Teens

It is not unusual these days to find a book written for the young adult that has appeal to an older audience. Some of the best fiction these days is in the young adult genre. The Hunger Games falls into this category. Katniss and Peeta are District 12 children, aged 16, who are selected to participate in Panem's annual hunger games. 22 other tributes/contestants are also drawn - 12 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 12 and 18. The objective for the tributes is to be the last one standing. The objective of Panem is to remind all districts that they may not rebel against the Capitol. The book is about the games themselves. If the reader is looking for a fast paced, action driven, gory, bloody plot, this is not the book. The violence of the games is not masked by Collins, but she treats it in a PG13 way, alluding at certain events that cause the deaths of the tributes. After all, it is written for the PG13 audience, not for the mature adult. But certainly a young adult sees and hears far worse on the evening news. The action of the book is far more about strategy, problem solving, critical thinking, relationship building, and the wisdom, or not, of rebelling and why. These are the common themes that young adults face in the teenage years. But they are couched in a plot that contemporaries can relate to. This cleverly created book is well written with good character development. It is respectably read by McCormick and easy to follow. I highly recommend it to anyone and have purchased it and the sequel (the final book in the trilogy will be available in print 8/2010) for two young adults I know. I have also recommended it to my adult friends, who were quite puzzled by my droopy eyes all week as I stayed up until 2:30 or later in the mornings reading the book. Although they know I am a voracious reader, they recognized this as a highly unusual book that fully engaged my attention.

While I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy, I was disappointed in the conclusion. The plot about going still and finding the cure had potential. But Condie made it more of a subplot. The book was more about Zander's and Ky's love for Cassia. While it appeared that Zander experienced some growth throughout the series, Cassia remained nearly stagnant in that arena and Ky was a lovesick puppy all the way through. His whining was detestable and I couldn't stand listening to him. If I hadn't been driving when I listened to the book, I would have skipped all of his chapters. His contribution to the plot was nonexistent. The book could have carried on perfectly fine without him. I don't know how Cassia, portrayed as very intelligent, could have fallen for such a person. The "match" makes no sense.

Although I realize the book is dystopian in nature, and teens would mature a little faster, I think they sounded a little too old for their ages. The last 25% of the book was moralizing on the part of Cassia. It was as if Condie was reaching herself for a way to wind it up. Perhaps the entire tale would have been better as a two-book series.

I know readers who read the first two novels will feel compelled to buy the last one, but if you can stop yourselves from doing so, you'll save a valuable credit.

This is the first book I have read by Tamora Pierce. When I purchase audiobooks, I usually throw in a few young adult titles so that I know what I'm recommending to my grandchildren. I thought this book was engaging and the full audio cast presentation was outstanding. Evvy and Master Louvo, "Fuss pot" and Rosethorn take their magical skills to an island to determine what is killing the plants. From there we learn the problem and are involved in the magical solution. For an audience aged 12-14, this book is delightful, especially for fans of fantasy. But it is equally enjoyable for the adult if one is willing is suspend the belief system. I like that a female saves the day, so this book would be particularly interesting to girls. And one learns something about rocks and volcanoes along the way. After this reading, I immediately went to my local bookstore to purchase it for a young teen who I know loves to read. I was shocked to learn that it is still only available in hardback and they were all sold out. So she'll have to wait. Nicely done and nicely read.