Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, 391 pages

Could this series get any better? Of course I know it can.

Catching Fire was just as good as The Hunger Games, if not better. The only thing I had a problem with was the lack of Peeta. Don’t get me wrong, he’s there, but for me it just wasn’t the same. And I really enjoyed him in HG. He was pretty awesome here too, but I am kind of tired of him being the “weak” one. Meaning he gets electrocuted and then with the apes/monkeys.

This book was clever, and intriguing and I couldn’t put it down. The Quarter Quell was such a good idea, and the addition of President Snow (I know he was in HG, just not as vocal) and his blood and roses smell. It was just all so...GOOD...

There were so many emotions in this book, I felt despair and anger and humor and love, etc.

I am so anticipating book 3, I cannot wait for August! And yet I’m a little sad as well because then it will be over.

Of course if you haven’t noticed I am Team Peeta, not that I don’t like Gale cause I do, but Peeta just seems right.

I hope he has a bigger role in the next book, as well as Gale.

Go buy it and devour it if you haven’t already.

and now for the quotes.

“Maybe if the whole country puts its mind to it, we can get you married before you’re thirty.”

“You’ll probably have to pass a new law,” I say with a giggle.

“If that’s what it takes,” says the president with conspiratorial good humor.

Oh, the fun we two have together.

“They’re playing with you because you’re so...you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” I say. And I really have no idea what he’s talking about.

“It’s like when you wouldn’t look at me naked in the arena even though I was half dead. You’re so...pure,” he says finally.

“I am not!” I say. “I’ve been practically ripping your clothes off every time there’s been a camera for the last year!”

“Yeah, but...I mean, for the Capitol, you’re pure,” he says, clearly trying to mollify me. “For me, you’re perfect. They’re just teasing you.”

Really, the combination of the scabs and the ointment looks hideous. I can’t help enjoying his distress.

“Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven’t looked pretty?” I say.

“It must be. The sensation’s completely new. How have you managed it all these years?” he asks.

“Just avoid mirrors. You’ll forget about it,” I say.

“Not if I keep looking at you,” he says.

Impossible, Nancy Werlin, Dial Books, 366 pages

(Nov. 29) Okay guys, sorry for the hiatus but I have been sick. And over Thanksgiving. Let’s just say we didn’t do anything. No turkey, no family, nothing. It was nice. :)

That being said I’m gonna try and get a few reviews up. Starting with this one.

I read this book right after it came out so it’s been a while but I loved it. It was one of the first (I bought it along with Graceling) that got me started reading YA again.

So thank you Nancy.

Lucy Scarborough is trying to lead a typical teenage life despite the fact that she lives with foster parents, her mom is insane, and pops in and out of her life singing the same song she always has, and that she’s in love with the boy she grew up with.

I’m trying not to give away too much so let’s just say she becomes pregnant under unusual circumstances and that’s when things start falling into place.

She finds a letter and journal from when her mom was pregnant with her and it starts to explain what’s really happened and what will happen if she doesn’t figure out the answers to the riddle her mom has been singing to her her whole life.

With the help of her foster parents and Zach (the boy) she sets out to unravel the three impossible tasks that have been placed upon her before her daughter is born or else she will go insane just like her mom.

Such a good book. I love the use of the folk song as a foundation for the plot. The story was enthralling, it sucks you in. The characters, especially Lucy, feels like a true friend. You want to help her, you want to be there for her.

The story was clever and the riddle and answers even more so.

Highly, highly recommend this book.

and I know I’ve been slacking...

Zach grinned. And even though Lucy was not looking at him, she knew, because when somebody grins and your cheek is pressed against their chest, you can feel the smile right there in their body. Right in the muscle movement.

Lucy turned away abruptly. But not before she was suddenly aware that Zach was looking at her, too.

A Curse as Dark as Gold, Elizabeth Bunce, Arthur A. Levine Books, 392 pages

(Nov. 20) I was amazed. Despite being a smidge bored at some parts.

Elizabeth Bunce is incredible at storytelling. If you can’t guess or haven’t heard this is a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. And quite a believeable one at that.

