Audio Book Challenge: Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins - 2010

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 4 (of 6)

Title: Mockingjay (Hunger Games # 3)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Year: 2010

Read By: Carolyn McCormick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date Read: 03-23-2011

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

My Review: Mockingjay is very different from the first two Hunger Games books. The first two books involve the actual games and are a bit more fast-paced. Mockingjay takes the games out of the arena and puts Katniss and the other characters into the war that begins to rage between the rebels and the capitol. For this reason there are many periods of recovery for Katniss as she endures numerous injuries and emotional problems due to the war.

I think this book is a really good depiction of a war. It is not a happy book, there is not as much humor as the previous two, and it feels very real. There are wins and losses, friends die, and everyone's strength is tested.

Listening to this book was harder than the first two. It just felt much more sad to be listening to all of the battles and attacks, the deaths, even the rescues made me want to cry because McCormick does a great job adding touches of emotion while reading the story. I've grown quite attached to McCormick since the first book.

To Purchase: Print version: Amazon, B&N. Audio Book version: Amazon, B&N

Currently listening to: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (read by Jim Dale)

I listened to this as part of the 2011 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

Books Read in 2011: 29 (of 100)

Audio Book Challenge Review: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins - 2009

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 3 (of 6)

Title: Catching Fire (Hunger Games # 2)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Year: 2009

Read By: Carolyn McCormick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date Read: 2-13-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5) (based on audio book version)

GoodReads Blurb: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol. Catching Fire maintains the adrenaline rush of Suzanne Collins's series launch.

My Review: I really like the audio book versions of the Hunger Games books now. Though I kept having weird sound problems with this book, not sure if it was the mp3, the ipod, or my headphones. Sometimes it sounded like there was a crazy echo and that Carolyn McCormick was part robot. Weird.

I still love this story, and I love Peeta more and more as the books go on and as I reread them. I think I've said before that when I first read The Hunger Games (book 1) I really didn't like Peeta. I thought he was cocky and a jerk. Then when I read Catching Fire for the first time, I fell in love with Peeta. Now when I reread them, I don't have that hatred for Peeta in the first book, I guess because now I understand where he is coming from a lot better than when I first read it.

Listening to these books feels a bit more depressing than reading them though, because the full effect of hearing someone describe everything that happens in the arena is just more intense, in my opinion. I am excited to start listening to Mockingjay soon, but I want to make sure I have a few good big chunks of time so it doesn't take me as long as the first two books did.

To Purchase: Print version | Audio Book version

Currently Reading: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Ten Miles Past Normal (ARC) by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Warning: A large number of book reviews will be posted later today and tomorrow.

I listened to this book as part of the 2011 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner.

Books Read in 2011: 21

Audio Book Challenge Review: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - 2008

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 2 (of 6)

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Year: 2008

Read By: Carolyn McCormick

Publisher: Scholastic

Date Read: 2-4-2011

Overall: * * * * (4/5, based on audio book)

GoodReads Blurb: Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Review: I really enjoyed listening to this book. I love The Hunger Games trilogy in print format, and I've been wanting to reread all 3, so I figured I could incorporate that into the audio book challenge I am participating in. At first, I was turned off by the reader's voice, because she sounds a lot older than Katniss, but after a few chapters I was used to it and her voice was actually very soothing.

There were many times that tears came to my eyes while listening to this book, because some of the sad or shocking parts seem even more real when they are read out loud. I wish the reader had given some more emphasis to Katniss's sarcastic inner voice, because I always found Katniss to be very funny, and I felt like McCormick didn't get that tone of voice the way I had wanted it to be.

A downfall of listening to this story was that I would have to stop listening when I parked my car and sometimes that would be in the middle of a suspenseful or action-packed part of the story, which made listening kind of a choppy experience. I am glad that the same woman does the other books in trilogy, because now that I am used to her voice, I really like it and I wouldn't want to have to get used to another voice.

To Purchase: Print version or Audio Book version

Currently Reading: Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Currently Listening To: Catching Fire (Hunger Games # 2) by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 17

I listened to this audio book as part of the 2011 Audio Book Challenge hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

XVI - Julia Karr - 2011

2011 Debut Author Challenge: Book # 2 (of 12)

Title: XVI

Author: Julia Karr

Year: 2011

Publisher: Speak

Date Read: 1-30-2011

Overall: * * * * * (5/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world—even the most predatory of men—that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past—one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

Plot: * * * * *

Characters: * * * * *

Style: * * * *

My Review: This book only furthered my love for dystopian novels. Nina is such a fiercely independent character, refusing to give in to the "sex-teen" ways that are constantly pushed upon teenage girls in the society she lives in. She is forced into becoming like a parent to her little sister, Dee, and though she loves Dee, she is also frustrated that this has happened to her family.

There was such a great contrast of characters in this book. Nina's best friend, Sandy, is nothing like Nina and cannot wait to turn 16 and caves to all of the advertisements that tell 16 year old girls how they "should" act. Nina doesn't want her life to belong to anyone else, and though the two disagree on a lot of things, their friendship still feels genuine.

I really enjoyed reading about Nina's base group of friends. Mike and Derek were great supporting roles, and their love and friendship for Nina and Sandy, and, later on, Wei was so evident. Wei was a great role model for Nina, a like-mind for her to find comfort in. Nina's budding relationship with Sal felt strange at first, because it seemed like I could feel Nina's confusion and discomfort with it.

