The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old, living in the coal mining District 12 with her mother and sister, Prim. Her father died a few years ago in a miners accident and since then Katniss has been doing everything in her power to care for her younger sister and mother. Picking up her father’s bow and using the skills he taught her in the local forbidden woods she supports her family.
The annual Hunger Games, a tournament where a boy and girl from each district ages 12-18 are selected to compete in a deadly game of kill or be killed, comes around and she soon finds herself in the Capitol being prepped for the deadliest days of her life.

I was surprised. I have heard so many great things about this book from friends that I just had to read it. Now I have had books like this before, Harry Potter is one, but I honestly thought that with the basic plot of the story being children forced into killers in order to live, that I wouldn’t like this book. Wow, was I wrong. Now I still don’t agree with the idea of children killing children but Collins wrote the death parts in fairly non-graphic, dare I say it, and tasteful ways. Yes, there are a couple of cringe worthy moments, but there are also heart breaking moments.

The plot was astounding. We get to know Katniss very personally in the first few chapters and are then transported to the Capitol where we see how incompetent she is for the challenges she’s about to face. We meet her support team and Peeta, the boy selected from District 12 to play in the games. This was my favorite part of the book, seeing the modern world from a new angle. Then the fun is over and the games start. As said earlier the deaths where as tastefully done as one can imagine for this type of book. What I really enjoyed was the added level of complexity in the game, by the sponsors and support teams. The players aren’t just sent into the game but can try getting sponsors to help them throughout the contest; this gave a wonderful twist to the book. Also the last part of the book has some wonderful twists that I toughly enjoyed.
I think Katniss was well written in first person and that we were easily able to understand her and her actions. I liked having Peeta, Cinna, Gale, Prim and others support her, without an external support team no one would last long in a game like the one Katniss was forced to play. It is a game of mental more then a game of physical, and the game is very physical.
Panem, a future version of North America and Canada, was my least favorite part. District 12 was interesting, the Capitol a little less then original, and the arena was undefined. By undefined I mean Katniss took almost two days to reach one spot, but then she is constantly going back to that location within a few hours. Also there is mention of grassland but we never get to explore it. I did enjoy the Mutations though. These creatures are very useful to the book, though slightly creepy, and add a level of understanding to how much genetic engineering has changed in the world of Panem.

I read this book in two days and have to say that I love it. True the morals of some characters is disappointing, Katniss never felt remorse for her kills, but the book is still very good.

A

Keeper by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Two hermit brothers have spent years living in seclusion. Trying to fight their emotions so that they may be blessed in the next life. One night a lone man finds them and tells them they are dead. How can this be? Breathing, walking, talking men, dead. To live again they must become keepers, a secret order trying to preserve the emotional life of human beings.

I really enjoyed Keeper it was interesting, and gave great insight into the book Forbidden, which Keeper serves as a prologue for. It did it’s job making me even more interested in reading Forbidden. I see that Forbidden is going to focus on love and other emotions. I don't think following your emotions is a good thing since emotions can fog a persons sense of logic and lead to trouble. But I'll see how Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee pull it off. After reading Keeper I am very much so looking forward to Forbidden. Keeper was well written and did what it was intended to do, get me hooked on Forbidden before I even read the first page.

B+

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Disclaimer- Christians that don't agree with magic should not read this book. For me personally I read the series thinking of the magic as something that made the series unique. I also know that some people practice magic, I do not support magic in the real world. Harry and his friend also did some things that I feel Christians shouldn't support, lying, breaking rules, plotting revenge, and stealing are some of the common things that did happened in the book that I don't agree with.

Harry isn't normal, he lives under the stairs at his Aunt and Uncles house, where he is treated more like a slave then a nephew. When Harry receives his first birthday letter he learns that his father and mother were wizards! And that he can train to be a wizard too! He can leave his miserable life with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley!
When he arrives at “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” Harry is automatically the popular kid and quickly makes enemies because of it. On top of making new friends, fending off enemies, and schoolwork, Harry finds himself wrapped up in a mystery that includes the evilest of dark wizards who killed his parents when he was a baby. There is evil a foot, unbreakable banks are being robbed, mirrors are not telling the truth, and no one knows who will help bring He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named back from the near dead.

After hearing so much about this series I finally just picked them up. I was pleasantly surprised. The first book in the series is rather light hearted with an excellent plot that had many twists, red herrings and humor.

