Ally's #30: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

So, a couple friends told me that the third book in this series was so-so, but I have to say I like it the best. It's difficult to keep a trilogy going strong, and Suzanne Collins has done a decent job. The lull for me was the first half of the second book, where Katniss can't figure out whether she loves Gale or Peeta more. Barf.

Mockingjay opens with Katniss sorting through the rubble of what is left of District 12. After yet another act of rebellion against the Capitol and President Snow, Katniss is airlifted out of the arena with a few of her opponents. The goal is to preserve the face of the revolution, the Mockingjay.

While safely tucked away in the humungous bunker that is District 13 with the other refugees from District 12, Katniss has the responsibility of maintaining her mental health, her physical prowess, and creating propaganda clips against the Capitol to incite continued rebellion.

In my head I hear President Snow's words, spoken the morning I was to begin the Victory Tour. "Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark that, left unattended, may grow to an inferno that destroys Panem."

Indeed she does, and those orchestrating the rebellion in District 13 know that Katniss is a vital key to convince those who have been beaten down for decades that risking their lives is worth the freedom they can obtain as a unified force. President Coin, along with some defectors from the Capitol, find that Katniss is not as easy to control as they think. Her patience with those who would use her as a pawn and threaten her sanity has worn paper thin.

This story is full of battles, heart-wrenching twists, and finally, at long last, Katniss gains some resolution in her relationships with Gale and Peeta. But not before some huge fissures appear between her and each of the boys. I like that the war doesn't have a neat little bow wrapped around it at the end. Thousands of people die, many in horrendous ways. It was hard to read about the demise of characters for whom I had developed an appreciation. But their death was not in vain, as the Capitol falls and Panem is given another chance at life.

Ally's #29: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

A gracious friend let me borrow the last two books in the Hunger Games series...I can't say I didn't immediately open the book the second I got home :) I think I'm going to work hard to never have to pay for another novel again.

Anyhoo, I'd have to agree with previous reviews that the first half is rather "love triangle" heavy. In my review of the first book, I included this quote:

 "For the first time, I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home. To fame. To wealth. To my own house in the Victor's Village. My mother and Prim would live there with me. No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But then...what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is."

Indeed, Katniss spends much of book two figuring out what her identity is. As a victor, she thinks she can breath easy, but as the time of the victory tour draws near, Katniss receives and unexpected and somewhat frightening visit from President Snow. The man reeks of blood and chemically enhanced roses--perhaps the latter to cover the scent of the former that seems to ooze from his every pore. Since Katniss' act of rebellion in threatening to deny the Capitol of a Hunger Games victor, a seed has been planted and thoughts of revolt are sprouting up all over the districts. Threats are made, and Katniss aims to pacify was she unintentionally started, but by the end of the story, she's fully embraced that she is a symbol of revolution.

There's also some subtle foreshadowing in Peeta's potential future as the mouthpiece of the revolution. The harder the Capitol presses in on Katniss and the people of Panem, the more convinced she is that Peeta is the very person to influence the masses with his goodness and endearing words. Katniss is resolved to lay down her life for Peeta, the same way he risked everything to protect her in the arena, to preserve him as a leader for Panem.

I guess I can't expect too much from a girl of seventeen, but there were times in the story where I just wanted to shake Katniss for being so wishy-washy with the men in her life. I suppose when a person is forced to bear responsibilities and weights far beyond their age, they limp behind in other areas.

I don't want to spoil the book and/or future movie for anyone, so I'll just say that the second half is a whole heap of unexpected turns. The celebration of the 75th Hunger Games has rule adjustments beyond what anyone could have expected. The Capitol is intent on proving it's power and quelling any attempt to challenge it in the future.

Ally's #28: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I saw the movie before reading the book, and I was surprised by how closely they followed the original. Since they are so remarkably similar, I'll go ahead and focus on the few differences.

The first thing I noticed was how choppy some of the writing was. I think the author was deliberately leaving out the subject of certain sentences to emphasize Katniss' hardness and intense practicality. It was such a successful tactic that I began to wonder why the Katniss on the big screen seemed a little soft. I suppose it's hard to portray everything that runs through a character's mind without having a ridiculous amount of dialogue.

The second thing I noticed was that I got a little more history behind Panem, the rebellion, and details like the tessarae (rations given out for more slips submitted to the reaping bowl). As far as I can recall, the reason for the   hunger games was not fully fleshed out in the film. In the book, we get a lot more information about the plight of the districts, particularly District 12. I also got to read more about the Everdeen family, which I enjoyed--especially the part about Prim and her mother being gifted apothecaries and nurses.

Finally, I learned more about Peeta's devotion for Katniss. It's a bummer to see her so determined to convince herself that Peeta was only playing to the audience, that Gale's invitation to run away with her has no relational strings attached, that she'll never get married, and that she'll never have children. I imagine the thought of seeing little ones potentially starve to death and suffering the anxiety of the yearly reaping would be more than a mother could bear.

Here are some quotes that made me particularly sad (aside from all the children running around slaughtering each other for sport):

"Gale and I agreed that if we have to choose between dying of hunger and a bullet in the head, the bullet would be much quicker."

