1984 by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell, 328 pages

From the MARC: "The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's nightmare vision from 1949 of the world we are becoming is timelier that ever. 1984 is the great modern classic of a 'negative utopia' - a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing."

1984 is a classic that slipped through the cracks in my education. I was aware of the novel and its importance to literature, but until now I had never actually read it. Haunting is a good word for the vision provided in this story. The events feel eeriely relevant and sharply prescient. I hate to say that I enjoyed the novel because it was terrifying

 

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card

 Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card-324 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis: In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Thoughts: I watched the movie a few years ago, but hadn't read the book before this. The book is a good, fast-paced read. I'm interested to watch the movie again and see how it compares with the book. 

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

 Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (438 Pages)

Summary: While we live, the enemy shall fear us. Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the Majoda their victory over humanity. They are what's left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. When Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to Nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity's revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother's brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr escapes from everything she's known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined. 

Opinion: I don't have the words to describe how much I loved this book. If you like action, sci-fi, or dystopian reads, I would highly recommend. This book is like the Hunger Games meets the Illuminae Files meets the Star Trek universe. With all that being said, this book has heavy themes that can be triggers such as sexual assault, rape, abuse, and genocide. My only true critique of this book is that I wish there was more of an epilogue for the reader to see how some of the side storylines ended up, but perhaps I just want more of this world. 

Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins // 387 pgs

⭐⭐⭐

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

--

I was a little nervous going into this one since we already saw some major events of this game in Catching Fire, but I think Collins handled this one well. The ending played with my earlier suspicions about seeing this story again, like Collins anticipated that reaction and knew how to combat it in a realistic way.

Haymitch was always a fine character to me; he served well as Katniss’s mentor and showcased how traumatic winning actually is. 

With how many crammed in characters Collins put in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I was skeptical that the Game that had double the contestants would fall into that same issue of quantity over quality. I was pleasantly surprised, however; while there are a lot of characters that get named but grow irrelevant, I felt an attachment to most of them, and could recognize who they were as I saw their name pass by on a page. Collins did well in having multiple yet distinct main characters, which can be a difficult thing to balance.

Going into this book knowing that only Haymitch will survive was fun and interesting, and I couldn’t help myself feeling sad when introduced to a new tribute that I liked, knowing that there was no chance for survival. The tributes teaming together was a fresh spin, as well as Haymitch’s personal vendetta of rebellion (though that was sometimes a little confusing). I absolutely adored every District 12 tribute, which I was somewhat surprised by.

While there was some fan service, it wasn't too bothersome to me, and I liked seeing some of the interconnectivity of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the main trilogy. It felt like a good connective bridge. The ending was also tragic, but an expected and fitting end. This book also helped me buy more into the Katniss and Haymitch connection; it shines a new and interesting light on that relationship that I would keep in mind if ever rereading the main trilogy.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins // 541 pgs

⭐⭐

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

--

I really wish I ever cared about Snow, because maybe this book would have hit a bit harder. Having finished the rest of the Hunger Games trilogy, I decided to continue with the other installments in the universe; I enjoyed the trilogy immensely.

Seeing an earlier, more janky version of the Games sounds interesting, and quite honestly, that was the only engaging part of the book to me. Maybe it was the fact that it was first person, or maybe it was because it wasn’t Katniss’s voice, but I could not get as enraptured with this book as I did the previous three. I was bored the entire time, and while there were little blips of events that piqued my interest, none could get me fully invested (until we got to the Games).

Snow being poor immediately after the war does make sense, and I can understand that the fear of poverty plays a role in his general greed and cowardice. In all aspects it should work, but somehow for me it just doesn’t. It feels as if we’re often told that he is just a sad poor boy pretending like he’s still rich to have friends, yet we don’t experience more than that. I think watching that poverty descend upon him would have allowed me to sympathize a bit more and given more credence to his insecurities. 

The section where they’re preparing for the games felt so drawn out and almost unnecessary; I liked some aspects, but most of the time I was waiting for something to happen. There are so many characters, yet I cannot tell you a single one of his classmates aside from Sejanus (though he is the tertiary main character so I should remember him). When the Game finally begins, the book picks up. The Game itself is slow; not a lot happens and everyone is hiding, but I still enjoyed the mood and tension throughout this part. I was still rooting for the tributes, and each death did impact me emotionally. The third section of the book is when things dip again, unfortunately. I do like Snow getting punished for cheating and forced away; I kept wondering how he eventually gets out of this, and it did pique for the rest of the book. Unfortunately, it also quickly lost me. 

