About the Book:

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?

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, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, 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 will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is one strange book.  Not because of the content, or the writing, but how I came across it.  As a full time working person, I don’t have as much time as I would like to go to the library, and just dig through books, looking for something to read.  For me that ends up being hours spent in the library, or book store.  And that is just money, and time that I don’t have.  So I have had to find other ways of locating reading material.  Consequently, I have made book blogs, and computers, and book recommendations my very good friends.

So when I received notice from the local library that this book was available for pick up, I was a little surprised.  I don’t remember requesting it, and I am not sure that I ever really did.  However, I recognize that there is a lot of time, money, and effort to offer this service to library patrons — so I went in and picked up the book.  I even made the comment at the library counter that I don’t even remember requesting it.  To which the librarian informed me that “this is a book they just cannot keep in the library because it is so popular — and it is a really great book.”

Well when I finally started reading I began to see what she was talking about.  I absolutely fell in love with the characters.  So much so that by the end of the book I was so angry with the ending that I was ready to throw the book across the room!  (OK — don’t stop reading here.)  What I didn’t realize was this was only the first book, in what is to be a series.  And like the Harry Potter series, the end of the book, does not imply the end of the story.  Boy, was I relieved to learn that this morning!

I have always felt that a truly great author has the ability to get the reader so engrossed with a story, and with the characters that the book takes on a life all its own.  The reader becomes involved with the book on a deeply personal level — and they begin to engage with, a live the story along with the characters.  Ms. Collins has masterfully accomplished this goal with this book.  This is what made me so mad — I just could not see the character I had come to know as Katniss doing what she did at the end of the book.  Nor could I see how a story could end, and only be half finished.

This is an intense story that engrosses the reader from beginning to end, and I can hardly wait for the next book to come out.  The only draw back is I am 385 on the library’s waiting list for this book.  I am in for a very frustrating wait!

All that said, I was pleasantly surprised to come across Ms. Collins, as a writer.  It is hard to find a new writer that you just simply fall in love with.  I had never read anything of her’s before — and I was amazed at her ability to create a story.  Simply put — she is an excellent story teller.  One that I look forward to exploring further.

This is a book that I consider a must read.  It is in the Young Adult fiction category — and I would consider it appropriate for most ages.  The language is clean, and the story is fun.  And yes it deals with some very grown up situations — however, it is presented without the gore, horror, or appalling language that has become so prevalent in modern day writing!  I loved it, and thank you to Ms. Collins for sharing her talent with others.

Tags: Friendship, Government, Suspense, Young Adult

Category: Fantasy, Fiction, Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult Fiction

About the Book:

Norman Maclean’s memories about growing up in Montana revolve around mighty trout rivers and the four-count rhythm of fly fishing. It is the one activity where his family can bridge troubled relationships, where brother can connect with brother and father with son. And in the end, it is the river that makes them realize that life continues and all things are related. The strong reading of Ivan Doig, Montana native and author of This House of Sky, adds much flavor to this tender, often very funny, and beautiful story about love and loss. A tale not to be missed and to be revisited frequently.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is not normally my first choice of reading material.  Yes, I grew up in the Rocky Mountains — However, I have never been to Montana, I know nothing about fishing, and I am really not much of an outdoor person.  But, since school is not about reading what one would choose to read, so much as learning to read what is assigned to read, and discovering the significance of all types of books — this one made it to my reading list this year.  And surprisingly I found this book to be an interesting one, once I got into it.

Granted, I missed much of the technical presentation of the fishing, and the specific requirements for knowing how to identify the appropriate type of fishing hole, type of fly to be used, and the importance of the construction of the rod.  But I wouldn’t count this a wasted experience by any means.  The underlying story has a great deal in it that is worth the effort, and it is a powerful statement on family, and the difficulties of family relations.  The struggles which the author presents between himself, and his brother Paul are much more realistically portrayed than in many of the books I have read.  It explores the realms of not the events and common backgrounds which tie two brothers together, but rather the differences that bind them, while at the same time keeping them strangers to each other.  This book brings home the true question of any relationship, no matter how intimate, or how strong — “can we ever truly KNOW someone?”  Even those in our lives that have shared the most with us — the common parents, growing up experiences, and the bond of family — there will always be something of each individual which will keep them separate, and unknown.

This book also provides an elegant presentation of the difficulties that exist in trying to help someone, who finds themselves in trouble.  How much can any one person do in the assistance of another?  And, in the end — is it possible to help someone at all?  These are problems that loved ones and family members will always have to deal with when confronting addiction, alcoholism, gambling, and all kinds of other vices, in someone close to them.  And, as Mr. Maclean so eloquently puts it in the end, “It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us.”

This is also a great book for both imagery and symbolism.  The river, the rods, the religion, and ultimately each of the relationships speak volumes, which in turn adds both depth and perspective to this short book.  Mr. Maclean is gifted in his writing and has a real gift for description.  Settings are by far his strength — but there is a lot in this book that is worth the read.

Tags: Biography, Family, Fishing, Fly Fishing, History, Literature, Loss, Love, Memory, Montana, Morality, Non-Fiction, Siblings

Category: Biography/Autobiography, Classics, History, Non-Fiction