Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the trilogy, and it comes to a fitting end.

Once Katniss is rescued from the arena, the civil war begins in earnest. She is taken to join the rebel forces while Peeta is taken by the Capitol. Both sides use them against each other in an effort to win the war. It becomes an moral discourse on what is necessary to win a war. Do you kill people for the greater good, or try to salvage what you can so that there is a future at all.

Eventually they save Peeta in an effort to keep Katniss with the rebel cause, but they find him brainwashed to destroy her. Meanwhile, she finds herself and Gale are drifting further and further apart. He lives for the cause, while she finds it an effort to live at all.

Finally, the rebels win, but at a terrible cost that Katniss cannot come to terms with. During the public execution of President Snow (the Capitol president), Katniss decides to execute President Coin (the rebel leader) instead, because she's realized that there would not be a true republic after the lengths Coin went through to win. It would be simply replacing the existing system with a different face.

With both leaders dead, the survivors of the war elect a new leader. The Hunger Games are over forever, but the impact lives on in Katniss and Peeta's memory.

I think the reason I loved this series so much is because Katniss is so real to me. I find myself identifying with her struggles, her moral point of view. I know that I would have made much of the same choices at 17, and I can imagine the scarring of her experiences.

So good. I hope they don't screw up the movie.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book two in the Hunger Games trilogy. So good. You cannot read the trilogy independently because the cliffhangers will kill you. So glad I didn't read this series till all the books came out.

In this book, Katniss is home having survived the Hunger Games with Peeta. She's recovering from post traumatic stress and trying to figure out her feelings about Peeta and Gale. She loves both of them, but there is so much history that she can't choose. However, she has to continue the pretense that she's in love with Peeta for the media. Gale continues to survive as he has always done.

When Katniss and Peeta go on the Victor's Tour through all the districts, they unintentionally incite rebellion and gradually they become a symbol for the skyrocketing discontent. To make matters worse, this year is the Quarter Quell. Every 25 years of the Hunger Games is a twist that makes everything worse. This year, the players are drawn from the existing pool of victors. Meaning Katniss ends up back in the game.

During the game, the players band together and make it a point to fight the game itself rather than fight each other. They succeed and trigger a new civil war. At the end of the book, Katniss and Peeta are separated. One is adopted by the rebels, and the other is taken by the Capitol.

Eeek! Just started book 3.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is another book that I feel is along the same vein as Ender's Game. Also unbelievably good. I can't quite believe this is marketed as a young adult novel, with its dark themes and ethical commentary on government control and blind consumption of popular culture. Although I wish this book was out when I was considered a young adult, just so I can see how I would react to this book.

It is essentially a cross between Battle Royale and Survivor in a post WW3 environment. In retaliation for a popular uprising years ago, the Capitol has created the Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl under 18 from a formerly rebel district is randomly selected to participate each year. The game is a Battle Royale, where the contestants kill off each other until only one survives. All the while, the games are broadcast throughout the world as a reality TV show. How each player plays the social media and survival game determines how much help they get from the spectators. In this story, Katniss volunteers for the games when her sister's name is chosen. She undergoes the media blitz before the game, which is a stark contrast to the actual games. She survives the game, but not without consequences.

One of the ploys they use to help her survive is to play star-crossed lovers with the boy who is chosen to play the game with her. Normally they are to kill each other, but he professes a love for her before the games begin, so they are able to use that to garner sympathy from the viewers. And in a last ditch effort to usurp the power of the game, the two pretend to commit suicide rather than kill the other off. This causes a chain reaction among the former rebel states because to them, it's not an act of love, it's an act of rebellion.

This is the first book in a trilogy. In the middle of the second. Just as good. I think I would react exactly like Katniss in her situation... if I managed to survive at all.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

This book occurs in parallel with Ender's Game. It is Bean's story. Bean is one of Ender's commanders, and the only one smart enough to realize what's going on with the Bugger war, and was informally pegged as Ender's successor if he failed.

It's a book that is able to stand on its own merit. The plot is still compelling, despite being a parallel story. What Bean goes through is different enough to seem new. And Bean's perspective of the whole affair gives new ideas about what Ender suffers through the novel. It adds a whole extra dimension on top of the original story.

Bean is a genetically engineered genius. He is able to think twice as fast as anyone and is a survivor bent on winning ever since he grew up on the streets. However, he also knows that he is not charismatic enough to take Ender's place. So he is happy to live in Ender's shadow and prepare himself to succeed if Ender fails.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

A friend of mine recommended this book to me a long time ago, but I've only read it now. It's a shame, because the book is so good. It's deep, has lots of action, and fast paced. Exactly the kind of book I've been looking for.

The story is based in a future earth where over population is rampant and families must petition the government for a permit to have a child. A second child is uncommon, and a third child is completely unheard of. But Ender is a third child. His older brother and sister had shown incredible genius and aptitude for military command. But his older brother had shown signs that he was a sociopath, and his sister was considered too empathetic to be a military leader. So the government allows his family to have Ender, a third. This emphasis for a perfect leader is the result an alien invasion that occurred years ago, by a race known as the buggers. Earth has lived in fear of the alien's return and has created the circumstances necessary to defeat the alien invaders, should they come again.

So Ender is drafted into the military at the age of 6. He begins a grueling career where every odd is intentionally thrown against him in order to make him the perfect commanding officer. They want him to win, and he does his best to survive. By the end of the novel, he is able to do exactly what they trained him for but at the expense of his mind. When he leads the human armada against the bugger world, he is only 12.

The story is all I've said and more. There are so many ideas in it that are still relevant, and I imagine will be relevant for a long time to come. I'm surprised this book isn't studied at school.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

This is my first voluntary non-fiction book. This distinction is necessary because I've read oodles of textbooks, and none of them were as fascinating as this one.

Outliers is about basics of how people achieve genius and success. It's a fascinating observation about the people who we idolize as the pinnacle of intelligence and success, and breaking it down to achievable morsels. By Gladwell's estimation, genius and success is achievable through luck, hardwork, practice, and a willingness to overcome one's cultural behaviours if it becomes a barrier to your success. It doesn't necessarily have much to do with aptitude.

In my mind, it's become the basis of how I would like to raise my children (whenever I have them) so that they have every opportunity to become successful and brilliant. If they fail at life, it won't be my fault.