"In our world, I rank music somewhere between hair ribbons and rainbows in terms of usefulness. At least a rainbow gives you a tip about the weather. (p. 211) It strikes me that my own reluctance to sing, my own dismissal of music might not really be that I think it's a waste of time. It might be because it reminds me too much of my father. (p.301)"

"For the first time, I allow myself to truly think about the possibility that I might make it home. To fame. To wealth. To my own house in the Victor's Village. My mother and Prim would live there with me. No more fear of hunger. A new kind of freedom. But then...what? What would my life be like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I'm not really sure who I am, what my identity is."

Ally's #27: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

I just wrote a nice, long review of The Last Battle, and my computer was kind enough to delete it :( I'm too lazy and annoyed to re-write it, so this is it...

The last book in the Narnia series is quite unique. There is so much confusion and deception, that it feels unlike any of the other stories. In previous books, the White Witch is our primary foe, but in The Last Battle, a number of characters come to the forefront as either fasle Aslans, quasi-Aslans, or anti-Aslans. The story is so tumultuous, that I rarely felt at ease reading through it. It lacked the restful, whimsical chapters that the other stories held.

In reading through this series chronologically, I noticed that the theology surrounding Aslan got increasingly complex. I was left with a few questions about the final scenes in The Last Battle. First, a Calormen soldier is welcomed into the real Narnia (Lewis' version of heaven?) after a lifetime of worshipping Tash, and Aslan's lengthy speech to him is quite perplexing. Likewise, I'm confused by the little troop of Dwarfs who are in the new Narnia, but are imprisoned in the darkness of their minds, unwilling (and unable?) to see the beauty around them.

While this last book was intense, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader still takes the cake as my favorite.

Ally's #26: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles continue! Sooo, I'm not quite sure how it happened, but the White Witch is back...with a vengeance. I suppose evil never dies. She's been up to no good, and is ten years into a scheme to reclaim rule over Narnia when the now reformed Eustace Scrubb and his classmate, Jill Pole, are called into Narnia by Aslan.

The White Witch now moonlights as a bright green serpent. She managed to sneak up on King Caspian's wife while she was enjoying an outing in the forest with her son, Prince Rilian. Her bite was deadly, and Rilian felt the strong desire to avenge his mother's death. While searching for the serpent, Rilian finds the White Witch, who lulls him into a trance and keeps him captive in the Shallow Lands, a few miles underneath the earth's surface. It's an eerily quiet, dingy place where thousands of gnomes are also held captive, being forced up from their homes in the Really Deep Land of Bism to dig tunnel systems.

Eustace and Jill arrive in Narnia just in the nick of time. King Caspian has set off on one final voyage in the hopes of finding Aslan. While many a mighty warrior has gone to their death in search of Prince Rilian, Caspian has faith that Aslan will aid in his son's return. Little did he know that Aslan already sent for help.

Jill's time in Narnia starts of rocky and doesn't improve until late in the book. Aslan provides her many opportunities to learn, and she is a changed girl by the end of the story, much like her counterpart, Eustace. No one meets Aslan and remains unchanged, either for the good, or the better. When Aslan's enemies encounter him, they are more determined to be his enemies; when those Aslan has chosen as his people meet him, they are his forever.

I almost forgot to mention Jill and Eustace's travel companion, the faithful Marsh-wiggle named, Puddleglum. His name is rather fitting, as the children often refer to him as a "wet blanket" (puddle) for his habit of wallowing in the negative (glum). If it weren't for his heroic assistance, the children would not have been successful in their rescue of Prince Rilian.

Now on to the final book!

Ally's #25: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Can I just start by saying what a dang awesome title this book has! It is sounds equally intrepid to the story Lewis lays out for us. The Dawn Treader....arghhhhh!

I was kind of glad to see the elder Pevensies (Peter and Susan) ditched in this book. They were growing irresolute in their views of Narnia and of Aslan after just one year back in England. Edmund and Lucy, however, maintained their childlike faith, but they too would be advised by Aslan when there visits to Narnia would come to an end.

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we are introduced to some delightful, some bizarre, and some downright exasperating characters. In the first category, we have the (literal, not Hollywood) stars, Coriakin, Ramandu, and Ramandu's daughter. In the second category, we have the foot-fetish dufflepuds of the Island of Voices, who are not only cursed with invisibility, but also suffer from severe feeble-mindedness. Edmund and Lucy's cousin, Eustace Clarence Scrubb, overflows the third category all by himself. We also get a peek into the type of man and king Caspian has become in the span of time it's taken Edmund and Lucy to return to Narnia.

While the previous book was slightly dull reading for me, this one is a page-turner. With each chapter, we have new characters to meet and new islands to explore. There are also obstacles to overcome, some individually and some as a team, that get increasingly difficult as The Dawn Treader nears the very end of the world where Aslan's country begins.

One of my favorite parts of the story is the fulfillment of Reepicheep's calling. As a wee little mouse, a Dryad prophesied the following over him:

"Where sky and water meet,

Where the waves grow sweet,

Doubt not, Reepicheep,

To find all you seek,

There is the utter east."

Reepicheep, eternally hopeful, has the deepest desire of his heart fulfilled when the group is instructed by Ramandu that to break the spell that was holding fast to the Narnian Lords, one person/creature must be left behind when they reach the World's End. Reepicheep didn't just volunteer--he believed himself to be predestined from birth to fulfill that very role. I love to lean on the truth that God has created us each in such a way that the deepest, most outrageous desires of our hearts are fulfilled in Him, by Him, and through Him.