Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.
Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.
In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.
Source: Info in the About Catching Fire was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6148028-catching-fire on 29/03/2013.
Review:
With Book 1: The Hunger Games, I watched the movie before reading the book. I decided that this time around I would try reading the book first and then watch the movie and see which way I like better. Turns out, it's better to watch the movie first, then I don't sit thru the movie playing critique. Now I know better. What remains to be seen is if I would remember that lesson when the next book-to-movie gig comes around...
I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book because I've read a few not so sparklingly bright reviews about this book and Mockingjay that I actually stopped reading this series after Book 1: The Hunger Games. I liked Book 1: The Hunger Games and wanted that "like" feeling to last a bit longer by putting off reading the disappointment of the next books as long as possible. I shouldn't have done that because this book was not a disappointment. Sure there were a few nitcpicking points I would have liked to have been not there but I could easily forgive those for the marvellous reading pleasure that this book brought me!
Carolyn McCormick mimicked Effie Trinket in the movie so closely that it made me smile! That is how good the narration is. Or maybe I am just used to McCormick's voice by now seeing this is the second book already by her. Either way I rate her narration a 5.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = N/A (11 hrs and 14 mins audiobook)
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 5
In the latest Kate Daniels novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews, magic is coming and going in waves in post-Shift Atlanta—and each crest leaves danger in its wake…
After breaking from life with the Pack, mercenary Kate Daniels and her mate—former Beast Lord Curran Lennart—are adjusting to a very different pace. While they’re thrilled to escape all the infighting, Curran misses the constant challenges of leading the shapeshifters.
So when the Pack offers him its stake in the Mercenary Guild, Curran seizes the opportunity—too bad the Guild wants nothing to do with him and Kate. Luckily, as a veteran merc, Kate can take over any of the Guild’s unfinished jobs in order to bring in money and build their reputation. But what Kate and Curran don’t realize is that the odd jobs they’ve been working are all connected.
An ancient enemy has arisen, and Kate and Curran are the only ones who can stop it—before it takes their city apart piece by piece…
Source: Info in the About Magic Shifts was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12119529-untitled on 31/10/2013.
My Thoughts:
Admittedly I am an old die-hard fan of Ilona Andrews, so please forgive my fan-girling here. Because there simply is nothing I could see that is negative about this book! Compelling story telling quality, substantial plot build-up, masterful character development and wonderful world building... What else can I say? ...Having said that I wish that, Renee Raudman's voice is as pleasing to the ears as Therese Plummer's, but that is all forgivable given the goodness of this book! Couldn't wait to get my hands on the next book!
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 5
Plot = 5
Narration = 4.5
MISS PRISS: ON AND OFF THE COURT is book one in the new tween chapter series by Mom’s Choice Award winning writer-illustrator Team, ‘Brenjudy’. On and Off the Court introduces Priscilla Penelope Paxton (Miss Priss), a ten year old whose interests and curiosity land her in, sometimes, sticky situations. A unique coming-of-age story bound to bring giggles and enjoyment to all its readers as Miss Priss encounters and overcomes a slew of challenges, even the one that will continue to grow—self-awareness. The book features full color illustrations.
Priscilla Penelope Paxton is a witty ten year old whose inter-ests and curiosity land her in, sometimes, sticky situations. Dance classes, Girl Scouts, school assignments, friends and hanging out at her family’s drug store, and the local Piggly Wiggly would leave any other person with no time for any-thing else. Yet, the thrill of basketball and joining the Little Dribblers finds its way into Miss Priss’ heart. Though this interest will prove to be a dream that requires overcoming the greatest of challenges; Mom’s opposition. A task that will require ingenuity, perseverance and a little help from some loved ones.
I do not want to give up on basketball and I will not give up on basketball, so I don’t even say a word. I turn and run down the hallway to my bedroom, wanting to be alone. Just as I begin to close the door, I hear my mother speak again, except this time it’s not directed at me. “Jerry, come here. I need to talk to you,” anger continuing to spill through her voice as she shouts the words.
Oh, brother, I know what that means. I spilled the beans about Dad and Pappaw helping me, and now my parents will be in a big fight because I want to play basketball. Guilt pulses through my body with the knowledge that I gave Dad and Pappaw up.
I close the door the rest of the way and run to the very back of my closet, squeezing behind the clothes that are all neatly lined up on their hangers. The back wall of the closet, which I share with Pearl, is located on the other side of my parents’ bedroom. I’ve been listening in on my parents’ conversations and arguments for years, but no one knows about that, not even Pearl. I reach under a pile of shoes for the hidden shoebox that holds all the things I may need at a time like this. I put on the eyeglasses with the funny nose and plastic moustache and become Double Agent Doorknob. I reach back into the box and drag out my special drinking glass. If I put the open side of the glass against the wall with my ear on the closed end, I can hear perfectly clear anything said on the other side of the wall. It’s an old spy secret I once saw in a movie.
As I listen through my spyglass, I barely let myself breathe when I hear my mother say, “Jerry, how dare you and Don go behind my back teaching Priscilla basketball and allowing her to try out for the Little Dribblers? You know how I feel about my girls and sports. Priscilla now has this idea in her head that all the girls are playing sports.”
Dad is quiet for a few seconds. “Mary Anne, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what we were doing, but you have to give our daughters a little leeway in deciding for themselves what they want to do. You were allowed to choose what you wanted to do when you were Miss Priss’ age. Isn’t that when you started playing basketball?”
What!!! My mother played basketball? I’m so shocked, that I uncoil from my position and nearly drop the drinking glass.
“Well, I won’t have Priscilla and Pearl made fun of and bullied the way I was. I just won’t have it,” Mom says, and that’s when I can tell she has started to cry.
My mother is crying. Oh no! I’ve never heard my mother cry like this before.
“Sweetheart, that was a long time ago. I can’t believe it still upsets you so much,” Dad says.
(We chose this excerpt because of the raw emotion shown by Miss Priss’ parents and herself. Judy and Brenda both recall secreting themselves to overhear “grownup” conversations between the adults in their lives, and found it delightful to share this experience through Priscilla.)
Judy Phillips is an educator with over twenty years of experience and is currently a counselor at Samuel Houston Elemen-tary School in Huntsville, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and a Master of Education degree in Coun-seling from Sam Houston State University.
Phillips volunteers locally with university students through local ministries and mentor programs.
Brenda Nichols was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and is an educator at university level, with over twenty years of experience. She is currently the Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Professor of Kinesiology at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Nichols holds an Associate of Arts degree from Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas, a Bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and a Master’s degree from The University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida.
Nichols volunteers locally by mentoring students and through motivational speaking engagements at schools and various civic organizations.
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Turns out, it's better to watch the movie first, then I don't sit thru the movie playing critique. Now I know better. What remains to be seen is if I would remember that lesson when the next book-to-movie gig comes around...
Carolyn McCormick mimicked Effie Trinket in the movie so closely that it made me smile! That is how good the narration is. Or maybe I am just used to McCormick's voice by now seeing this is the second book already by her. Either way I rate her narration a 5.
