Rated YA-MA discussion

Who hasn't heard of the Hunger Games right?
From what I hear lots of people hated the last book, and even if it wasn't my favorite, I still liked it.

I liked the last book, but not as much as the first two. It was still good enough to get 4 stars from me, but I wasn't as invested. It took me a couple of days to read it, and I was able to put it down and pick it back up, which I was not able to do with the first two books.

Whether or not I agreed with how the series ended, I always give credit to an author for writing what they want to write and not being strongarmed by the fans.

The epilogue could have been left out though.

I liked it more then most, but it definitely wasn't as good as the first one. It did have my favorite line though.

Wendy F wrote: "I liked it more then most, but it definitely wasn't as good as the first one. It did have my favorite line though."

Share please =)

When Katniss says this:

"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."

But it was the whole scene that got to me.

That was a great quote. I could not put down the first 2 but the last just missed something for me. I can't wait for the movie.

I was just telling my sister how excited I am for the movie.

Yes the movie!

The last book was my least favorite. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed but this is still one of my fave YA trilogies.

I think it was people's less favorite because it missed the major element of the first two : the arena. The last book deals with what comes after the rebellion fully began, so it's pretty different. But since it's a series, if I look at the three books as a whole, it's an excellent resolution after the events of Catching Fire (which is my favorite).

Yes I missed the arena too, the third book definitely had a different feel to it. But it took me a while to understand the second book with the clock arena thing.

Looking forward to the movie :D:D

As a whole, amazing, but the first book was the best! I'm very excited about the movie, and I can count the number of movies I watch in a year on one hand.

I almost didn't finish the first one, I just found the premise so disturbing, but glad I did :)

It's a great series, and yes, I'm optimistically looking forward to the movie. I definitely couldn't put them down. I want to go back and have another read now that they've had a chance to sink in, but there's just so many other things to read....

I love this series, it is amazing on so many levels. My almost 12 year old just re-read the series for the 2nd time. I knew she was done when she came to me crying -- she cries everytime she finishes it. I liked the epilogue. :) I heard a similar criticism of the epilogue to Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, but I loved that epilogue too. Maybe I am just a sucker for them.

I don't want to see the movie though, I am afraid the books will be ruined.

I loved the first two books in this series! When I was reading the first book, I was very surprised by how quickly I was emotionally invested in the characters...I think it was by page 15? And then, I was reading the second book at work during lunch (such a mistake, those books were NOT meant to be read in half-hour chunks) and I remember saying 'oh my GOD' out loud a few times when certain Major Events happened. It's not very often that I talk to a book out loud! I still liked the third book, just not as much as the first two. I got a little annoyed that Katniss spent so much time spaced out. But I definitely respect the fact that Suzanne Collins wrote it the way that she wanted to and didn't bow to the pressure of the fans' desires.

Essay finished!

Vivian wrote: "As a whole, amazing, but the first book was the best! I'm very excited about the movie, and I can count the number of movies I watch in a year on one hand.

I almost didn't finish the first one, I ..."

I find that when trying to describe the Hunger Games to someone and why they should read it...

"it's dystopian, teen, about children trying to kill each other"

Who wants to read that? lol

I know, I just say read it without any explanation :D

But it's not the children killing each other that bothered me (that's just Lord of the Flies again, lol), it was that the Capitol would televise it for entertainment purposes! Watching people kill each other for fun is just messed up.

Rachael (Piper) wrote: "I find that when trying to describe the Hunger Games to someone and why they should read it...

"it's dystopian, teen, about children trying to kill each other"

Who wants to read that? lol "

Ha! I found myself in the same situation, but I got lucky because she decided to read it anyway, lol. She ended up really liking it so I felt like it was worth it. :)

Vivian wrote: "I know, I just say read it without any explanation :D

But it's not the children killing each other that bothered me (that's just Lord of the Flies again, lol), it was that the Capitol would televise it for entertainment purposes! Watching people kill each other for fun is just messed up. "

Big Brother to the extreme!