I loved the characters, some a little more than others but they were all extremely well written. The main character, Charlotte, was strong, yet unsure. Rosie, her sister, was sassy and didn’t hold back. I loved the romance between Charlotte and Randall, of course cause I’m a sap. And the slowly budding relationship between Rosie and Harte. The villains were, well, villains. :)

I felt like I was there, like I was transported to this quaint little country village. I thought the descriptions of mill life were intricate and well researched.

Great story. Really.

The suspense just kept building and I didn’t want to put it down.

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

Read this book.

Fire, Kristin Cashore, Dial Books, 461 pages

(Oct. 29)Fire, Graceling's prequel-ish companion book, takes place across the mountains to the east of the seven kingdoms, in a rocky, war-torn land called the Dells.

Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.

Not many storytellers can transport you to a new world, yet Kristin Cashore has succeeded in doing just that...again.

The story was lyrical and filled with wonderful imagery.

The characters were all well-written I felt, except maybe Immiker/King Leck, I don’t know why but he just didn’t seem as terrifying as I imagined him to be. Maybe it’s because he’s around 11, but no, he has this quiet terror about him. I don’t know. He just didn’t do it for me.

There were quite a few bits of the story that I figured out before they were really touched upon by the author, and then there were a few that I didn’t see coming at all.

I can say that I did feel invested in these characters and what was happening to and with them. That never changed, but there were a few nit-picky things on my part that I just can’t not mention...

If, when Bitterblue wants to chop off her hair or not marry and have children I will scream and THROW THE BOOK ACROSS THE ROOM. I will then pick it back up and continue to devour it, but seriuosly. Why can’t you love having long hair and fall in love and desire children and want to be married? Is there an agenda? A point to get across? We got it. Also, the fact that there was so much sharing of people. Really?

That being said, it is such a good story and I am always impressed with her ability to grab you and not let go until the last page is turned.

Really great job, again Ms. Cashore. I will run out and purchase anything you write. You have a lifelong reader in me.

Graceling, Kristin Cashore, Harcourt, Inc. 471 Pages

(Oct. 10) Loved, loved, loved this book! I wish my laptop keyboard had musical note keys so you could have gotten the full effect of me singing how much I loved it.

Okay, granted compared to quite a few other books it was longer, but, but, but that didn’t matter. I didn’t put it down.

And I picked it up, actually a while ago (sorry it’s taken so long to review) without really having heard any hype about it.

Kristin’s world of the Seven Kingdoms is so believable. And as you all know I enjoy it when an author adds something to the book like a map or as in the case of Wondrous Strange which I will be reviewing shortly, a playbook. It just makes me happy and I understand things a bit better.

I was about to go through and list all of the things I felt were believable when I realized I would have been listing everything.

Such a great story, such great characters, I enjoyed the twists, and the romance and even the evil.

I want a Grace. Hmmmm, what would it be? And what color would my eyes be? Maybe someone could make a Grace generator. You know where I type in my name and it randomly picks my eye color and Grace. Could you get right on that Kristin? Since it is your imagination at work. :D

I would say I’m excited for Fire but that would be an huge understatement, plus it is already available at my local bookstore. I just don’t have the moolah yet. I’ll see if the library has it though. Maybe I’ll get it faster.

The relationship/banter between Katsa and Po was awesome. I’m a sucker for good banter. I liked that she could kick his butt, and that he wasn’t easy on her in fights, and yet they both had an incredibly soft side for each other.

I thought the ending was amazing in how they figured out what was going on. I was heartbroken as well. And I can’t say anything. It’s so hard sometimes.

Go Get This Book!

Again, too many things I’d like to quote but too much would be given away so...

“You’re not the most perceptive person I’ve ever known, Kat,” Raffin said, “if you don’t mind my saying so. Your capacity for missing the obvious is astonishing.”

She threw her arms into the air. She turned to go. She turned back suddenly, at a shocking thought. “You’re not in love with me, are you?”

He stared at her for a moment, speechless. Then he burst into laughter.