The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

It isn't every day that I am completely engrossed in a book.  I do my reading in snippets--a bit at the gym in the morning, some with my book propped up by a salt shaker while I eat lunch, etc.  Every once in a while I come across something I can't put down or read in bits and pieces.  With Harry Potter, I believe this was because the magical world J.K. Rowling created was so new and fascinating.  I can't think of anything since Harry Potter that has been so utterly gripping as The Hunger Games.


I was afraid to read these books--there is a lot of hype about them, and I have heard countless people tell me what they probably told you too: "The first one is great, the second is good too, but it doesn't end how you want it to . . . "  I have also been warned against the violence in the books.  And with good reason--these aren't stories for the faint of heart!


That said, I want to tell you why you should at least consider The Hunger Games series, if you haven't already read them like half of the reading world.


1. It's original. I mean, there are a lot of dystopian books out there, but none with such a believable, fascinating (albeit horrifying) premise.


2. The characters are believable.  No offense to the Twilight series, but Katniss is no Bella . . . I found myself really rooting for the main characters.

3. Yes, there was violence, but it wasn't the mindless killing I expected it to be. Katniss, the main character, regrets her part in any killing, and she makes a point of disagreeing with the entire Hunger Games. (I'm just assuming everyone knows the basic storyline here)

4. There was no mushy, inappropriate romance junk. I still wouldn't let anyone younger than 15-16 read it, just for the sake of the disturbing premise, but it was much more appropriate than the Twilight Books.  Ok, I'm afraid I'm going to get on my soapbox here for a minute . . .

Soapbox:  I am incredibly concerned about the youth of this decade being exposed to far too much intimacy through books like Twilight and the rest of that series.  They are so not appropriate for kids who are younger than . . . thirty, maybe?  Mostly the last one--far too much information about sexual matters.  And although they are written by a member of the same church I belong to, and even though the main characters are married--for heaven's sake, do we really need to know every private detail?  I believe books of this nature are porn in the form most tantalizing to young women.  Girls don't go around looking for pornography pictures; Satan knows he can snag women (young and old) through books and movies like Twilight.  I confess, I did read the series and watched the movies--the storyline is very interesting, but there is a real danger there you need to be aware of for young women.  Please be very careful with your young girls! Ok, I'm through.

5. Suzanne Collins can really write.  I think sometimes authors get in the way of their story--they write in an awkward way that never lets you forget you're reading a book.  In contrast, each one of these books draws you right in, and you're living the story with Katniss.  The first person voice isn't distracting at all, like others written in this style, and you forget you're reading.

6.  It provides very interesting food for discussion--is it possible for the world as we know it to become like Panem, this futuristic world?  What would you do if you were forced to join the Hunger Games?  Is war ever right?  You could have a great discussion with your kids about what type of government is really the best, as well as how the gospel of Jesus Christ can solve every social problem in the world.  I have heard the complaint that it doesn't teach a great moral lesson, but I beg to differ.

Now, about the individual books themselves: The Hunger Games could stand alone, if it weren't for the cliffhanger-ish ending.  It is powerful in and of itself, fascinating, and really well done.  Catching Fire is much the same, butI know people who have decided not to read Mockingjay because it's gotten a bad rap.  I submit that it is every bit as good as the other two books; while things don't end "happily ever after," the way Collins finishes it is absolutely brilliant, and she leaves you with a lot to mull over.

I have yet to see the movie, but I am very excited to give it a try.  I have heard good things.  So give the books a try if you are brave enough, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Book review of The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

I like to read to my kids during lunch--it seems to be a good time because their mouths are full of food, their hands are busy, and they're all sitting at the counter facing me.  It's hard to get them to sit still otherwise . . . This book was one we read together over the summer, just because I happened to have it on my bookshelf. I can't think where I got it--probably from my good mother, who first introduced me to Pearl S. Buck.  I highly recommend almost all of her books--I went through a Pearl S. Buck phase in high school and read everything our library had to offer.

This book is shorter than her others and written for younger readers.  It tells the simple story of two boys whose lives are influenced by the ocean, particularly by a "big wave," or tsunami, as we know it.  It seems like there are natural disasters all over the place nowadays (the last days are truly upon us, aren't they?), and reading this provided a good backdrop for us to discuss why Heavenly Father allows natural disasters to happen, why people die, and what happens to them when they die.  They really identified with the boys in the story, and I think that's due to Pearl Buck's writing style.  We're reading her book The Story Bible now, and it's really making the Bible stories come alive--I will keep you posted on that one!

Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

You have to prepare yourself if you're going to read this one.  I'm going to spoil everything for you and tell you that yes, it is a tragedy, and no, it doesn't end well (which is, I suppose, the definition of tragedy . . . ).  But somehow knowing that at the outset helped me, because I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen and how much worse it could get.   I could hardly put it down--and I'm afraid I ended up absolutely loving it!  And of course being completely frustrated with half the characters . . . I could actually sympathize with my husband's complaints of the lack of communication skills in my British movies.  I don't think I'll be showing him this one.

Like Dickens, I can see why Hardy felt compelled to write about the social ills of his day.  And like Dickens, I have to admit that Thomas Hardy is a wonderful author.  He gets into the minds of the characters so thoroughly--the hardest thing for me was that he kept saying, "Had he said such-and-such, she never would have etc. etc. etc."  All the more tragic!  I admit that I wept for Tess more than once (and once at the gym--why do I always hit the sad parts while I'm exercising?).  Although this book was originally met with outrage, I thought it taught a very poignant lesson about purity, chastity, and respect for women--one that at the time was much-needed and is probably needed even more today.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I'm on a classics kick, as you'll begin to notice.  My amazing mother is teaching English for an England study-abroad program this spring, and has enlisted my voracious reading appetite in tackling her long list of required books.  It's a fun excuse to read my head off!

I started with The Picture of Dorian Gray because I bought a copy at the grocery store for $1--and because it was fairly short.  Years ago I saw the black & white version, but the book is much, much better.

This is Oscar Wilde's sole novel--I didn't realize it, but his other writings were only plays or essays.  And you can tell--his dialogue reads very much like a play, the characters playing verbal tennis as they toss their comments back and forth.  These are followed by long (some of them quite long) descriptions.  But still, it is a book that keeps you reading, and Wilde is quite good at invoking reflection.

His play The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my favorites.  One of the main characters in the novel (Lord Henry Wotton) reminded me quite a bit of Algernon Moncrieff--both characters say things they don't mean--things to shock "society."  Often then say the opposite of what is reasonable, but the great difference is that Algy says them in jest, while Lord Wotton says them specifically to tempt Dorian Gray into wrongdoing.  While Wilde never comes straight out with a moral--in fact, at times he seems to be agreeing with the villains--the book teaches a definite lesson.  I think it would be a great book for teens to read with parents and discuss (have I pushed that enough?).