Tag: Young Adult (Page 97 of 159)

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)
by Suzanne Collins
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

 

 

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”

 

You know that moment when you’ve been staring at your iPad and bawling without even realizing how long you’ve been doing so?? You just zone out, disappear, fall from the face of the earth and cease to exist in that moment? Yeah. That is me for this book. The end. You know…And me. Crying fat, hot crocodile tears.
All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it.

Amazing how quickly time passes without you even realizing it. Tick, tock.
“Stay with me?”
“Always.”

Maybe it’s my deep emotional connection to the characters now that I’ve read the book so many times and have watched the movies on repeat. Maybe I’m just fucking biased because this is my favorite series IN LIFE. But I refuse to believe that.
“Ally.” Peeta says the words slowly, tasting it. “Friend. Lover. Victor. Enemy. Fiancee. Target. Mutt. Neighbor. Hunter. Tribute. Ally. I’ll add it to the list of words I use to try to figure you out. The problem is, I can’t tell what’s real anymore, and what’s made up.”

 

“You’re a painter. You’re a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces.”

 

“I think….you still have no idea. The effect you can have.”

It’s the writing. It’s the characters. It’s the movies. It’s the
connection. I will never feel this way again…now I’m sure of it. I’ve read and loved many books since 2012. And probably prior to it, as well. I’m a reader. And I’ve even had my bouts of, ‘Is this really still my favorite series? Am I just holding it on a pedestal?’ Because I’ll tell you-I’ve found a lot of new favorites. But passing this one isn’t so. I can rest assured. No one will ever beat the boy with the bread and the girl on fire. NO. ONE.

I’ll miss it so much. Until next time, books. Hopefully it will be just as all-consuming as this time. Yeah-I’m as shocked as you are.
“You love me. Real or not real?”
I tell him, “Real.”

 

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Hunger Games #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Catching Fire #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Mockingjay #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
by Suzanne Collins
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

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 her 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 in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

 

 

Re-Reeeeeaddd with my group of lovable Hunger Games cannibals…..cuz as if we wouldn’t eat this shit up.

 

 

Again I will push my wonderful love of this series onto you…but I think I will do it with a few GIFs I have found (because….movie) and some of my favorite quotes. But like with my first review, I am letting the book itself do the talking-the simplistic and alluring nature of these stories shouldn’t be tarnished….but my obsession love for the series won’t let me do nothing. So, again, simple quotes so as to not ruin the story, but a little ‘telling’ of what you will find in this one. (And I added to the theme my lovely Anna setup…)

 

 

“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever.”

 

 

“You know, you could live a thousand lifetimes and not deserve him.”

 

 

 

 

“My nightmares are usually about losing you. I’m okay once I realize you’re here.”

 

 

 

“I don’t want you forgetting how different our circumstaces are. If you die, and I live, there’s no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You’re my whole life.” Peeta says. “I would never be happy again. It’s different for you. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard. But there are other people who’d make your life worth living.”

“No one really needs me,” he says, and there’s no selfpity in his voice. It’s true his family doesn’t need him. They will mourn him, as will a handful of friends. But they will get on…. I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me.

“I do,” I say. “I need you.”

 

 

 

“So what should we do with our last few days?”

“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,” Peeta replies.”

 

 

 

 

“Not like this. He wanted it to be real.”

 

 

 

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

 

If you’ve seen the movie-GREAT. You’ll get it. If you’ve read the book….EVEN BETTER. You actually get it. So. You know. Make of this what you will. I’m going to finish my all time favorite series again…for the fourth time lol.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Hunger Games #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Catching Fire #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Mockingjay #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
by Suzanne Collins
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

★ As The useless chick who wouldn’t survive a round: Anna (2nd!)
★ AsThe determined movie-whore: Harriet (1st!)
★ As The deadly shot new recruit : Jen  (1st!)
★ As The enthusiastic newbie: Jenny (1st!)
★ As The foxface unknown: Kat (2nd!)
★ As The die-hard fan: Laura (3rd!)

Annnnnnddd ME!- ★ As The absolute fanatic: Chelsea (4th!)

 

 

ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES ALERT. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

 

 

“You have a…remarkable memory.”
“I remember everything about you. You’re the one who wasn’t paying attention.”

Soooo…I said I wasn’t going to write a long-winded review that tarnished the simplistic, yet epic, nature of my all time favorite series. And I don’t plan to-REALLY. But right before I started to get deep into GR, I found this wonderful piece of literature that stole my heart and I never really got to express how it changed my life. And I think it deserves at least a few words for that.
I don’t want to lose the boy with the bread.

I have always been a reader-even as a little girl I could hole up in my room with the best of them if I needed to finish an (even then I knew) epic book. But I was always active in sports, encouraged to balance my time, to not be a total recluse-And I will always thank my parents for that. But now that I am older and can read before bed as I please with my own bank account to manage, I find that I read more than I even watch tv or even shop-which I also love doing

Then he smiles as if he’d be happy to lie there and gaze at me forever.

But for a while, life was more important-Sports, schoolwork, getting into college, finding my now husband…..and while I read, it was more like the common population was. I got to read, but didn’t get to flourish. And then my best friend (ex Best Friend now) in college MADE me read THG. My argument was, ‘Why in the hell would I want to read about a bunch of kids killing each other?’ The barbarics of it astounded me and the inhumanity it must have taken to write it (or so I thought) appalled me. But then I picked it up-begrudgingly-and my world was flipped on it’s axis. Nothing has ever been the same. I read this series in a week-two or three days, to be exact-and I couldn’t be bothered with life, my husband, or ANYONE. And then, because it literally consumed my soul, I read it two weeks later-in full-again. I. Could. Not. Think. About. Anything else. Because how could a book about the MURDER of children be this good??

 

“Stay Alive.”

But that’s where I was one hundred percent wrong. This book is so much deeper than death-it’s about life, it’s about doing everything you can to survive, to save your family and those you care about. It’s about love and compassion and the question of humanity and what you are willing to do to survive and keep those you care about out of harm’s way. It’s about a spark. A revolution. A girl on fire that no one saw coming….Katniss fucking Everdeen.

 

“No. Now, shut up and eat your pears.”

This book, even after having read it three times, was just as good as in 2012. I still laughed. I still cried. I still couldn’t breathe. The feels haven’t went anywhere and there are still scenes that the movie couldn’t capture or touch with a ten foot pole (Even though I do love the movies). The cave scene. The creek scene. The ‘hunting as a pair’ scene. Even the end couldn’t hold as much weight as the book. And for those of you who have only seen the movies, yeah, it’s amazing. Best book to movie adaption ever, in my opinion (all of them thus far, especially 2). But…I can’t help feeling sorry for you. You will never know the deep attachments that were formed and just how much depth there is to such a simple story. And…sorry. I feel sorry for you. So, no, I couldn’t not write something, because this series is everything to me and why I read like a lunatic now, always looking for my next fix that will make me feel like this again. I don’t know if it’s possible…but I’m up for the challenge.

 

 

*********************************

MAY THE ODDS

BE EVER

IN OUR FAVOR

Oh my feels. They hurt.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
The Hunger Games #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Catching Fire #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Mockingjay #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea