Ethan R

89/100
Mockingjay is the best of the original trilogy, and while I haven't read either prequel in full yet, I highly doubt they will top it. This book is great. I love the way it focuses on the lore of the series, as well as the civil war that breaks out. This book is the best because it does what Catching Fire did great (read my review of that book and much of it applies here,) but adds an extremely engaging war with thematic purpose, Katniss' escalating involvement in the conflict, and so much drama that really feels meaningful and engaging. You have to read it to get why the drama is so good, at least to me, but it just is. I really admire how the series can rehash the “katniss gets mad at gale or peeta and then realizes she's being kinda a douche” thing several times and always have it be good. I keep going back to this, but the war is just so well played out. It's another thing you just need to see. The pacing is flawless throughout basically the whole thing, but the main thing I want to talk about is the ending. So, Prim's dead. Huh. I hated this decision at first. The entire series happened because Katniss wanted to keep her sister alive. So why, in the climax of the story, is she killed in a civilian bombing by her own side of the war? Well, it's to show that President Coin is really not that much better than Snow, their enemy. When Katniss finds this out, this gives her the initiative she needs to assassinate Coin, which is an extremely powerful move. In my opinion, this decision is to show that she doesn't conform to a particular side, person or country. Katniss does anything to protect what she loves, even when the Rebels helped her in a lot of ways. Because again, it's not about sides; the decision was about Coin in particular.
I want to say that I have an issue with the ending. The vote on having one last hunger games to punish those who subjected their citizens to the hunger games. This was stupid. The choice is obviously not to waste money and human suffering on petty revenge. The Rebels aren't necessary better than this, but Katniss absolutely is, and for some unexplained reason she votes yes. She wants to round up a bunch of Capital officials and have them as tributes in another hunger games. Don't ask me why. I don't want to give the impression that the ending is bad; it's generally great, and every second of it was very enjoyable except for the blemish I just mentioned. I won't go on for longer, but I'll close this by saying that the series is really great and deserved the attention it got, although I feel like it was popular for all the wrong reasons. While most know it for its love triangle, fights to the death and its popularization of the teen dystopian genre, I think its strengths lie in its bursting personality, mastering of plot structure and character, its accurate depiction of the human condition during times of poverty, and later war.

85/100
Catching Fire is a definite improvement on the first book. While The Hunger Games had a lot of general appeal, I felt that Catching Fire was much more human in its presentation of what was happening to the characters. The victory tour portion near the beginning did drag a little, but it really wasn't long, I mostly just think that the things that Suzanne Collins thought would make things interesting during that part didn't work because we already knew the Capital sucks. Everything past this good, though; whereas the human elements of the first book felt slightly manufactured, this did not because it more closely relates to real world situations. (I understand that the existence of the hunger games is supposed to mirror the iraq war and how it was portrayed in the media, but the concept still doesn't closely relate to what happens to real people in practice.) This book has depictions of fear and violence that mirror real life in ways that the drama-focused angle of the first book can't. I'll say that there is a thematic reason for this, in that you realize over time that the threats she's been dealing with do show up in some form in our own world, but the credit still goes to books 2 and 3 for conveying that theme. The Games portion of this book is very well done, but I find the middle area more compelling, all the way from Gale's whipping to Katniss' preparation to enter the Games. The drama is just extremely well done and captivating. The Games portion is smart, much more smartly written than anything in the first book, and the twist at the end is something I did NOT expect, that had me rereading the ending to really realize the magnitude of what it meant. It explained some things that I initially was weary about and was just a good way to wrap things up and make the stage for the finale. I do want to say that there are a couple parts I don't like. this applies to the first book arguably more than it does here, but I mention it here and not in my The Hunger Games review because it has a much better reason not to exist here, and it's the convenient life-saving that happens during the Games. I understand that there was a need to keep Peeta and Katniss alive that was understood by the ally group, but it got a bit eye-rolling, especially at the part where she's about to be eaten by monkeys and suddenly they all die. Like wow, cool way to solve the problem Katniss, you did absolutely nothing and just got away. That's not frustrating, predictable or contrived at all. The reason I say this has a much better reason not to be present in this book is because to me, its lense is supposed to be less manufactured and more raw, exploring the real, grounded consequences of the superficial nature of Panem's government. This scene, while still kind of sucking, would be excusable in the first book because it's still in the “fight to the death + drama” era of the series. Shit like this shouldn't be happening 3/4 into the second book. Overall though, it's a great read. I admire its structure, presentation of character drama, its depiction of the warning signs of the revolution and the shining personality as well as emotion that Katniss' narration brings.

