Pulp of the Week - Mockingjay

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Pulp of the Week - Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

The third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay, is a mixture of sweet and surprising, thrilling and frustrating. All in all, it is a solid final chapter to her terrific dystopian science fiction series. Once again, the YA section of the book business comes through and is doing some of the best storytelling.

If you have not read these books, stop here. There be SPOILERS AHEAD.

 

Mockingjay follows Katniss Everdeen into the underground world of District 13 and into the Capitol itself. She embraces her destiny and takes on the iconic role of the Mockingjay, that avatar of hope for the people of Panem. She trains as a warrior with Gale and goes into battle (mostly for the propaganda cameras) and takes the battle to the Capital.

She gets aid from people in the capitol and the freedom movement has spread there. A lonely shopkeeper hides them for a time and I can't help but visualize her as Eartha Kitt. A lovely character.

I feel that while Collins' writing is strong, like many third acts, it all sort of feels like a slog to the final showdown between her and the President Snow. But then the book finds some new life and I found their encounter both somewhat baffling, and yet somehow satisfying. The book ends in a somber tone, but after what Katniss has been through, I guess it is appropriate. She is changed forever and war is Hell.

I read the family's hardcover of Mockingjay and will give it an 8 out of 10. It really is a different kind of book than the others. Once again, the cover art is by Tim O'Brien and the cover design is by Elizabeth B. Parisi.

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Pulp of the Week - Catching Fire

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Warning - if you have not read The Hunger Games there are spoilers for that book contained herein. Be warned...

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy and Collins really steps it up a notch, with nearly six months having passed since the end of Katniss and Peeta's extraordinary double victory in the brutal Hunger Games.

Now, we find the pair midway through the year visiting each district on the Victory Tour. But Katniss senses trouble in the districts. Trouble instigated by her gaming the Hunger Games system by forcing the double win.

After seeing open rebellion and realizing that her mocking jay is being used as a symbol for the rebels she is sent home to a very changed District 12.

The novel heightens the stakes and choices that Katniss must make as she comes to understand that she is the catalyst for rebellion. She must maintain her facade of romance with Peeta, despite her attraction to Gale. She must decide how far to push against the Capitol.

Finally President Snow has had enough and pushes back. Katniss, Peeta, and Gale are all shocked by the President's announcement regarding the upcoming 75th Annual Hunger Games. Every twenty-five years there is a special Quarter Quell, each one designed to be more bloody than the last. But when the President says, "On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors," Katniss' life is changed forever.

This middle book of the trilogy moves like a blitzkreig, hammering through a terrific plot and causing massive damage to the heroes and villians alike. Collins has crafted another terrific book and there is good reason this trilogy was on the bestseller lists for months. I am eager to read the finale. I can't imagine the impatience that those who read the books as they were released must have experienced in waiting for the next part.

While these books are published by Schoolastic as Yound Adult novels (I know first hand how much that audience loves these books - my son is 12 and my daughter is 14) there is little that makes them "kids books." Yes, there is no overly profane language or explicit sexual action, but neither of those are the measuring stick for great books and as an adult and a life-long fan of science fiction, I can attest without reservation that these are great books that any adult can enjoy.

Sometimes books become best sellers simply because they are great.

I give Catching Fire a 9.5 out of ten. I am withholding that half point due to my kids saying the last really is best. The cover art is by Tim O'Brien and the cover design is by Elizabeth B. Parisi.

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Pulp of the Week - The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games
Written by Suzanne Collins
Cover art by Tim O'Brien
Cover Design by Elizabeth B. Parisi and Phil Falco

The Hunger Games may very well be the best selling science fiction book (with over 2.5 million copies in print) in a very long time. A movie is on the way starring Jennifer Lawrence (Oscar nominee for Winter's Bone) and Josh Hutcherson.

The premise of the novel is not groundbreaking, but it is a solid SF idea. In the future the USA has collapsed after an ecopocalypse (trademark pending), leaving the nation of Panem with 12 states and the capital located in the Rockies.

Panem is not a democracy. The blue collar class has been expanded and oppressed. Katness Everdeen is the main character and narrator of the novel. She lives in the Appalacian District 12 of Panem. They are mainly coal miners and Katness and her friend Gale supplement their resources by gathering and hunting in a nearby forbidden woods. This aspect reminded me of Robin Hood hunting in Sherwood where hunting is forbidden by the king.

Every year Panem chooses 2 "Tributes" (one boy and one girl) aged 12 to 18 from each District to compete in the annual "Hunger Games", a televised bloodsport held in a vast outdoor arena that can have only one winner.

When Katniss' frail sister Prim is chosen, Katniss finds herself volunteering to be the Tribute in her place. The boy tribute is an acquaintance named Peeta. I'm not sure if that is a reference to the animal rights group PETA or not.

The Tributes are gathered in the Capitol, given training and set out in the arena to fight. The bulk of the novel takes place there, in the arena, with the 24 Tributes. Each evening, the Tributes that died that day have their images projected on the clouds so that the survivors know who is left.

While deathsports are not new to science fiction - I happen to be a fan of The 10th Victim series - ones that have children as combatants is a narrower field. Battle Royale in particular comes to mind and I wonder if Suzanne Collins had read that book, or seen the movie, or manga that came from it. The author says the idea for the Hunger Games came to her while switching between a competitive reality show and Iraq war footage.

Regardless of its genesis, the novel is a taut thriller that doesn't pull any punches and treats the premise seriously. Collins has written a gripping and emotional novel that is followed by two sequels - Catching Fire and Mockingjay complete the trilogy. You can visit Collins' website here. 

Katniss is a terrific character and there are hints that she is going to be a key character in upsetting the status quo of Panem society. The people are hungry and she is clearly destined for great things.

I give The Hunger Games an 8.5 out of 10. The score is probably lower than it should be, but until I see how the trilogy pans out, I hesitate to award a higher score for its potential. My son, on the other hand, loved it and gave it a 9.5 out of 5 on his blog, 6 out of 5.

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