All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

I loved, loved, loved this book. It is so well written. The writing is intelligent, thought-provoking, insightful, painful, heart wrenching, sad, and ultimately hopeful. It's almost 600 pages long, but I didn't want to put it down. These characters touched my soul. There were also twists and turns that I absolutely didn't see coming.

The main characters are Patch and Saint. They are young teens when the novel begins. Patch only has one eye, so he wears a patch over his missing eye. Therefore his name. He is also referred to as the Pirate, which he is fine with. Pirates are his passion and he knows a lot about them. He and his mother are dirt poor, and his mother spends her days & nights drinking. His uniqueness keeps potential friends away, with the exception of Saint. (On a side note, I happened to rewatch the movie Forrest Gump while reading this book and Patch & Saint's relationship reminded me a lot of Forrest & Jenny's!) Anyway, Saint befriends him, accepting his uniqueness and less desirable activities (ie stealing). She accepts him for who he is. 

One day, Patch witnesses the potential abduction of a female classmate and he intervenes. The girl, Misty, is saved, but Patch disappears. No one knows what happened to him because Misty ran away when Patch told her to run. So there were no witnesses. Everyone searches for Patch, but he is not found and eventually the whole town thinks he is dead except for Saint. She continues to persistently search for Patch, knowing that he is alive. She has the support of the police chief, Chief Nix, who looks out after her on a personal level. Saint's mother is dead and her grandmother is raising her. Chief Nix doesn't exactly believe that Patch is still alive, but he believes in Saint.

Saint eventually (after several months) finds Patch alive, although he is traumatized. Patch insists that he was taken care of by a girl named Grace all the months he was missing. He was kept in a dark place. No light at all. He never saw the girl, but she told him stories and fed him antibiotics when he was ill, and held him. She would leave at times when summoned by the man that took him. Patch's fear was that one day she wouldn't return. When Patch is rescued, there is no sign of Grace. Patch is consumed by her, however, and this changes the trajectory of his life again: looking for Grace. No one knows if Grace actually existed, or if Patch's traumatized brain imagined her.

Meanwhile, Misty, the wealthy and beautiful classmate that he saved from abduction, is eternally grateful for Patch saving her life. She wants to be near him. So does Saint. Patch wants to find Grace. The focal point in the lives of these three people stems from Patch's abduction. It changes the rest of their lives. The rest of the book (which is incredibly written) is Misty loving Patch; Saint loving Patch - and believing in him, which is most important; Patch searching for Grace.

I can count on one hand how many books I have wanted to start over after finishing it. This is one of them.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

I don't typically read a lot of "beach reads", but when I do, I usually like them. I found myself rolling my eyes, sighing heavily and putting the book down with this one. It just seemed so superficial. You have a group of wealthy, entitled people living on Nantucket worried about what they are wearing and who gets accepted in the privileged club of the hour. I guess I like my books with a little more "meat" to them. I did not care about these people. I could not relate to these people. Their problems were clearly and abundantly "First World". Upper class First World.

The new couple in town, Bull & Leslee, drove me crazy. These are not people I would want to spend my time with! Leslee fawning over every young attractive man who enters her presence. Bull casually overlooking how foolish Leslee makes him look. Leslee treating Coco like a servant, always at her beck and call. The whole thing was ridiculous. People just throwing their money around.

So, now for what I liked about the book. I liked the budding relationship between Sharon and Romeo, until she derailed it by thinking she should give her loser, cheating husband a second chance. Seriously, what was that about? Romeo was my favorite character in the book. He seemed to be the only person who was loyal, honest, and living his life with the best of intentions. I pretty much guessed how the Richardson's house burnt down, but I really didn't know what happened to Coco. I was interested in finding out what happened to her. I wasn't sure what to think of her relationship with Lamont. For a long time I thought Lamont was simply a womanizer, so I wasn't sure he was a good fit for Coco. I was happy to find out he was a good guy who actually loved Coco. Finally, the end of the book threw me for a loop. I wasn't expecting it, so that was a surprise for sure.

I can honestly say this was my least favorite Elin Hilderbrand book, and I've read a few.

