BookPikks

Katniss lives with and takes care of her mother and young sister in the dystopic nation of Panem.  Life is difficult for all but the elite ruling class.  Each year, the citizens of Panem are forced to send 24 young people to participate in The Hunger Games.  At the end of the Games, there is only one survivor.  When Katniss is selected for the Games, she knows that she will be fighting for her life, and for the survival of her family at home.

This was a FANTASTIC book.  I had trouble putting it down.  Collins has created a unique society, built on the runins of North America.  From the first paragraph, she draws you into the tension of “reaping day,” when the Hunger Games participants are selected.  Little by little, she reveals more about the dreaded Games, and the evil society behind them.  This book is the first in a series and I cannot wait for the second book.  If you enjoy survival, apocalyptic-type stories, you will not be disappointed by this book.

I know that Meyer’s books are wildly popular right now, but I was quite disappointed.  While Meyer certainly is a gifted writer, her cast of characters are weak and flat.  Bella faints on every other page, lies to her parents, and is obsessed with a vampire boyfriend, to the point of hoping for her own death so that she can be with him forever.  Her vampire boyfriend Edmund is controlling and in my mind shows some of the classic tendencies of an abuser.  Although there are a few exciting moments, it’s certainly not the quality suspenseful romance I was hoping for.

Janie is a 17 year old girl with all the normal high school problems, plus one unique addition–when Janie sleeps, she can enter other people’s dreams.  With the help of her new friend Cabel, Janie learns how to use her unique “gift” to help others.

An interesting young adult novel.  There’s quite a bit of language, teen sex and drug use–it’s definitely a book for older teens.

And a plug for my alma mater…Lisa McMann is a 1990 graduate of Calvin College.

http://www.calvin.edu/news/2008-09/lisa-mcmann/

A somewhat disappointing Civil War novel.  I kept waiting for the book to get going, but it kind of just poked along to the end.

These companion books take place in a fictional country in modern day Africa.  Looking at  the problem of AIDS and child soldiers respectively, these books are difficult to read.  Yet, through his main character, Chanda, Stratton offers hope in the midst of despair.