Things I've Learned Thursday

You see a ghost? You run. No questions asked. Ghosts will only cause misery.

The MOCKINGJAY Wrap-up

NOTE: This post will not contain spoilers for the final book, but may contain spoilers from The Hunger Games and Catching Fire because it's hard to review this book without commenting on things that happened in the other books, so if you haven't read them, please don't read this post. Again, this is SPOILER FREE FOR MOCKINGJAY.




Unlike my usual reviews, I won't include a summary of the plot because, unlike me regular reviews, this isn't a review but simply a wrap-up in order to give you my views on the third and final book in The Hunger Games series. That being said, I am turning off reader comments on this post because I don't want anything being said that will lead to spoiling a person who comes on here to view the spoiler free review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mockingjay. Fans of the series, you know that in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Katniss was faced with similar events. Not so true for Mockingjay which is what I loved the most. Characters only mentioned in the other books had a chance to grow and develop into the roles Suzanne Collins determined for them, which was great to see.

This is not to say there won't be laughter, tears, gasps, and cries (there will), but that is to be expected from a book of this nature. Readers of the Harry Potter series will remember their reactions to the final book in that series and can relate it to their reactions to this simply because it is the final book and reading the words THE END on the final page of a series you enjoy is always bittersweet.

Shockingly, the twists in Mockingjay didn't surprise me as much as the twists in the other books, but perhaps this was because I have grown used to the writing style. It may also be that I was reading too quickly for anything to sink in, but I truly and completely enjoyed this.

Those little paragraphs are all I can say about the novel without spoiling it for anyone. After reading, I know how important it is that no one knows what happens until they read it for themselves. The power the novel has is decreased in learning what happens and I hope everyone else will respect other's choice not to be spoiled.

In other news, for those of you who don't know, I attended a midnight release for Mockingjay at Magic Tree bookstore in Oak Park, IL, which was a lot of fun. You can view their reports (also spoiler free) from the night or view my personal pictures from the event if you would like to see the man costumes and lots of fun we had. I walked away with quite a few prizes including a Mockingjay bookmark, a couple fake tattoos, and a very cool key chain featuring the mockingjay, a lump of coal, and Peeta's pearl.

In further news, Suzanne Collins will be attending a book event at this bookstore in October, which I will also be attending and will write a full post on after the event. Until then, I offer this simple phrase to those who have read Mockingjay.

Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be, if
we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Teaser Tuesday ~ BECOMING CHLOE

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde
From Page: 89

"Wouldn't showing me those things be better than the pills? Maybe the world really is beautiful and I just don't know if because I haven't seen those things yet."

Music Monday ~ SkySailing

Did you all know Adam Young made music before he created Owl City? And that that music has been released? And that he went under the name SkySailing? Take a listen to this song, Tennis Elbow.

THE MOCKINGBIRDS Review

EDIT: This is the real cover for the book. Thanks to Daisy Whitney for emailing me the correct picture. You can find her on twitter here if you like!


Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
From Goodreads.com

I have always had a thing for books that tell it like it is, and this was one of them. Books that cover up the darker side of like - ex. girls being date raped while at school - are not worth my time because they don't tell a true story that relates to life. This is not to say that everyone has been date raped during their life, but it is these raw events that bring out the true emotions, the strong emotions, and that's what people can relate to.

Whitney does a great job at crafting these emotions into her characters. If you've been following my reviews, you'll have noticed that I enjoy reading strong characters, and this book was no exception. None of the characters were too far out there to relate too. I felt the character's embarrassment, fear, and anger right along with her, and this was what made her memorable.

And the idea of The Mockingbirds? Genius! My school doesn't have an issue with bullies and crimes not being taken care of, but it's easy to imagine a school where the administration pushes these sort of things aside in order to keep the reputation of the school strong. The Mockingbirds, a group of students working within the school to make sure wrongdoings are punished despite the school's indifference.

I loved the idea that students could make a difference and the lengths at which The Mockingbirds go to make sure the message gets through. It was shocking how effective their methods were, but they made sense in the context of the story. To be honest, it did seem a bit ideal, but had The Mockingbirds had no effect on the student body, the story wouldn't have made sense.

And way to jump right into the story. I'm sorry about my jumping around here in this review, but wow. What a starter to the book, and the story keeps rolling and building in a way that makes you continue reading. I finished The Mockingbirds in a single day. That was how much the story drew me in.

I sincerely hope that everyone who reads this story will walk away with something, whether is be the power to stand up for themselves or the idea that they can make a difference despite being only one person. The Mockingbirds is a story of persistence as well as a story of finding your own voice, which I completely enjoyed. A great read all around.

Rating: A-/B+

Things I've Learned Thursday

Anything that happens in the lab can't be good. Don't go searching where you know you don't belong.

Teaser Tuesday ~ SKELLIG

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


Skellig by David Almond
From page 64

She squirmed, and I felt the long, thin muscles in her back as she stretched. She took my finger in her fist and tried to squeeze it tight.