Wendy's Rating: ***

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

I never know how much I'm going to like "much-hyped" books, but I really did love this one. It's my first book by this author. The story is set in 1789 Maine. The main character is Martha Ballard, a midwife. Martha is married to a wonderful man, Ephraim, and they are happily married. This is always a refreshing change! They love each other, respect each other, support each other and trust each other. They had nine children, six still living. (Three children died from illness when they were young.) Their oldest son, Cyrus, is mute. This seems to be a result of the illness that killed his siblings. Unfortunately this fact hinders his chances at finding a wife and having the children he would love to have. Back in the 1700s, many people were illiterate. So even though Cyrus could write his thoughts (thanks to Martha), most people couldn't actually read them!

One night at a "Frolic", which is like a town dance, a man (recently accused of rape) tries repeatedly to get one of Martha's daughters (Hannah) to dance with him. Hannah does not want to and Cyrus steps in and this interference ends up in a fist fight between the two men. Later that night (after midnight) this same man is found dead in the river. Cyrus is accused of murdering him (eventually). The complication is that Martha sees the dead man first and declares it a murder by hanging, but the new Harvard-educated medical doctor in town insists that it's an accidental drowning. A third party eventually agrees with Martha, but then Cyrus is accused of the murder.

The wealthy Judge North, who runs the town, was also accused of raping the same woman as the man who was murdered. He exerts his power continuously to shape the narrative. Martha's goal is to expose him for the man he is. Martha also wants to defend the honor of the woman who was raped, Rebecca Foster, who happens to be the wife of the minister. He was out of town when it happened. Rebecca finds herself pregnant as a result of the brutal rape. Ultimately, North wants to beat the rape charge and take over the majority of the town's property, including the homestead, mill, and acreage of the Ballards. They have lived there for 12 years. Martha & Ephraim have their work cut out for them as they try to stop this evil man they have actually known since they were young teenagers.

Great storytelling! Lots of different things happening between the births, rapes, court cases, children finding their "mates" for life, and of course the frozen river, which is a central piece of the landscape.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

This was not my favorite book by Kate Quinn, but I did like it for what it is. I guess I'm used to her writing about a specific time in history that includes historical people. This story takes place in the 1950s during McCarthyism, McCarthy's pursuit of communists living in America. The Red Scare. The main characters are women living in a boardinghouse (Briarwood House) in Washington DC and their various male friends. We are introduced to each of them, peripherally, at the beginning. Then each woman narrates a chapter and we really get to know them. I really liked this method of developing each character. People are often different than their persona. Digging deeper in each life gives the reader a new perspective on them as people, and we gain knowledge about their histories: why they act the way they do; what inner turmoil they might have experienced, or are currently experiencing; why they make the choices that they do. Briarwood House is also the narrator for some chapters. I guess you could consider it yet another perspective, but I kind of thought it was weird. It didn't add anything for me.

Grace March is the woman who brings everyone else in the house together. She is the personification of her name. She treats each person with grace, dignity and respect and she marches forward with all of her many plans. Great name for her! Grace has good insight into other people and always seems to know when someone needs help, support, or simply to talk. Nora falls in love with a gangster (who calls himself a "businessman", which she doesn't buy into). Nora is a strong woman and breaks off the relationship with Xavier even though she loves him because his actions go against her beliefs/morals. She comes from a family of crooked cops and has separated herself from them as well. Fliss is a young, beautiful woman married to a military man who is a doctor, who is in high demand during the Korean War. She is left to raise their young daughter alone, waiting for him to return from the war. This is why she is living in the boardinghouse. Reka is an older Jewish woman who escaped the Nazis during World War II. She was an artist whose prized possessions were stolen from her once she arrived in America. Bea was a professional baseball player in the All-American Girls League, but her career ended due to an injury. Claire is gay and in love with a woman. She had to try to keep this a secret of course since gay people were persecuted in America along with the suspected communists in the 1950s. (And long after of course.) And then there is Arlene, who I really couldn't stand. She was the type of woman who would report anything and everything if it allowed her to advance her career.

Anyway, each of these woman were silently suffering alone, until Grace March moved in. She changed all of their lives for the better. We don't get the scoop on Grace until the end of the book. One insight into Grace comes near the beginning, however. She is talking to Nora about Xavier and his profession and she says, "Violent men who are also smart and strong are not completely lost causes. They can learn different ways, if they choose. It's the weak ones who cause the most damage. Nothing wreaks havoc like a weak man - because they never learn, so they just go blithely on, leaving pain and wreckage behind them."

The historical part of this fiction comes from the characters being blends of real people in history.

Wendy's Rating: ****

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: *****