Lucy Gray Baird, Snow’s tribute he is representing and his love interest, annoyed me. The bits of The Hanging Tree in Mockingjay were fine, I enjoyed them. The songs in this book though were not fun, but perhaps I just don’t enjoy reading songs in books. Every time I would see a song on the page I’d roll my eyes and skim through it. Lucy Gray herself (I also personally, and pettily I’ll concede, hate that it’s always Lucy Gray, and never just Lucy) reads very manic pixie dream girl, which I can accept since it’s through Snow’s perspective. I still don’t like her folksy schtick, and only grew to like and appreciate her in the last chapter. I also was annoyed that of course she’s from District 12, it would have been interesting if we gave focus to a different district at least once.

Snow and Lucy Gray’s relationship was incredibly rushed, and didn’t feel authentic or believable on either end. I liked when it was more nuanced that Snow felt like he owned her, subtly showing that he isn’t actually in love with her but rather enamored, only for him to directly state that he feels like he owns her. Yes this book is made for teens, but teens can pick up nuance; it felt like Collins didn’t trust the audience to get that Snow is bad. Snow justifying his bad actions in the relationship was also nice, and I do think the last chapter of the book is one of, if not the, strongest parts of the book. 

Overall, I wish there was somehow both more and less in this book. It felt too ambitious in some aspects, but not ambitious in others. Sejanus was a great character, and while he was annoying and sometimes dumb, I appreciated what he represented and how his character arc ended. I liked seeing some of the worldbuilding in the Capitol, and I think there were a lot of ideas that, if polished just a little, could have made this a fantastic book.

Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins // 390 pgs

⭐⭐⭐

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.

--

I didn’t hate the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy; I thought it was fun (though sometimes frustrating) and depicted an actual revolution in a serious tone. It gets gritty and dark, people Katniss loves die; in some cases, a character’s death is almost a footnote due to the chaos occurring. The parallel between Snow and Coin was well done, depicting that there isn’t a good or bad side in war and revolution. It’s a mature theme that I think is good for teens to approach, and Collins executed it well.

Katniss being both this puppet of the revolution, a girl thrust into this awful situation with most of her agency removed, takes the center stage of this book. While I understand that is the point of the story, I didn’t fully enjoy it. Things just seem to happen around her; I wish she had just a little bit more control. I feel like there could have been a way to execute this theme more satisfyingly.

I also loathed the love triangle. I was never a fan of Gale as a romantic interest, but in this book man was he the worst. He was even more pushy and treated Katniss like she had to like him. It felt exploitative, like he needed to be the center of her attention while she is experiencing significant trauma. While I do like Peeta as a love interest, I actually enjoyed his separation from Katniss for a bit and him being traumatized so bad he hated her. It could have been an interesting dynamic, an almost inverse of the first book. Instead, Katniss wallows in her own pain. I wish more was done with Peeta’s trauma a bit, and I felt like the third part needed more build up to him trusting Katniss again.

I do think things got better at the ending; Katniss finally retaking her agency against Coin and finally finding stability and happiness, though with the echoes of trauma still haunting her. It was realistic, yet still bittersweet.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins // 391 pgs

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.

--

This is my favorite installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. I think everything was executed almost flawlessly in this installment of the franchise, and it truly felt like the reader was witnessing a moment of history for this world. The pacing in this book was excellent, and I think Collins balanced the pre-Games and the Games well, to where I was constantly engaged.

One aspect I enjoyed was Peeta and Katniss’s dynamic, not even necessarily the romantic angle. I thought it was very fun that the two were not competing against each other in the games, but rather to save the other person. The dynamic emboldened the tone of rebellion that this book set up, while also allowing strong character development for Katniss. 

The side characters introduced were also very fun, and each death was somewhat surprising and emotional. The ending was also engaging and definitely made me want to read more; Katniss’s visceral reaction was heartbreaking.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins // 374 pgs

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

--

Despite growing up as a teenager during the peak of the Hunger Games franchise, I never read the books, and have only seen the first movie. I’m not quite sure why I avoided this series so much, but I felt like now was an appropriate time to actually explore this popular franchise.

