Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is a 5-star read, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy. It's really hard for me to read about Peeta trying to kill Katniss due to President Snow hijacking his brain. Also, I really hate that one of my very favorite characters dies. One thing I have really noticed in my re-read of this series is that there are a lot more injuries in the books than in the movies. Most of the main characters suffer significant injuries in the books that lays them up for awhile. I guess including the injuries in the movie would have slowed down the action a bit though. Even in the books they rarely mention Peeta's prosthetic leg.

There were certainly things that I had forgotten in this book, just like the other books. First of all, District 13 had been the center of the Capitol's nuclear weapons development program. I don't remember them talking about this in the movies. Also, Katniss wonders why Haymitch doesn't have any family or people he cares about. She finds out from Haymitch himself that two weeks after the end of his hunger games, his mother, brother and girlfriend were all dead. We know now (after reading Sunrise on the Reaping) that Haymitch was punished for his acts of rebellion in the second Quarter Quell games. He was held as the example to future victors about what could happen if they caused any problems in the games. Thirdly, they didn't send Primrose to talk to Peeta after he is "rescued" from the Capitol. They sent Delly Cartwright in to talk to him. Delly was a childhood friend of Peeta and a classmate of Katniss. The result of her visit was the same however. He warned her about Katniss, calling her a "stinking mutt".

One thing I loved about the book is when Haymitch put Katniss in her place regarding how she was treating Peeta. He tells Katniss that she is "punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control." He asks her if their positions were reversed, would Peeta treat her the way she was treating him. She acknowledges to herself that, "He would be trying to get me back at any cost. Not shutting me out, abandoning me, greeting me with hostility at every turn." Gotta love Haymitch! One thing I was disappointed in was the lack of Effie's presence in this book. She was more of a main character in the movie. One other odd change. At the end of the movie, Katniss is holding a baby and watching Peeta play with their young, blond, curly-haired son. In the book, Katniss remembers, "It took five, ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly." They actually have a daughter first, with dark hair and blue eyes. Their second child is a son with blond curls and gray eyes. Why the change??

Love, love, love this series!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Wow! I should have re-read this book a long time ago. There is so much more information and so many more relationships in the book than they put in the movie. There is also lots of "foreshadowing" about what we learn in the two prequel books. I guess this is why I always like books better than the movies - unless enough time has passed between reading the book & watching the movie. Catching Fire is actually my favorite of the four movies. That will continue to be the case, but I had forgotten a lot of the details that are presented in the first half of this book. Once we get to the Third Quarter Quell games, the movie follows the book really closely.

Some of the significant pieces of information I got out of reading this book nearly a decade after reading it the first time are as follows.

1) Katniss & Peeta watch the tape of the second Quarter Quell, which is the year that Haymitch won. They see President Snow drawing an envelope out of a container and announcing how the games will be different. In Haymitch's games it was drawing twice as many names from each district to compete in the games.

2) They see Maysilee Donner's name drawn, who Katniss now knows was her mother's friend. Since Maysilee was a twin, we find out that Madge's mother (the Mayor's wife) was the twin sister. This explains why Madge is so friendly with Katniss. Since the movie doesn't include Madge at all, we miss all of this information.

3) We get a glimpse of young Haymitch and his approach to the games. He was "Snarky. Arrogant. Indifferent." Of course we see this in Sunrise on the Reaping.

4) Peeta is actually the tribute who paints the depiction of Rue lying on the ground surrounded by the flowers that Katniss had placed there after her death. The Gamemakers cleaned it all up before Katniss even entered the room to show off her "talent", so she doesn't even see it. She does indeed hang up a dummy and write "Seneca Crane" on the front though.

5) Plutarch Heavensbee shows Katniss his watch when he asks her to dance at the Capitol when they are doing their Victory Tour. There is a picture of a mockingjay that lights up and he states, "It starts at midnight." Of course once Katniss is in the games and they figure out the arena is set up like a clock, she remembers him telling her this. This is obviously a huge clue that Plutarch is part of the rebellion.

6) Toward the end of the games, District 3 keeps sending the allies (Katniss & co) bread. Each delivery of bread (the number of rolls) represented the day and time the allies were supposed to break out of the arena.

These are just a few things I noted. It was incredibly interesting to re-read this book!

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I first read this book 9 or 10 years ago. Or should I say I "devoured" it. I immediately read Catching Fire and Mockingjay to finish out the trilogy. I absolutely loved it. I consider it my favorite trilogy of all time. When the movies came out, I loved them just as much. Absolutely the best casting decisions were made for all characters. I have seen the movies many, many, many times. This summer I decided I should go back to the original source, but I was nervous about it too, because I didn't want the books to be different than I remembered. Typically, books are much better than the movies made to represent them, but I love the movies so much. This post will be more about the things I forgot because it didn't make it in to the movie - and my different perceptions of the characters.