Yeah everyone who I've given it to has enjoyed the book, spreading the love :)

check this out ----->
http://www.thecapitol.pn/

Argh, I don't have a twitter or facebook so I can't get through. Yes, I know. I'm one of the only ones on the planet. There are reasons for this though.

What's it do?

Speaking of Big Brother! Work just decided to monitor all our websites, so that's the end of my Goodreads breaks. :( :( :( I hate working in a panopticon.

Is it sad that I had to go to dictionary.com and look up panopticon?

pan·op·ti·con   [pan-op-ti-kon]

noun

a building, as a prison, hospital, library, or the like, so arranged that all parts of the interior are visible from a single point.

Nah...I only know it from . Plus we were all talking about it at work today.

Without your definition I would have had to look it up also.

It's like being back at school, where the teachers could see what was on your computer screens at all time, like if you were playing internet poker instead of doing your statistics homework.

What? Why yes, that was a very specific example . . . no, no reason. ;)

I wrote one of my long papers for a high level Lit course in college on Foucault's Panopticon and how it applies to the male gaze, and just seeing that word now makes my eyes spaz and twitch.

I was trying to recall when I last came across the term and was the first thing to come to mind. Then I remembered that last I read it, it was from Frankie in !

So I finally got my 26yr old brother to read the Hunger Games series He's going through it pretty fast and he's now on Catching Fire. Naturally I was thinking he's loving it! But then when I asked him, he said he likes it but doesn't know if he loves it, because he's annoyed by Katniss' internal thoughts and conflicts (Oh no, wait until he gets to Mockingjay which had a lot more of that). My sister agreed with him, but mostly I just want to strangle him! Ha.

Hahaha, I think my husband would think the same thing. I think it's because it's a girls perspective. I find that I can imagine myself in a boys shoes but most men I know have a hard time putting themselves in a girls shoes, lol. At least the ones in my circle of friends. (With a few exceptions I'm sure)

Yes I told him it's because their told from her perspective. He even mentioned Bella along the way. I hope the only connection he was making was that they were both from a girl's perspective. Lol

Stacia ~ twisted wrote: "I liked the last book, but not as much as the first two. It was still good enough to get 4 stars from me, but I wasn't as invested. It took me a couple of days to read it, and I was able to put it ..."

I really enjoyed this series. I own them which means I like them enough to keep them around for posterity. ;)

I think I need to read Mockingjay again. I remember being very frustrated with Katniss throughout the entire book. I really felt like she chose Peeta by default. Simply because he was the one who was around and Gale was not. I felt like she kept pining over Gale. One minute she's thinking about him kissing another pair of lips and 4 pages later she and Peeta are together(after time)? That just irritated me. I don't feel like she was worthy of Peeta's love and devotion. That's just me, though.

I still enjoyed the book BECAUSE of Peeta.

I found the epilogue frustrating b/c the author called their kids "the girl" and "the boy." It bothered me.

Wendy, my husband actually really liked the Hunger Games trilogy. He isn't much of a reader, but I got him to read those books and The Host.

I wanted him to read Maze Runner, but I think 4 books was his quota for the year, heh.

Oh and totally unrelated, but I was on Richelle Mead's page and laughed when I saw that her only GR group is The Hunger Games. :)

(I think she should join her fangroup, haha)

Wait, Stacia, your husband read The Host? Most people I spoke to couldn't get into it. I actually liked it even if I thought her name was lame.

I think I remember you saying your husband liked it. I'm in a quest to find a book my husband will read, and I thought of hunger games, but I think he'd struggle with Katniss too.

Wendy, are you trying to get him to read YA or any lit?

P.S.--I changed my username to aid in the confusion over the multiple Jens. ;)

Wendy, he might like the Game of Thrones (I know this is not YA :) that way when it comes back he will be all ready. My husband only reads running books, and it takes him like 6-9 months to read one haha! It also does not help that any book I read i'm telling him the plot the whole time so I think he has no desire to read it. I might try to get him to read the Hunger Games.

Yeah, I was going to suggest Game of Thrones, too. ;)

Jen, Sinatra fan wrote: "Wait, Stacia, your husband read The Host? Most people I spoke to couldn't get into it. I actually liked it even if I thought her name was lame."