I really enjoyed Katniss’s perspective throughout this book and her overall development. I think she’s complex and interesting to read, and while she comes to some conclusions that I personally question, they felt authentic to her character. Katniss’s rebelliousness also was sprinkled in nicely to set up the latter books of the series, which was a nice sense of consistency. The secondary and side characters were also fun and interesting. Peeta was a nice and refreshing male lead as well, and while there is romantic tension between them, it isn’t the central aspect of their relationship. 

A lot of media tries to make their villains sympathetic with a sad backstory, and I like that Collins didn’t do that. These villains are sympathetic due to the awful world they have to grow up in. I’m rooting for Katniss and Peeta since they’re the central characters, but I’m also rooting for every other tribute as well to somehow find an out, or at least a merciful death. I appreciate that Collins made Katniss reflect those same feelings, showcasing empathy in a powerful way.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

 Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - 391 pages

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before . . . and surprising readers at every turn.

Opinion: Again, loved this book and the series as a whole. Catching Fire might be my favorite in the trilogy. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - 374 pages

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Opinion: I love the movies and have seen them a million times, but this was my first time reading the books...I loved them so much it nearly hurts. The extra detail and getting to see more of what's going on in Katniss's mind really took the series to a whole new level for me, rather than just the movies.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, 390 pages

Mockingjay is probably my least favorite of the series, which is strange to me because I thought the ending was spectacular.  Gale's likeability, a low crest at the best of the series, plummets into the Mariana Trench. But the parallels between Coin and Snow, 13 and the Capitol, are written heartbreakingly well.  The ending, while not particularly happy, is satisfying, and something you can see Collins was building towards since the very first chapter. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, 391 pages

Rereading this series gave me a new appreciation of Catching Fire.  Everything I love about Hunger Games is here but sharper and deeper. The stakes are high and always feel so real. You know people will die, but it's still a shock when they actually do, especially when Collins doesn't give us time to sit with the death. My favorite part is the end, because even though it's horrific and devastating, it rings true. 

This is also my first time reading the series after reading Sunrise on the Reaping, which brings series gravitas to the events. 

 

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 374 pages

A teenage girl ruins her sister's chance at being on a top-rated reality TV show.

 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, 382 pages

Sunrise on the Reaping might be my favorite book in the Hunger Games series. From the beginning, we know how the story ends. We know that all of the tributes sans Haymitch will die. But the way the story unfolds feels unpredictable, like anything might happen. Revolution can come and spare the children. I ran through this title at a breakneck speed. It's a book that my subconscious will be chewing on for a while. 

 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, 400 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

I recently reread The Hunger Games series last year and was happy to see how much I still enjoyed them. While I did not like ABOSAS, I was excited to finally get a book on Haymitch's games. This book was great, and definitely one of the darkest in the series. Suzanne Collins does a great job at tying so many plot points together in this book and now I already want to read the series again to see what I catch this time!

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (400 Pages)

Summary: As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight...and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Opinion: Sunrise on the Reaping is a prequel to the Hunger Games series about Haymitch's experience during the 50th games. For readers that have read the Hunger Games before, they likely already know (or think they know) how this plays out, but the book does a great job of keeping things interesting despite that. The characters are all wonderful, especially the district 12 tributes, and the messaging regarding propaganda is well delivered. For fans of the Hunger Games series, I would definitely recommend. 

1984 by George Orwell

 

1984 by George Orwell, 355 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment where war is peace freedom is slavery and Big Brother is watching. Thought Police, Big Brother, Orwellian - these words have entered our vocabulary because of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984. The story of one man's Nightmare Odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory 1984 is a prophetic haunting tale More relevant than ever before 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable the destruction of truth freedom and individuality. 

The Family Experiment

 

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

Some families are virtually perfect…

The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

Set in the same universe as John Marrs's bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.

I enjoyed this story. It's a bit of a soap opera that ends well. Just when you think its over, there is much more to go. Lots of explanation of why things happened the way it did. But it was a satisfying ending. 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton - 400 pgs

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island—and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer—and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking.

This was hard for me to get into at first but after the first 1/4 it got to rolling pretty good.  I liked the dystopian society and the unique storyline. A great read if you like mystery and/or sci-fi.

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi

Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi -- 450 pages

Juliette Ferrars. Ella Sommers. Which is the truth and which is the lie?

Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated. As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur. And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control.

The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.