The one thing I have always remembered is that Primrose did not give Katniss the mockingjay pin. The Mayor's daughter, Madge, gave her the pin. Madge and Katniss were friends in the books, which they definitely cut out of the movies. This is an interesting choice since the mockingjay represents a time when the Capitol tried to control the districts and it backfired on them. So the Mayor's daughter giving this to Katniss to wear in the games relays a significant meaning. The character of Katniss in the book is more friendly and more vulnerable. There are times that she is unsure of what to do. She smiles more readily. That vulnerability doesn't come across in the movie. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is tough. I had a hard time with this character difference since I adore Jennifer as Katniss!

In the movie, we all know that Peeta genuinely loves Katniss and has since they were young children. But Katniss doesn't necessarily know the depth of his feelings. In the book, she does have a better sense of that. She also kisses him much more freely and more often in the book, during and after the games. But she also struggles with her feelings for Gale. I remember when I first read this trilogy I actually didn't know who she was going to choose in the end. (I was just praying that it was Peeta!) Some of the movie scenes were taken almost verbatim from the book, which I loved. In the book, Gale tells Katniss that he loves her and she stumbles around responding the same way she did in the movie.

I know certain things are cut out of a movie due to time constraints, but one thing I had completely forgotten was how the end of the games played out with Cato. In the book, Cato is being chased by the mutts and runs to the cornucopia to try to escape them. Katniss and Peeta follow him, but Peeta gets severely injured by a mutt who attacks his leg. The mutts are designed to look like/represent the fallen tributes - same eyes/eye color, hair color, size. When Katniss frees Peeta from Cato's grip by shooting Cato with an arrow, Cato does fall to be eaten alive by the mutts, but he suffers for hours and hours! In the book, Cato is wearing a sort of "suit of armor" which protects his body. This makes it more difficult for him to be killed by the mutts. (Ironic, right?) Katniss and Peeta listen to him suffer all night long before they decide that Katniss should relieve him from his misery. Truly gruesome and I absolutely see why they did not put this in the movie. Good decision. It was awful to even read. Peeta ends up with a prosthetic leg! I had completely forgotten that!

There is lot of foreshadowing, which obviously I missed when reading the first time. Katniss' father was musical - and so is she. She stopped singing after her father's death, but now we know from the prequels that her dad was connected to the Covey, the nomadic group that adopted Lucy Gray Baird, Coriolanus Snow's first love. Suzanne Collins must have an amazing story board to keep writing books so different in time and connecting all the pieces. Very impressive. One last thing I loved is Haymitch referring to Katniss as "sweetheart" like he does in the movies. Every single time he called her that in the book, I got a smile on my face because it sounds just like Woody Harrelson as Haymitch in the movie. Great, great casting!

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

After I finished this book, I had to go back and re-read the last 25 pages to make sure I understand what really happened! There are three different narrators and they don't necessarily know what the others have experienced. It all starts 50 years previously when a brother and sister (Danny & Poppy) are found murdered in their home. The main suspect is their brother (Vincent), although he and his mother have an alibi that was confirmed by a school teacher, Mr. Stewart. No arrests were made. Now in present day, Vincent is a highly successful author, but living alone. Lydia, his wife, left him and their daughter many years ago. When their daughter Olivia was 14 years old, Vincent sent her to boarding school since he traveled so much promoting his books. Vincent also developed a serious drinking problem, so he was far from a good dad anyway. Olivia was pretty much abandoned by Vincent at that point, so she was not a part of his life. Then she gets a call from his publisher. Vincent wants her to be the ghostwriter for his next book. Olivia was a highly successful ghostwriter until she publicly called out a fellow writer. He ended up suing her for defamation and winning his case against her. So, she owes him $500,000 and her lawyer $200,000 (?). A lot of money, regardless, which she certainly doesn't have. She doesn't want to have anything to do with her father, but desperate times....

Olivia goes to the house that Vincent still lives in (the one she left at 14). She finds out that he is seriously ill and can no longer write or read. She doesn't know whether he killed his siblings or not, but he wants her to ghostwrite his final book, a memoir. He said he finally wants to share the truth. He pretty much sends Olivia on a scavenger hunt for clues, just like he did when she was a young child. Olivia doesn't realize that right away. All she knows is that she doesn't trust him. The book reveals snippets of information from Olivia's, Vincent's and Poppy's experiences and this information is interwoven to tell the tale. We don't get Danny's perspective or personal experiences and it becomes apparent that he kept secrets from his family. Olivia works very hard to untangle the truth from the misinformation and lies. She does ultimately figure out what really happened that night - and who killed Poppy and Danny - but some of this truth will go to the grave instead of making an appearance in Vincent's well-received memoir that get's published around the time of his death, with the acknowledgement that Olivia was his ghostwriter. It's a good read!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

I thought about this book for days after I finished reading it. I sincerely wish it didn't end the way it did, but I did like the book a lot. I love books where you see growth in all the main characters. This story is about a family (Dominic and his three children, Raff, Fen, and Orly) who live on a very small island near Antarctica called Shearwater. They were living on the island with a research team and the world's largest seed bank. The seeds stored on Shearwater were from every species of plant worldwide. Some were simply unique and exotic; others were seeds for growing food. The food seeds could save humanity if most of the population was wiped out.