Harry is well developed and was easy to attach too, I took instant pity on him as I saw what he had to grow up with for “family”.  Harry quickly showed that even with his unusual history he just wants to be a normal boy. Sadly no one will let him be that, so he must compensate and just be ‘the’ Harry Potter famous for something he can’t even remember.
Harry couldn’t have asked for a better pair of sidekicks in his adventure. Ron and Hermione really brightened up the story with Hermione’s know-it-all attitude and Ron’s care free relaxed bearing.
I also loved the supporting characters. Neville I think was my favorite minor character, I feel the same as he does about studies. The teachers were all fitting for the typical teacher style, making it easy for young student readers to relate to the mysterious Hogwarts School.
Lastly I enjoyed the way J.K. Rowling had a minor enemy that was front and foremost in the story’s plot and a major villain that is plotting destruction in the background. This made the book have a good ending with the minor villain but kept the series going with questions for the next books.

For the world I thought Rowling could have added more. The only real description of Hogwarts is basically, “A castle looming on a mountain surrounded by a black lake.” Rarely will I complain about a book not having enough description but I feel a little extra would have helped. Later in the series the description adds up so you can almost see Hogwarts but for a first book it was weak.

Now I had heard about the game Quidditch before, but had no clue about what it was. After learning about it the Quidditch matches they quickly became some of my favorite scenes. The game Quidditch it gave me a feeling of a real school, with popular jocks and fans.

So minus the facts about Harry's poor moral choices the book is easily worth a B. If Harry had kept strong moral character the book would have been a A+ easily.

B

I Know Why the Angels Dance by Bryan Davis

Her first funeral, 12 year old Tabitha doesn't know how to handle  her great grandmother’s, Nana, death. She knows she should be happy because her great grandmother is in heaven, but shouldn't she also be sad?

To help her remember Nana Tabitha is given Deborah, a family heirloom doll.  Going home she starts to have strange dreams and when her closest friend, Rose, starts to appear in these nightmares she fears for Rose's eternal life.
relaxed and had fun through the entire book, it made the book  feel stiff and formal. The rest of the characters were fine. With the exception of her father and Phil, I kept getting mixed up with since they’re so alike.
When I picked up this book I wasn't expecting a thing. I have read fantasy by Bryan Davis and was interested to see how he would do a fiction novel.

I have my normal qualms with the characters in this book, many, but not all, were near perfect. One thing kept appearing odd to me, Tabitha is a perfect angel. For a 12 year old she acted like a 16+
year old. She used big words, had large passages of the Bible memorized, never self-centered, polite, Ect. Now I know many great 12 year olds and all of them goof off at times. Tabitha never really 
For plot I felt this was Davis' best work, it reminded me of "Tilly" by Frank Peretti. The main plot was easy to follow while the subplots were meaningful. I was pulled into the families lives, pondered about the Biblical views the book covered and was moved as I saw how it would end. Though it was overall predictable I like that it stayed on target and was well paced.

I have read many of Davis' works and feel this is his best writing. Though I wasn’t in tears it moved me and kept me interested till the bitter-sweet end.

B+

Beyond the Dead Forest by Steve Groll

Partners looking for adventure, that is what Kat and Carter’s relationship is like. When a mysterious forest shows up that only they can see, they know a real adventure just might have arrived. On one of their excursions to learn what lies within the woods they meet a man who will send them on a mission that might kill them.  But if they survive the challenges the Dead Forest has for them they will end up with some of the greatest treasures known to man.

I really enjoyed this book. The lessons that “Beyond the Dead Forest” contains I feel makes it a must have on every private or public school library shelf in America and beyond.

Kat and Carter are wonderfully created. They are two 12 year olds that have grown up together in their neighborhood. Both love adventure and both have family problems; together they help each other to deal with it. Kat’s father left the family and her mother is trying to be both a mother and a father to Kat. Carter’s parents fight a lot and seem to forget their son in the other room when they are mad.
The kids attitudes through the  book suited their age. They had real fears and made common mistakes like any 12 year old would. The difference with Kat and Carter is that they learned from their mistakes.   

The plot of the book didn’t dilly-dally with background information, which I love. There where flashbacks and conversations that helped fill-in any missing details about the partners pasts. The adventure couldn’t have started any quicker, I was promptly pulled into the troubles the two children had to deal with. Thinking, “What would I have done?” through the challenges really made this book something I could bring into my day to day life. “Beyond the Dead Forest” taught basic lessons like the people rule, running with the herd and loving your enemy. 
Now the middle of the book did drag and I had to make myself read it at times but the ending picked it up, making the book overall a decent pace.

I like this book it reminds me of a cross between “Phantom Tollbooth” and “Pilgrim’s Progress”. I highly recommend it for people of all ages. It is humorous, creepy, entertaining, insightful and so much more.

Also, I had the privilege to receive the book on CD and I just wanted to add that the reader did a wonderful job bringing the book to life. 

B