Category: Reading Challenges

The sparks of rebellion have turned into a raging inferno in Suzanne Collins’s final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. Katniss Everdeen, ‘the girl who was on fire’, is the catalyst for the movement and the symbol of the rebellion–their very own Mockingjay.

After the first Hunger Games, whispers of uprising begin when Katniss and Peeta Mellark both emerge from the Games victorious….two winners not one–an open defiance of the Capitol. Then when Katniss, Peeta, and their allies destroy the Games for good in Catching Fire–the letters are on the wall, uprising is inevitable.

With District 12 demolished, Katniss and her family are taken to rebel headquarters–District 13. During the final Games, Peeta was taken by the Capitol while Katniss is rescued by Gale and the ‘soldiers’ of District 13. Katniss fears Peeta is dead and she is furious with the rebels for saving her….she wanted them to save Peeta.

While struggling with her guilt and grief over Peeta, Katniss is approached by President Coin (leader of the rebellion) to be their spokes person and their symbol–they need her to become the Mockingjay to rally support for their cause and movement–to unite the other Districts against the Capitol. She hesitates…though she despises the Capitol and their leader, President Snow, she doesn’t know if she wants to be the face of the movement without Peeta…. Continue reading “Review: Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins” →

Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire in The Hunger Games is now sparking revolutions throughout the 12 Districts in Suzanne Collins’s second installment of The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire.

Having emerged from the Hunger Games victorious, Katniss and her now ‘made for TV boyfriend’ Peeta Mellark return to District 12. Their final act of desperation in the Games makes them both symbols of rebellion and hope to the people of the 12 Districts….but targets for the Capitol.

President Snow smells deception….he knows their love was just an act and feels that they rebellion in the Games will only incite more uprisings in other Districts….while on their victory tour of the other Districts, Snow will be watching Peeta and Katniss closely.

When they fail to perform up to Snow’s standard, Snow and the Capitol threaten to destroy all that Katniss and Peeta hold dear–their family, friends, and themselves. But if he destroys them outright, Snow will lose the favor of the public and perhaps bring about more uprisings and rebellion–he can’t risk it. But and opportunity soon presents itself…the Quarter Quell Hunger Games….the rules have changed and the odds are not in Katniss and Peeta’s favor. Continue reading “Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins” →

Like the gladiators of ancient Rome, the youth of post apocalyptic North America are put face to face in a ‘fight to the death’ game called The Hunger Games. Blood, complicated strategies, alliances, betrayal, and death are expected to play out, all with the nation watching on live television–twenty four children between the ages of 12-18 go into the games but only one will emerge victorious.

The Hunger Games is the first in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. In this post apocalyptic/dystopian society, there are 12 Districts. The 12 Districts are ruled by the The Capitol. The tyrannical Capitol keeps the Districts in check by forcing them to send one boy and one girl to participate in the annual Games. In the upper-class Districts, families pray for the honor of having their child selected for the Games….but in the ghettos of District 12, families know if their child is picked from the lottery, they are sending a lamb to slaughter.

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen lives in the slums of District 12. Her father is dead, killed by a mine blast, and her mother is rendered utterly useless after her father dies. Katniss and her sister Primrose (Prim) are forced to fend for themselves. Prim is too young so Katniss takes up the responsibility of putting food on the table. But in District 12, there is little to no food–people are starving and dying in the streets. Katniss must become a ruthless hunter, forager, and survivor if her family is to last… Continue reading “Review: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins” →