One night a woman is washed up onto their beach with the seals. She is barely alive, but Fen discovers her and gets help. They manage to save her life and give her a home to heal. The woman's name is Rowan and she came from a boat (piloted by one man) that didn't survive the arrival to Shearwater. Dominic doesn't understand why she was coming to the island (she isn't exactly forthcoming with any answers) and he is suspicious of her. Meanwhile, Rowan doesn't trust Dominic because she was expecting to see the research team (including her husband!) when she arrived on the island and no one is on the island except the Salts (Dominic & kids). They tell Rowan that the research team had already left the island (since the severe weather and significant storms were sinking the island itself so it was no longer safe to be there.) Rowan doesn't believe this necessarily because she knows her husband, as the team leader, would never leave the seed bank.

As the reader, you know that everyone is keeping secrets, but you don't know what they are each hiding. Come to find out, they are each and every one hiding something important that impacts the events that occur. Very good storytelling. I really liked each of the characters, and yet I wondered about each of them. Can they really be trusted? As the story unfolds, understanding happens and the characters, who are each "broken", start healing. I very much enjoyed their journey to healing. As the island falls farther into the sea, and the storms grow fiercer, threatening all of their lives, the ship finally arrives to rescue them and what seeds they can save (a small pittance compared to how many were stored there.) I truly wanted a happy ending. I didn't get it, but it's a remarkable read.

Wendy's Rating: ****1/2

The Narrows by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #10; the sequel to The Poet. Michael Connelly delivers, as usual. He brings together Harry Bosch and Rachel Walling (disgraced FBI agent from The Poet.) Harry is a PI with none of the authority of the police department or the FBI. Rachel was sent to North Dakota, and then South Dakota, after the Backus debacle in The Poet. These are not desirable posts for a FBI agent! Harry and Rachel don't exactly trust each other, but they need each other to figure out how to finally take down Backus permanently. Backus has continued to murder people - both within the US and outside. Backus keeps bringing Rachel into it, although the FBI would like to keep her at a distance. Harry is brought in by Graciela, Terry McCaleb's wife, after Terry is found dead on his boat. She wants Harry to investigate Terry's death. Harry has to rely on Buddy, Terry's partner, for assistance, but he certainly doesn't trust him.

Connelly is excellent at weaving stories together. You never really know when events and people are going to start intersecting. These characters are all very intelligent and they don't always share what they know and/or think with each other because each of them have their own agenda. It makes for interesting reading. The one comment I'm going to make about this book though is that Connelly writes to an intelligent reader, but there were three to four times in this book that he "spelled out" something quite obvious that I didn't think needed to be. Maybe if I hadn't just read The Poet it wouldn't have been so obvious. So, there's that.

Harry is managing to co-parent Maddie with Eleanor Wish, although they don't really get along that well. Eleanor continues to play poker as her profession, which she does late at night. Maddie is left home with the nanny. Harry is allowed to visit at any time, and usually chooses after Eleanor has gone to work. Good choice. I continue to not be a fan of Eleanor, and now Harry is tied to her forever. Oh well. Eleanor refuses to move to LA and Harry refuses to move to Las Vegas, so that's part of the conflict.

This story is definitely a battle of wits. Who can outsmart the other kind of thing. Backus has been killing for so long - and has led people around for so long (8 years and counting) - that he is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Thank goodness Harry steps in to help out the FBI!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Poet by Michael Connelly

This book is the prequel to Harry Bosch #10. We are introduced to Jack McEvoy, a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. His specialty is reporting on the more sensationalized deaths (ie serial killers). He doesn't have the same deadlines as the regular reporters because his stories are more in depth. Jack has a twin brother, Sean, who is a homicide detective. One day his brother is found dead by apparent suicide. Sean had been investigating the brutal murder of a young boy and he kept hitting dead ends. Sean is found dead in his car by (presumably) a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His car is parked at the lake where their sister had drowned years earlier. Jack has a really difficult time accepting that Sean would have killed himself. He asks for permission to write a story about cop suicide, which his editor gives his okay to.

It doesn't take long for Jack to decide that Sean was actually murdered. He asks to fly to Chicago to look into another homicide detective suicide that appears similar to his brother's. This other detective also (supposedly) killed himself after he was having a difficult time solving a brutal murder. Soon Jack is working hard (with assistance from the FBI) to find other cases that may be similar in nature, leading to the possibility of a serial killer.

The agents from the FBI include Rachel Walling (of Harry Bosch's world), her boss Bob Backus, and her ex-husband, Gordon Thorson (who is a complete jerk). Jack falls for Rachel (and they start sleeping together), detests Thorson (who seems to be sabotaging Jack's story) and respects Backus (who keeps sending Rachel away and forcing Jack to work with Thorson, who he doesn't trust). The FBI agents alternate between legitimately working with Jack - and shutting him out of the process. Jack continues to persevere regardless.

The last 100 pages of the book is a wild ride! It's very well plotted. I certainly didn't know who to trust. Very well written. I am eager to start the sequel (The Narrows) with Harry Bosch!

Wendy's Rating: ****