Catching Fire
The Hunger Games #2
by Suzanne Collins
391 Pages
Young Adult
Science Fiction
Scholastic Press
September 2009
DG Score: 75/100

If you haven’t read The Hunger Games, and you read this review stuff will be spoiled for you.

However by reading this review nothing in Catching Fire should be spoiled for you.

Catching Fire continues the story of The Hunger Game’s heroine Katniss along with her feuding romantic interests Gale and Peeta. The reader is taken on a journey that has the intensity of one of the most thrilling of roller coasters. Katniss is aware that when she challenged the Capitol during The Hunger Games she was taking her life into her hands, but she had no idea of the vastness of the reach of devastation that could be caused by her choices. She didn’t think about who it could hurt, and much less that it would cause a stir in the people. Big changes are coming there is no question!

I loved the first book in this series, but this second one was an obvious middle book in a trilogy for me. It was still good but I was disappointed by it in two ways: Catching Fire seemed to repeat so much information that I was already clear on from my reading of The Hunger Games causing me to want to skim pages-which never crossed my mind in book one. Second, the love triangle gets old, and to me at least annoying.

With all that negativity out of the way, it is still a great read! Catching Fire is entertaining, enjoyable and thrilling. I had a great time getting to know the peeps a little better. There is much more character development and relationship building time in this one, as the story seems to progress at a slower pace. The writing was good, the story was interesting and the plot was as intense as ever. I will read (and buy) book three no question, but I just wished this one were better than it was.

What did you think of Catching Fire? Have you read it or are you planning on it? Does anyone know what book three will be called?

Interested in the first book of this series, The Hunger Games? Read my review.

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After reading a Review Copy that the lovely Trish at Hey Lady let me borrow, I purchased this book at Powell’s Books, and you can too!

North of Beautiful
by Justina Chen Headley
373 Pages
Young Adult Fiction
Little, Brown and Company
February 2009

We all have things that we would change about ourselves, ears, nose, feet, something. What if you could cover up what haunted that image of perfection that you had? Terra, the heroine of North of Beautiful has always done just that. Beautiful, tall, blond, and incredibly fit, but she will never be good enough-all because of the port wine stain on one half of her face. Her mom has taken her through many painful laser removal treatments that have had no impact on the intensity of the mark on her face. Over the years she has just learned to cover it up and really, what no one knows can’t hurt them- or Terra. She is known at school for her jock boyfriend, and that she hangs with the popular crowd and none of them have ever seen her without her mask on.

Through some interesting events Terra meets Jacob, makeup or no make up he has the ability to see right through the image she is trying to live. He seems to know her before she has even said a word. This is disarming to Terra, as not even at home is she able to be honest. Terra’s father is verbally abusive, her mother takes the brunt of any mistake the kids make- Terra isn’t allowed to be imperfect. Will honesty feel too uncomfortable after so many years in hiding?

I have a HUGE claim to make and maybe to some even preposterous. All that Twilight gets so wrong- North of Beautiful gets just right. This, not Twilight, is the book I think teens should read. Forget the sickly-super-vamps and feeble-minded-females, this Young Adult novel is worth its paper and much more. Justina Chen Headley rocked the world of Young Adult Literature when she typed this one up. I can’t say enough about it. The writing is great, the characters are flesh, the truth is true and there are no mind games. This one goes in my ‘must keep’ pile.

North of Beautiful brings the message to kids that imperfection isn’t what we should hide, but what we should be proud of. Beauty comes from security and knowing that you are just as you should be- no matter what way our world goes. Beauty-shmooty…who is the judge of that?

And with easy, relaxed strides it takes my Stellar Five Chicken Award. This is what Young Adult should be like!

Author Justina Chen Headley Links:

Blog: Wordlings by Justina
Website: Justina Chen Headley

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Other Young Adult Books You’ll Eat Up! Enjoy.

The Hunger Games
The Boy in Striped Pajamas
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Images courtesy of Penguin Young Readers Group

Paper Towns
by John Green
320 pages
YA Fiction
Dutton Books Publishing

Margo Roth Spiegelmen is the average hip girl at school who seemingly has all that she wants and then some, she has the cool friends, the designer jeans and a boyfriend. Late at night, a couple of months before prom and graduation of her senior year she barges into Quintin Jacobsen’s life begging him to do some pranks together (probably because he has access to a car). He is the opposite of cool, he hangs out  with geeks, is cautious and is bullied. He has loved her for years and any time spent in her company is a dream. He agrees, they go, it is fun and the Paper Towns goes on from there.

Filled with high school-esk relationships and issues, from parties to prom, this book is deeper than one would expect from the initial chapters. Yes, it still is about high schoolers, but the themes are deeper and more intense than other feel good YA books. I can’t quite nail down why but I really didn’t like it as much as I was hoping. I liked the beginning and the end chapters, there was a certain lul in the middle that almost made me give up the reading. I am glad I stuck it out because the nuggets are at the end, but it was a close call several times for me.

It was entertaining, but I just didn’t come away feeling like it was that good. It was a Young Adult book that may be just that, designed so perfectly for Young Adults that the rest of us really should keep our noses out.

What did you think of Paper Towns? How did you like Margo?

60/100

If you want some Young Adult book recommendations, here are three of my favourites:

The Hunger Games
The Boy in Striped Pajamas
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

What did you think of Paper Towns? How did you like Margo?