Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press (2010), hardcover, 400 pages, ISBN 978-054310604.

The Final Book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen is damaged but has survived the Hunger Games. Now she has made a bargain to be the star of the rebel propaganda campaign in exchange for a chance to exact her revenge on the Capitol by assassinating President Snow.

The final book is a heavy and emotional one. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the terrors of war have shaped many of the characters. The action is not always as intense as the previous books but in many ways, I found Mockingjay to be the most believable in the depiction of the characters and choices and actions.

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins. New York: Scholastic Press, c. 2009, 391 pages.

Katniss and Peeta have survived the televised battle to the death of the Hunger Games and have returned as victors to their home of District Twelve. They should return home to lives of ease and plenty but a visit from the sinister President Snow reveals that it will not be so simple. The president expects Katniss to play the lovesick girl at Peeta’s side—not out with her longtime friend Gale. Soon Katniss and Peeta are on the mandatory victory tour through the nation of Panem as rumors of uprisings in other districts follow them.

This is the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy. This is mandatory reading for fans of the first book and most should not be disappointed. There is a lot of action and suspense leading up to the conclusion leaving the reader anxious for the last book (not due out till 2010). At times Katniss’ love triangle dilemma can become a little exhausting and frustrating. Maybe boy trouble can seem necessary for a young adult book and it can be done successfully. However in this book Collins doesn’t fully explore the relationships and dynamics between the three and this may be because there is no room in the book. This too often happen in the middle books of trilogies. While not as strong as the first book, here’s hoping the final book may be able to redeem it.

Before We Were Free

Title: Before We Were Free
Author: Julia Alvarez
Publication date: 2002
Number of pages: 163
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Geographical Setting: Dominican Republic & New York City
Time Period: 1960-61
Series: N/A

Plot Summary: Twelve year old Anita lives in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of Trujillo, El Jefe. The secret police begin terrorizing and interrogating her family as her uncle and father are suspected of planning the assassination of Trujillo. Instead of school work, friends and first love, Anita must learn to survive and escape the only life and country she has ever known.

Subject Headings: dictatorship, military dictatorship, oppression, revolution, assassination, ajustaciemento (“bringing to justice”), secret police, survival

Appeal: author’s first young adult novel, inspired by historical events and author’s own family, story told by twelve year old narrator and includes diary entries, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, portrait of Latin American country under dictatorship and the lives of “ordinary” people and children, taking up of arms in order to be free and the dilemma between murder and ajustaciemento.

If you like Before We Were Free, you might enjoy: John Marsden’s Tomorrow, When the War Began, Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, An Na’s A Step from Heaven.