My only 5/5. 1984 is a book that feels so personally impactful in a way that I can't describe, and the fact that it feels this way despite being written almost a century ago in the wake of the end of World War II gives me a perspective on humanity that I never have had before, and this perspective is only magnified and echoed by the narrative of the story.
Below are spoilers. PLEASE don't read them unless you have read the book, or you have absolutely no interest in doing so (which if so you should really reconsider!!)
Winston lives in a society robbed of humanity, and to me, this is something exemplified more than anything else in the story. Yes, there is more of an emphasis on perpetual surveillance for citizens in the descriptions of Oceania (the country that Winston lives in), but the root of not only the problems, but every aspect of the state of their whole world is rooted from an absence of humanity. During the second half of the book, when the state of the world is spelled out to Winston through a black market book written by an enemy of the Party, it is explained that the current state of Oceania (and all societies in the world) came about as a result of class struggle for power. It explained how as people became conscious of the cycle of power being handed from one class to another, there was a widespread need to defeat said struggle by the higher class. The higher class then came up with the Party, which intentionally starves the lower and middle class and keeps them just barely alive and barely educated so that there is no chance of a revolution, and to combat overproduction, which could not be avoided, a state of war that is by design never ending was enacted to spend resources on. The Party crushes any and all opposition, not by simply killing opposition, but by truly convincing them of wrongdoing. Someone convicted of a thoughtcrime (a high offense, I should add) is not left alone until they have truly been convinced otherwise, and the Party gets their way with this. In theory, this system should work, and in practice, it does- but in all of this, every ounce of humanity is lost. It is stated by O'Brien, a Party member, that the object of obtaining power is power. Power is the ultimate goal of the Party, and that is the only end that the Party seeks, and this simple fact articulates the lack of humanity within the Party. So does the narrative of the middle of the story, where Winston falls in love with a woman, and the goal is to keep this fact hidden completely from the government, all while keeping the knowledge that things would definitely end with the both of them being captured and murdered.

Bad parts is anything but boring. The book is very gripping from its earliest moments, a skill Brandon seems to have mastered, and the plot and characters are emotionally compelling throughout most of the story. However, I do have problems with it. These are:
1. There are many parts that feel contrived, and generally the characters go through SO much struggle to complete any simple task that it feels really unrealistic (yes I know it's a book about a creek demon I'm talking about a different kind of unrealistic). While Brandon does a great job of weaving the story together and it definitely reads like he had a ton of fun making the book and a passion for writing, I think he got too excited with some ideas and ran with them even if they made for a less compact, slick and satisfying story. The absolutely breakneck pace makes for many things to happen that clutter up the story and I could do without much of it. This problem isn't helped by the fact that the entire book takes place over the course of a very short time span. His other novel, Entry Wounds, has the same thing going on but in a much better way because there is a much more natural sense of urgency and characters still rest, get fatigued, and have normal human needs like eating and sleeping and drinking in that novel. Here, instead of a natural sense of emergency from the very premise of the situation, the thing that makes things move so fast is just the fact that Snare said so. I think the story could've benefited from a longer time limit, as it would've made for much better opportunities for downtime, which this book largely lacks with a couple exceptions, more believable scenarios and characters, and character development. Speaking of characters...
2. The characters are unlikable, unbelievable and average. I liked Ash at first, but I also think she became MUCH less tolerable over the course of the book. I'll come back to this Ash point later, and to avoid spoilers I won't be specific, but basically every single surviving character by the end is a bad person. This is not to say the ending sucks, but it could've been better. The characters also do not change. Characters with flaws are great, but when they never learn from their flaws and just have them for the sake of it instead of for a purpose, such as being relatable or used as a narrative device, it can become very irritating. If there is learning or growth by the surviving characters at the end, it is not stated, and I do not trust those characters to do so because again, they are not good people.
3. SPOILER WARNING! From here on I will be discussing the parts I wasn't before to avoid spoilers. First, I want to mention Trent and Candace, because I have significant problems with both of them. Trent is a horrible person. I hate him so much that I was significantly happier when he died even compared to Candace. And I don't think I should've hated him, not because of him, but because he should've learned something before he died. He died a much worse person than he began, but not in an interesting or satisfying way, just a “Wow, I didn't know Trent was THIS MUCH of a piece of shit!” way. This is because he was never really an antagonist. He became one during the very long climax of the story (or maybe by that point the climax had already happened– I'm not sure) but I think that was the completely wrong way of going about it. I think he should've made terrible decision like the one with the creek water much earlier and then had time to regret it and grow before he died. Next, I really don't like how Ash's character ends up being handled. It feels like Brandon took the philosophy of maximizing drama and tension, which isn't always bad, but it comes at the very high cost of almost every character being someone I hate. This detracts from the drama because I care significantly less about the events concerning characters I don't like than ones I do. When Ash was driving Lauren outside of the zone, it was an extremely gripping and pretty genius plot point, but the decision wasn't justified enough to make me feel anything stronger than the thought, “I hope the police get a hold of her.” So, when the fog covered the town and the police died, I just thought, “Oh. So she just gets away with this.” This wasn't an isolated case, either. Just a bit later when she finds Cheeto dead, I wanted to be sad because he's one of the few good people in the book, but I was just kind of passively bummed out that I wouldn't see him again and angry at Ash for causing his death (which I didn't know yet but it was pretty clearly Snare's doing.) This kind of thing happens many times throughout the book, where my dislike for characters gets in the way completely of causing an emotional response from me.
Score: 67/100.
Good book, again, it was not boring. I just think it needed some more time in the oven and a more experienced version of Brandon, because Entry Wounds is an upgrade in every way. Even with all my criticism, good stuff!

