loveable geek Milo Cruikshank finds reasons for frustration at every turn, like people who carve Halloween pumpkins way too soon (the pumpkins just rot and get lopsided) or the fact that the girl of his dreams, Summer, barely acknowledges his existence while next-door neighbor Hilary won't leave him alone. The truth is – ever since Milo's mother died nothing has gone right. Now, instead of the kitchen being full of music, his whole house has been filled with Fog. Nothing’s the same. Not his Dad. Not his sister. And definitely not him. In love with the girl he sneezed on the first day of school and best pals with Marshall, the “One Eyed Jack” of friends, Milo copes with being the new kid (again) as he struggles to survive a school year that is filled with reminders of what his life “used to be."

Summer in Paris by Michele Ashman Bell

Kenzie Williams feels like she has it all; wealth, friends, popularity and talent. But when her father tells her that he has declared bankruptcy, her whole world in New York City turns upside down. Her parents' solution while they sort through their financial and marital problems is to send Kenzie to live with her relatives in Paris . . . Idaho! Leaving everything she loves behind, Kenzie is forced to get up at the crack of dawn, do chores, and hang out with her cousin's loser friends. She feels like she's about to die until she meets Adam White, the town outcast, whose been accused of killing his best friend and is being blamed for some trouble that's been happening around town.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

First published in 1993, The Virgin Suicides announced the arrival of a major new American novelist. In a quiet suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters--beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the neighborhood boys--commit suicide one by one over the course of a single year. As the boys observe them from afar, transfixed, they piece together the mystery of the family's fatal melancholy, in this hypnotic and unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death. Jeffrey Eugenides evokes the emotions of youth with haunting sensitivity and dark humor and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time.

-Amanda