Matched

Matched by Ally Condie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When my book club picked this book, I admit I rolled my eyes. "A Hunger Games copycat" I thought. And reading the first page, my skeptisim grew. It is set in a world where everything is controlled by the Society, it is narrated by a female in first-person present-tense, and there was a preoccupation of what she was wearing to a banquet to find out who her statstically ideal Match will be. But I quickly fell in love with Cassia. Unlike Kat, she feels her life is perfect in the ultra-controlled world and it is only when there is a glitch with her Match, when she begins to question the infallibility of the Society, and some gentle prods from her grandfather, scheduled to pass away later that week, that she begins to wake up and dream of something more.

There are no red-eyed mutants or wilderness survival skills on display here, but perhaps more poignantly, Matched describes the survival of the human will, of the desire to create,of the beauty of the unpredictableness of nature. Is it bad that I cried as much at the loss of a poem or a tree in this book as I did for the death of Rue in Hunger Games? And Condie is a beautiful writer. Yes, Cassia can be naive, but her thoughts run deep and clear and she describes things like a poet would. It was a joy to read. I am only mad that it is another trilogy and I got in early enough I will have to wait to find out what happens to these characters.

On another note, I am curious about the trend of these YA books I've read over the years. It seems as if the boys in YA fantasy novels are always in a reality they don't like--being bullied, not smart, etc. --and then they find out they are wizards, demigods, the Chosen One. While girls tend to be in a hard world and they simply learn to cope with it. It doesn't hurt that usually more than one boy likes them. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this. I simply wonder if boys tend to dream of being suddenly saved by circumstances that then makes them braver, stronger, smarter than they feel they are. And, alternatively, do girls feel they are already brave, strong, beautiful, only no one recognizes it because of their unfair circumstances? Or would they not believe that they are heros in disguise? And is this a reflection of society or do these tales shape our images of ourselves?



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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Katniss moves out of the realms of the Games and into the global arena where war is being fought to take control of Panem. She is chosen as the symbol of the revolution, though it is interesting that she does so rather begrudgingly and not all that passionately. Her motives are mostly her own, and she doesn't seem to care much about how the new Panem will be run, as long as Snow is not in charge, and her circle of friends and family are safe. But then, she is what, 19? 20? And are the majority of us really so different?

Katniss also gets hurt a lot, and spends a lot of time in hospital, so the action isn't as nonstop as the other two books. But I liked the ending, and I thought she ended up with who was right for her. These books tell a dark tale about an imperfect hero that is a clever allegory for today's issues. And there is enough hopefulness and sweetness that it is an unlifting, satisfying read.



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Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I must admit I was caught off guard by the twists and turns in the second novel in the Hunger Game series. Huger Games was so good, I thought, how could it get any better? But I was pleasantly surprised. Not as good as the first, I grant you, but definitely a great read.



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Elsewhere

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


In a Q&A at the end of the book, Gabrielle Zevin cheekily admits that she doesn't really think about an afterlife. She thinks that would be shocking since this book is about the afterlife. But really, I don't think the readers will be shocked that she didn't think about what she was writing.

An afterlife where you grow younger instead of older, and you may never get reunited with the people you love, or if you do they may be 12 and you may be 45 is creepy. And even if you do meet up with the one you love, you grow young together--(still creepy). That's the main premise behind elsewhere, although even the details don't really make sense. There are creepy love triangles, and the dead grieve over the living more than the living grieve over the dead. In fact, no one seems particuarly happy or well-adjusted in this book. If that's Zevin's idea of heaven, no wonder she doesn't want to think about it. I don't want to either.



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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was a little leary about the Hunger Games since it seemed to be the new Twilight, and I think everyone knows what a dissappointment that was to me. But I loved Katniss, Peeta, and Rue. I loved the way Collins chose to narrate it with a stream-of-conscience first person POV. It was perfect, keeping you in the middle of action, and you felt as trapped and desperate as Katniss did. First-person past-tense wouldn't have had the immediacy, and third-person would have made the reader feel as voyeristic as the rest of the Capitol citizens watching the Games. The plot was fantastic, yet believeable and the relationships were beautifully done. Excellent!



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Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved getting to know Olive Kitteridge and the rest of the folks in Crosby, Maine. These are a collection of short stories, each one revolving around someone from Crosby and Olive is sometimes the main character; other times she just pokes her head in. She is flawed, yes, and at first I didn't like her, but like most people the more you get to know them, the more you understand, sympathize with, and then finally grow to love them. I loved the format: the short stories allowed you to jump years, perspectives without having lags or gaps in the narrative. With themes from aging to parenting to love and grieving, this is a great read.



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Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There are few books that I can't put down. Plenty I don't WANT to put down, but I do anyway when the dishes or the kids get to be too much to ignore. But I read this every chance I got, sneaking in chapters whenever possible, and Thanksgiving vacation was pretty much swallowed up in the open fields and dry tumbleweeds of Texas, the Indian fights and lightning storms on the trail, the life and loves of the people from Lonesome Dove.





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