90/100

Throughout the whole thing I was consistently pleasantly surprised. I really think this is up there with Mockingjay as one of, if not the best Hunger Games book. This thing is really long, five hundred pages, and it does drag in some parts— however, it always stops dragging and when it picks up it's very hard to put down, so it wasn't a huge issue to me. I loved Lucy Gray, seriously one of my favorite Hunger Games characters ever. She just radiated so much swag and energy. Since she is the love interest of the book and a singer, there are many passages of song in this novel, and I'm a fan of most of them. They get better as it goes on, I think, so while the lyrics kind of variy in writing quality, it barely matters, especially considering the glimpses of really nice lyrics that are present at times.
Now, it's no secret that the main character of this book is a young President Snow, so I think I can claim without it being a spoiler that Coriolanus is a horrible person. What's surprising, though, is that he comes from not only humble beginnings, but is actually a pretty good person. His father, now dead, was an honored general in Panem's first civil war, and he feels like he has to personally continue the glory that the Snow name holds. This, likely along with his nature, causes him to view human beings as tools for success rather than real people with inherent value. This is apparent early on if you pay attention, but this quality really starts to come out when he is presented with opportunities for power. I won't spoil the insanity that happens in the last couple chapters of this book, but it's fucked up, and I genuinely just hate this guy lol. The thing is, though, it's such a realistic feeling depiction of sociopaths and how they view themselves. His ego grows and grows to a nauseating degree, he uses everyone he knows, and he has a blatant disregard for human life. The more he justifies these things internally, the worse he becomes, and ultimately— you may consider this a spoiler— he throws away the opportunity for love, instead pursuing his own arbitrary standard for success.

94/100

First of all, if you have the choice, don't buy the Maple Classics version of this book— there are printing errors and there's a spoiler on the back cover.

Orwell's 1984 is my favorite book of all time, one with the honor of being my only 100/100. So, how does Animal Farm compare? Thematically, it's very similar, albeit slightly less broad; however, this book, I'd say, is more original in concept. It's the story of a group of farm animals rebelling against their human leader and establishing a new farm led entirely by animals, renamed from Manor Farm to Animal Farm. At first, this farm is run democratically, with weekly policy debates where everyone can voice their opinions, though debates and conversations are dominated by the more intelligent species, namely the pigs. Two clear, for a lack of a better word, political figures emerge: pigs Snowball and Napoleon, who never fail to disagree with each other on every policy imaginable (sound familiar?)

The rest of the book documents the descent of Animal Farm into a totalitarian state, written to mirror the descent of the USSR and be an allegory for the Russian revolution, including events such as the prosecution and killing of political rivals, the manipulation of facts and history for the benefit of the ruling class, class inequality, and perhaps the most striking and prevalent, the abandonment of revolutionary principles. I won't detail this descent; the specifics don't really matter, but basically every character, event or idea in the book can be mapped to a person, concept or event that happened for real in the USSR, and I think the book does a spectacular job at not only showing at every stage in the devolution into oligarchal rule what happens and what the warning signs would be, but also why people didn't revolt or reject the government. The book shows that it wasn't as simple as bad guys taking power and ruling with iron fists— it's a dirty, long and manipulative process that the population is on board with 100% of the way. Lastly, I love the characters. Animals are cute and all of them felt real and I wanted what was best for them. I consistently love the details that Orwell put into his fiction and the way things play out— it always makes for a very special experience.

80/100
The Hunger Games became a sensation for a reason. Its narration is laced with personality, the story is compelling, basically every aspect of it is in line with what's considered a “good” book. Beyond this there isn't too much to say; it's my least favorite in the series but still a very enjoyable read, and one that gets pretty sad at times too. I can't think of anything I didn't like about it, but conversely, I can't think of anything I loved. The strength in this series, in my opinion, is the fact that each book is better than the last.

85/100
Surprisingly great. I was always on board, but I had a couple issues while reading. However, the twist at the end completely fixed every problem I ever had- THAT is how you write a truly unexpected plot twist. It makes you look at the entire story completely differently and makes a surprising amount of sense. Though I will say if you're going to read this you need to watch death not first. Not only does it rely on you having an understanding of the events of the anime, as well as answering questions you'll have after finishing it, AND it spoils the anime several times, but the show is also simply even better.

Gripping, dark, anxiety inducing, and fucked up are the words I'd use to describe this book. I wasn't bored for a second reading this book, and for how complex it got, it was always easy to follow. The several twists always made sense and, even if they were confusing, answered questions in such interesting ways that simultaneously introduced major implications. There were also some hilarious lines, mostly toward the beginning. Amazingly gripping book, 9/10.
BELOW ARE SPOILERS!! DO NOT READ IF YOU AREN'T COMPLETELY FINISHED WITH THE BOOK.
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I wish Ken had just killed Angela at the end. Honestly, when Ken left her house and I thought Angela was dead, I literally started cheering out loud. I can see why Ken did what he did, and it was definitely wiser, but man would it have been satisfying to see his bullet rip into her.