He really liked it, and surprisingly, he liked it from page 1. He didn't understand why I warned him to give it a shot before checking out.

I liked the book, but it took me a good 100 pages before I started to find any sort of interest. The first few chapters are so WTF?!? that I was starting to think I was missing something.

The only reason I continued was because it was sort of like Jellicoe Road, where I had known ahead of time that if I pushed past a confusing start, that it would get to a good point. I absolutely loved the second half of the book. The underground cave system appealed to the kid in me who loved stories about hidden tunnels and secret rooms. I also was fascinated with the healing antiseptics and medicine used.

Even though some people were creeped out by it, I actually cried when Ian (view spoiler)[told Wanda that he held her in his hand, and he was almost in awe of her. (hide spoiler)] Something about that scene wrecked me.

It's no big secret that I might have some negative/mixed feelings about her other books, but if I have never known who penned The Host, I never would guessed. The difference is like night and day. This one has a grit and depth to it that I hadn't expected to find.

Jen, Sinatra fan wrote: "Yeah, I was going to suggest Game of Thrones, too. ;)"

I could see that being a real guy's book, but only if they already like lengthy/epic books to begin with. If I had tried to push that on my husband as a starter book (even though he loves the show), he would have looked at me like I was crazy.

Hunger Games is a fairly short to average length book, so it's a bit less intimidating.

He's only read one book in his lifetime (Michigan Murders, because it happened here where we live). I think he'd like GoT in theory but I think it's too much for his first book in so long.

It is such a large book, you are right it might be intimidating.

I do wonder what Suzanne Collins next book project will be? Anyone know?

Stacia ~ twisted wrote: "Jen, Sinatra fan wrote: "Wait, Stacia, your husband read The Host? Most people I spoke to couldn't get into it. I actually liked it even if I thought her name was lame."

He really liked it, and su..."

I'm putting this in spoiler tags so people who don't want to read it can skip...
(view spoiler)[I really liked it, too. It didn't weird me out at all for any part of it. I could totally separate the two. I just didn't like her name. At all. I cried with The Host and hadn't bawled in her other books. I think I liked it more b/c I'm normally not a fan of alien sci fi, but this book made me really enjoy it. I loved Ian and Wanda way more than Jared and Melanie. I also liked the underground cave dwelling. The whole concept Soul concept was cool. (hide spoiler)]

Wendy F wrote: "He's only read one book in his lifetime (Michigan Murders, because it happened here where we live). I think he'd like GoT in theory but I think it's too much for his first book in so long."

Oh, ok. Yeah, I would not suggest Game of Thrones as a first read. That's like suggesting Outlander as a first read. LOL

He might enjoy Hunger Games, but I find that guys tend to roll their eyes at the romance aspects of it. The good thing is the action by far outweighs the romance.

I tried with Michael Grant's Gone, and he got the furthest with that. Almost a third. But then he trailed off and actually had me google to see there was going to be a movie, lmao.

I don't know how I managed to marry a complete non-reader. It's hard being a passionate reader and have him not understand that interest.

I feel your pain.

Haha! My husband does the same thing.

I loved the whole Hunger Games series. What I liked about the 3rd book is how she was able to keep upping the stakes. The first book starts off with everything so dark and intense already and I wondered what she was going to do in the rest of the trilogy. But she really did it, she really kept the tension going and she kept throwing more and more at Katniss. It was impressive and I felt like the ending was suitably dark considering how the books started off (dark.)

Jen Sinatra Fan, I hear a lot of people didn't like the way Katniss acted at the end of the trilogy, but I thought Collins portrayed Katniss's change of heart believably and with admirable restraint. It wouldn't be like Katniss to go all gooey over Peeta. But Gale really did take up the violent side of the rebels and Peeta was, as always, more gentle, and I think Katniss was really ready for that after all she'd been through. Plus, I got the feeling she'd loved Peeta for a long time but couldn't acknowledge that to herself, especially when she had to be so hard for the Games. One of the many things Collins did brilliantly was to have Katniss narrating her own story and telling us things about herself she didn't even realize.
Anyway, I'm seriously ramped for the movie.