Legend

Legend
Marie Lu
Penguin, 2011
336 pages

June and Day both live in the Republic, but that is where their similarities end. June is the daughter of a highly regarded family and has entered into the military to serve the republic that she so strongly believes in. Day's family lives in the slums and has already survived an attempt on his life by the Republic even though he is but 15. Thrown together after June's brother is murdered - seemingly by Day - the two opposites find out how truly similar they are, and how the Republic is far from what either of them imagined.

While this is a decent dystopian teen novel, Legend pales in comparison to the works of Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, and Scott Westerfeld. This first novel in the series certainly sets up an interesting model of our future, but one that seems to be made piecemeal of the futures we've been shown by other authors. A fun read, but not as engaging as it was hyped up to be.

Book Count: 22 down, 178 to go!

Mockingjay

Mockingjay
Suzanne Collins
Toronto: Scholastic, Inc., 2010
400 pages

Against more odds than you can hope to calculate, Katniss has survived the Hunger Games twice.  Rescued by the people of the long-lost District 13, Katniss chooses to become their pawn in the uprising against the Capitol in the small hope that she can save Peeta, who has been captured by President Snow. Not all is as it seems, and Katniss will soon have to face impossible choices to save the people she holds most dear.

The only reason I didn't finish this book in one sitting was because I had to go to work today. I finished the last two chapters on my break. It's that good. Terrifying in places, perhaps geared towards older teens and adults even more so than the other two novels in the series, but good nevertheless.

I've heard a lot of readers say that this book disappointed them - the end was depressing, it wasn't what they had hoped for, the first book was better. While the first book was my favourite by far, I think the reason that Mockingjay wasn't as well received as the other books in the series is that the tone of the story changed - it became too real. Civil war is something we see in the news all the time now - some of us have even been personally touched by its tragedies. Having Katniss, Peeta, Gale and the rest of the crew fighting a civil war, losing friends and loved ones at every step, is a little too familiar to us. The Games in the first two books were foreign - left only to the power of our imaginations. War is real, it's not a game, and people die. But life for some goes on, and at the end of it all, Mockingjay does leave us with some hope for our future.

Book Count: 17 read, 183 to go.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins
Toronto: Scholastic Press, 2010
400 pages

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to read this book? I loved The Hunger Games, once I came to terms with the horrifying nature of the world Katniss and Peeta live in, and actually own the entire trilogy, but hadn't got to the second and third books yet. I remedied that error this morning. Read the whole thing in pretty much one sitting. Even ignored my Christmas wrapping and decorating (If you know me, you know this is a huge deal.)

Against all odd, Katniss and Peeta have both survived the Hunger Games. Pretending to be in love, they have won over the citizens of Panem. The ruling body - not so much. Katniss' defiance of the government has created a spark that may lead to revolution - something President Snow wants no part of. But it is the 75th anniversary of the Quell, and there is a special tribute coming - one that sends Katniss and Peeta back into the horrors of the Hunger Games.

Read the first one. Then this. Then read the third one. Make a weekend out of it - you won't regret it!

Book Count: 16 read, 184 to go!