The Hunger Games Trilogy

Title- The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Author- Suzanne Collins

Rating- 4.5/5

Comments- For the last two months or so my sister has been constantly nagging at me to "Hurry up and read the Hunger Games." and I've watched her wait impatiently to get her hands on the two sequels. At the same time, my friends have been discussing the cast of the upcoming movie version. And simultaneously, most of the world has been raving about it. So obviously, I wanted to see what this was all about.

Wow. It grabs you and doesn't let go. And it is just so addictive! I just burned my way through the series, and I couldn't get enough until I hit the end.


The story is set around a girl named Katniss, living in a post-apocalyptic society. At the drawing of contestants for an annual competition known as "The Hunger Games" she becomes one of the players in this "game" that the government has produced for entertainment. The game involves 24 contestants, with one male and one female from each of the 12 districts making up their world, where the players compete in survival by killing off other contestants. The last person living becomes the winner. 


It's through this game that Suzanne Collins displays the idea of a totalitarian society with a government that is completely unwilling to allow citizens to have any say in their society. This builds up into the rebellion of the citizens, making this an adventure you do not want to stop following.


I'll only say one thing more- read them!

Angels and Demons

Title- Angels and Demons

Author- Dan Brown

Rating- 4/5

Comments- My mother has always told me this. There are three things one should never talk about in the company of those who they do not deem "close". Religion. Politics. People. And most of the time, talking about any of the three topics can result very badly. I don't mean to say that it does this every time, but the vast majority of these occasions do not end well. 


So I was quite in shock to find how neutral Dan Brown had managed to convey most of the religious aspects in Angels and Demons. Alright, it is fiction, therefore the content of the book can all be labeled as completely untrue, but there were moments in the story where Dan Brown seemed to formulate completely the ideas that people have tried to convey for years. There was a particular moment in the story that spanned several pages, of an explanation of the boundaries between science and religion that I found so well-put that it amazed me terribly.


But now, you might be thinking that this book is stuffed only with religion. And what makes it so fabulous is that it isn't. Brown somehow managed to take the tough-to-mix ingredients and combined into a perfect story: history, religion, action, mystery, and of course, with a twist at the very end. All formulated into this fantastic adventure with a tempo so fast that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down. 


A well-thought out plot that was satisfying to read, especially with all the historical knowledge and geography that I managed to pick up on the way. Of course, I'm sure not all the information is completely reliable, but it has been used in an appropriate way to make a very believable story. Next up of Brown's book is the DaVinci code and I won't deny that I'm excited!

Treasure Island

Title- Treasure Island

Author- Robert Louis Stevenson

Rating- 5/5

Comments- There is a lot more than just action needed to make a book "good". At least that's what I believe. And personally, I think Treasure Island is one of those books that have managed to have just the right amount of adventure, combined with what I perceive as one of the most vital elements in book writing- emotion. 

Unlike the common misconception that most have about classic books, Treasure Island has a opening line that grabs you straight away. 

"Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back, but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17- and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow Inn, and the brown old seaman, with the sabre-cut, first took up his lodging under our roof."

I honestly could not have phrased it better myself. And Stevenson's commendable writing doesn't halt there. One of the reasons that I particularly enjoyed this book was because of his storytelling skills. His ability to phrase things simply enough to be easily understood, but descriptive enough to hold the interest of the reader is certainly admirable and can captivate a wide range of readers which makes this book so wonderful. 

This book has also proved to be one that can be understood on different levels- something that I think requires quite some thought and talent to be able to achieve. It works both as a story for younger audiences as well as a bit of a story that can be interpreted more in-depth. One example of this being the "coming of age" of the main character, Jim. The themes of isolation and greed were also present, conveying, in a sense, the realities of life and mankind.

This is one of those books that I definitely wouldn't mind reading again- both for the in-depth look on it as well as the classic pirate adventure that I doubt anybody can resist. 

Pirates, Cough Drops, and Summer

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Drink and devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"


I've been lying curled up all day with Dad's copy of Treasure Island, immersing myself in a world of buccaneers, hidden treasures, and warm tropical islands. The weather has been pretty much the same outside as in the book, but I've been too busy sucking steadily on my endless supply of cough drops in hopes of calming my scratchy throat, and wiping my runny rose, to go outside and enjoy it. 


Shame.


But Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination has been keeping me company so I can hardly complain. 


The end of school approaches. The assignments and tests are done with. Grades have been set. Graduation in a week. I'm pleased. 


And soon I'll be in Japan. Eating delectable traditional food and meeting my sweet grandparents. 


Being ill is pretty terrible, but I've got way too many good things outweighing it to ruin my day. So excuse me, I must return to the doings of the one-legged Captain Long John Silver.