I really liked reading about the way our future could turn out. It's one of my favorite things about dystopias, because sometimes it feels so real and so possible. Hopefully people read these books and are then determined not to let our world end up like this. I really liked that there is still a "Creative" designation, because at least it meant people could use their talents. In Matched it made me sad that people weren't allowed creative thought in any way. The ideas about what sex could mean in the future were strange, and rather disheartening, since 16 year old girls are sort of forced into thinking sex is great and can only improve your life, when in reality the girls could end up in what turns out to be a sex-trafficking scheme run by the government. Fun.

Another thing I liked about this book was the "chase" feeling. I loved that Ed could be anywhere and that there was this constant unsettled feeling and anxiety. This book really kept up the pace and it felt like it went by really fast. I didn't want the last pages to come. I am wondering if it will be a series or a stand alone story. There is some definite series potential.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently Reading: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Currently Listening To: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (read by Carolyn McCormick)

Books Read in 2011: 12

Audio Book Challenge Review: Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher - 2007

2011 Audio Book Challenge: Book # 1 (of 6)

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Year: 2007

Audio Book Narrators: Joel Johnstone & Debra Wiseman

Publisher: Razorbill

Date Read: 1-28-201

Overall: * * * * * (this rating is based not only on the book, but the audio version of it)

GoodReads Blurb: Jay Asher's brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story that focuses on a set of audiotapes made by a girl before she committed suicide, and which explain to 13 people the reasons why she decided to end her life. Told in a highly effective duel narrative -- alternating between the girl s voice and the thoughts of a boy who is listening -- this honest, poignant story reveals how other people's actions shape, and by extension can ruin, an individual's faith in people. Intensely powerful and painfully real, Thirteen Reasons Why reveals how brutal high school can be, the consequences of spreading rumors, and the lasting effects of suicide on those left behind.

My Review: This was my first experience with an audio book. I have to say, it made driving by myself so much more enjoyable than usual! It felt like the time spent driving flew by, and then when I parked my car, I didn't want to get out. Even though this was a story I had already read (when it first was published), I loved hearing the words spoken, and with Hannah's tapes in the story, the audio book version came across so well.

The story is very chilling, and confusing, and generally mixed up to begin with, and it is so well written, and the voice actors who gave life to Clay and Hannah did an amazing job. They had fantastic emotions, and they sounded the age of the characters, which really enhanced the story.

I did not think I would enjoy listening to a book this much. When I was a child I did not like being read to, because I wanted to be independent and do it myself. But I really liked this.

To Buy: Print version or Audio Book version

Currently Reading: XVI by Julia Karr

Currently Listening To: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I listened to this book as part of the Audio Book Challenge 2011 hosted by Teresa's Reading Corner

As a reminder to myself, link blogs here

Bleed - Laurie Faria Stolarz - 2006

Title: Bleed

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Year: 2006

Date Read: 1-26-2011

Overall: * * (2/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Over the course of a single summer day, ten teenagers in Salem, Massachusetts, will discover important truths about themselves and each other.

There is Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she has been writing to for years; Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Then there is Sadie, a chubby eleven-year-old whose mother forces her to wear a “please don’t feed me” sign stapled to her shirt; while Joy, a fifteen-year-old waitress hoping for true intimacy narrowly escapes a very dark fate. Derik discovers that his usual good looks and charm won’t help him hold onto the girl he wants, while nineteen-year-old drifter, Mearl, is desperately looking for a place to call home. Sean is torn between his loyalty to his girlfriend and the possibility of finding something more with her friend, while Ginger’s single-minded pursuit to bring down her nemesis only proves that they may be more alike than she thought.

Seamlessly woven together, this incredibly powerful and compelling collection of stories chronicles the very real trials of today’s teen experience.

Plot: * * (...Was there one?)

Characters: * * (Undeveloped)

Style: * *

My Review: I really was not a fan of this book. I felt like there might be more than one chapter from each person's perspective. Instead, it was a bunch of short stories, that sort of intertwined, but didn't really. They weren't long enough to have any message or conclusion. Really, each of the character's was just a tidbit crazy, and they all kind of needed a reality check. I think if this book had a little more depth and a little more of a plot line and an end point, it could have been really interesting. I was curious about how each character would end up. Instead, their stories are just left off in the middle. I'm assuming Stolarz wanted to leave her readers with questions, but I really didn't gain a connection to any character with the exception of 11 year old Sadie. I would not recommend this book to others. I will stick with the Touch series though, because those books have good strong characters and plot lines.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently Reading:

For School: Forever by Judy Blume, Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Other: XVI by Julia Karr

Book Read in 2011: 9

2011 Audio Book Challenge

I was very excited to stumble upon this today. I have been wanting to try out audio books for a while, but I am always hesitant because I have trouble paying attention when listening.

So this is the 2011 Audio Book Challenge set up over at Teresa's Reading Corner. The challenge runs throughout this year (Jan-Dec 2011). You can read more about it and sign up here and here.

There are four levels of the challenge to choose from:

Curious: 3 books

Fascinated: 6 books

Addicted: 12 books

Obsessed: 20 books

I am going to try for the "Fascinated" level, since I don't know how much I will like them, and because I think 6 books is a better challenge number than 3. We'll see!