And when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia is certain he is the one...until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
Now she is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's know and a path no one dares follow...between perfection and passion.
I was talking books with a friend a couple months ago, and she happened to mention the Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie. A few weeks ago I came across Matched, the first book in the series, in the bookstore and thought I'd get it. I was reading New York Times Bestsellers in July, and Matched fit the bill.
I have read good and bad reviews for this one. It seems people either love it or hate it. I LOVED it! It reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games, but with less action. A lot of this story takes place in Cassia's mind through her thoughts and feelings. I loved that about this book.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Crossed.
Friday night was date night for my husband and I, and it's been our plan for a month to go see The Hunger Games. Even though my husband is not really a reader, (not like me anyway, he reads the Bible, the paper, and magazines, but not many books) he was fine with this since he saw the preview during our last movie date night and was interested. Plus he's been listening to me rave about these books for months. I'm happy to say that we were not disappointed. The Hunger Games was a great movie! And most importantly to me very true to the book. This always makes me very happy because then my husband can get an idea of what the book is about and why I love it so much! Of course there were a few differences and things left out, but that's always to be expected. On the whole, the movie does a very, very good job of staying true to the book!
Just as I thought when I saw the very first preview, the casting is brilliant. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect as Katniss. Katniss is one of the best female characters in a long time, and Lawrence definitely does her justice. Although Josh Hutcherson may not immediately pop into your mind when you think of Peeta,when you see the movie it's obvious that it works. To me there couldn't be a better Gale than Liam Hemsworth, and Lenny Kravits as Cinna is genius!
So if you are a fan of The Hunger Games, you must see the movie. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
In the books Primrose is Katniss Everdeen's younger sister, and Peeta plants some primrose bushes outside Katniss's house. That got me thinkging..."What excactly does a primrose look like?".
Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy will keep your hearts pounding.
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I know a lot of people have a favorite book from this series or one that just wasn't quite as good for them as the others, but that wasn't the case for me. I couldn't pick a favorite. I loved them all, and I have to say that this may be one of my favorite series of all time. I just loved it.
I do think that the last book was different from the first two though, and very much so. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire are full of action and violence, but there's also hope. There's the hope that Katniss and Peeta share that they might each be able to save the other.
In Mockingjay there is a lot of misery and madness, but very little hope. It was easy at times for me to say well what was it all for then. But that is what makes this an amazing book because you are feeling this along with Katniss. I think during a lot of the book that is exactly what Katniss is feeling.
Having said that, I loved the ending and the epilogue shows you exactly what the point was...love, honor, and freedom.
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Now that I've read the entire series, I am super excited for the movie. I think the casting is brilliant, and I especially like Lenny Kravitz as Cinna.
This trilogy really resonated with me. Katniss and Peeta are those rare literary characters who will stay with me forever. So even if you aren't a "young adult" and are having doubts about whether this series is for you, set them aside. I'd recommend this book to anyone.
I knew nothing about The Hunger Games until I started blogging last year. Then it was every where. It seemed like every blog I visited had reviewed this book, and it was on all the must read lists. My sister and I both love to read and we trade book recommendations back and forth, and I love to buy her books for any occasion...birthdays, Mother's Day, Christmas, just because. I bought her The Hunger Games, and she liked it. So over the next few months I bought her the the other two books in the series. But I still hadn't read it.
Then I read a post on one of my favorite blogs, Susie's Blog. She had recently read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and was in the middle of Mockingjay. She had good things to say, so I decided it was time to read them. Plus I had just signed up for this awesome reading challenge I'm doing for 2012, and the genre for January is Juvenile/YA fiction. It just seemed like the time to read it.
Let me just say that I did not expect to love this book as much as I do. From the very first page I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I love character driven books, and man oh man is Katniss a character. I just love her. Suzanne Collins gives her such an authentic voice. It feels like someone is telling you their story. I totally forgot I was reading a book. Nothing felt forced to me.
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I cannot wait until the movie comes out in March, and just for fun I thought I'd add the preview to my post.
I'd like to thank my sister once again for doing a great guest blog today! This is her third one, and they have all been great. If you missed her first two check them out in the blog archive. Enjoy!!!
BethWhitney-Lanier
Source: My Photo
On July 20th, 2011 I turned 29 years old. It's hard to believe I'm almost 30, but that's beside the point. They say the older you get the wiser you become. I hope that's true in my case.
"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." -Socrates
Anyway, I had a great birthday and received some cool gifts from different members of my family. Since this blog is about books, I will tell you about the birthday gifts I got from my sister, Amy. I received two books from Amy, The first one I read was The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which is also currently being played in movie theaters. This book takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the year 1962. It takes you into the lives of black maids and what they had to endure at the hands of their white bosses, especially the white women they work for.
There are actually some funny parts in this book, but mostly you see how horribly these maids where treated. It is a shame how human beings can treat each other. I read The Help in about a week and a half. It was a fast read as well as an interesting, eye opening story. Any of you who might be participating in the The Southern Belle Challenge this month along with my sis, Amy, should consider reading The Help. I really enjoyed reading this book.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the other book Amy gave me for my 29th birthday. Ironically, this book is also in the process of being made into a motion picture. Now, if you check books out at the library this one will be in the Juvenile Fiction section. In my opinion, however, this book is anything but juvenile.
I have not read a book like The Hunger Games in a very long time. At first I wondered how I would like the book and if I would even enjoy it. However, this futuristic thriller totally surprised me! It takes place in what used to be the United States of America and things are nothing like what we know now. The US has been taken over and shaped into 12 Districts and ran by the Capitol. Once a year they hold The Hunger Games. The surprising part is who they choose to compete in these games and the violence it ensues!
This book is filled with tons of heart pounding action and suspense. It is definitely a page turner and constantly keeps you guessing about what in the world can happen next. It was quite a read and I enjoyed the change in style and genre. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in the series, Catching Fire and Mockingjay.
In closing, I just want to say that I loved my two "Birthday Books". Reading books and talking about them always gets me excited. To be given a book as a gift is an awesome thing for me. When you receive a book from someone you might get a wonderful book that you wouldn't ordinarily read. Actually, I don't think I have ever gotten a book as a gift from anyone but Amy. She never fails in getting me a book I like or might even come to love. Three book that are in my Top 10 Favorite Books of All-Time were gifts from Amy and her family. I received Little Women, Little Men, and Jo's Boys as a Christmas gift about 2 years ago.
