In My Mailbox

This week's In My Mailbox is mostly due in part to my AWESOME, AMAZING, and SPLENDIFEROUS boss RACHEL CAINE!  She sent me Total Eclipse and Ghost Town.  Mockingjay I got from the library.

And because I have been dying to read all of these, the books from last weeks IMM have been put on the back burner!  Needless to say I have already finished Total Eclipse and Mockingjay, and am a third of the way into Ghost Town! lol Reviews are already up and anticipate Ghost Town's review within the next day or so!  If you haven't read Total Eclipse of Mockingjay, I suggest you go get them!!!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

So I literally just finished Mockingjay and I am a TOTAL emotional wreck.  So I will try very hard to write a spoiler-free, coherent review. (Even though my keyboard is being splattered with tears as I write this)

From GoodReads: 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.

So I went into this book Team Katniss.  I felt that Peeta and Gale, they were just putting undo stress on a girl who is already stressed out to the max.  I felt that they should both just back off and give her some breathing room.  If anything I was Team Cinna, seeing as how he was the only guy in life who cared about doing what was best for Katniss. 
Now as I end Mockingjay, I am even more TEAM KATNISS!!! My God that girl is strong.  Stronger than any person should ever have to be.  Sure as expected, Mockingjay is FILLED with  twists, turns, agony, betrayal, and love.  It was an emotional rollercoaster that never stopped moving until the final page.  I highly suggest that once you get to the last few chapters, you read it with a box of tissues.  I bawled like a toddler with a skinned knee!  But through the entire book my heart was breaking for Katniss.  She endures situations that would bring the biggest hero to his knees. 
I give my highest praise to Suzanne Collins for writing such an epic series.  Hats off to you Madam, you are a literary master.  (Although I think you owe me a box of Kleenex!)
To those who haven't read this series, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  To those of you who have read the first two books, but are waiting to get Mockingjay, GO BUY IT! IT'S DEFINITELY WORTH THE MONEY!!!

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

So this weekend I had the chance to read the first two books by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.  (Yes, finally, I know!) Upon finishing them I really must say that I can see why they are such a sensation. 

From Goodreads: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

From Goodreads: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

The books were high voltage from start to finish, making me feel a whole range of emotions from laughter to tears.  I've notice that people that read this series always seem to pick a team, Team Katniss, Team Peeta, etc.  I've decided to be Team Cinna.  Cinna is Katniss's stylist, who also seems to be the ONLY person in the Capitol with some inteligence.  He is brilliant and stands by Katniss through everything.  (And for those who have read the book, I LOST IT when that happened before the Quell!)  I can honestly say that I enjoyed Catching Fire the best and I am definitely going to read Mockingjay when it comes out this week.  Suzanne Collins is sure to make your heart race and the tears fall in the third installment of this series.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So as I write this I can already hear the ustounded gasps that it will receive, but yes, until last night, I had not read Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  People have told me about it and I have thought 'yeah, maybe one day I'll read it'.  So finally yesterday, I did.

My reasoning: So I admit I had a motive behind reading this book.  I got an email on Thursday from a small collective of libraries in Iowa who (unbeknownst to me until Thursday) have held a mock Hunger Games at one of the colleges.  They invite all libraries in Iowa to send a "tribute" team to compete in feats of knowledge and strength.  Well of course, color me intruiged!  I know that a lot of kids from my book clubs have read this (and it is one of my boss's favorite books) and that they would LOVE to go.  I talked to my boss and we decided we HAVE to send a team!

So now I must recruit my 2-4 person team who have read the book and thought it may be slightly embarrassing if I was the only Teen Librarian there who hadn't read the books! lol Hence the reason I read it.

Sad isn't it? That I haven't read this phenomenon yet? Well I have now.  Today I start on Catching Fire, of course that will be after work and after a nap since I was up until 1a.m. finishing Hunger Games. And just as an F.Y.I. I am not going to review this book quite yet.  Since Mockingjay comes out very soon, I am going to wait and review all three books at the same time.  So keep your eye out! (Also, if you are in 6th to 12th grade and want to be on my "tribute" team, let me know!)