"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games

So, you've only heard of the book, but you've seen the movie.  Great movie!

Why bother reading it now, right?

Nope.  Negative.  Wrong.

Reading The Hunger Games brings the post-apocalyptic story of Katniss and her struggle of survival to new epic proportions.

Truly epic.

You don't get this in the film, but in The Hunger Games, Katniss's story is narrated by herself.  As she finds out things, so do you.  Remember that scene in the movie when Prim's name is announced as the selected tribute and Katniss takes her place?

The movie has nothing on the electricity you feel when reading the pages of The Hunger Games.

My advice?  Go to the Salina Public Library TODAY and read this book if you haven't already.

And then come back for book two (Catching Fire) and book three (Mockingjay).

Once you finish the trilogy, I'm 97.463782% certain you'll want more.

If that's the case, check out this nifty flow-chart designed by the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence, Kansas.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: For you K-State fans out there, I solemnly swear that me featuring a Lawrence-based institution does not suggest any favoritism in the K-State versus KU battle.  I mean comparison.  Remember, I'm from Southern California after all.  Go Trojans!

Thank you for your attention.  This has been a public service announcement.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Public Library's Teen Zone. Hunger Games Read Alikes Flowchart. Web.  30 October 2012. Retrieved from http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2012/10/still-hungry-for-more-books-like-the-hunger-games/

Isn't it beautiful?

There are many more Hunger Games-related flowcharts provided by the Lawrence Public Library.  You can access them here:

http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2012/07/if-you-liked-the-hunger-games-3/

and here:

http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/2012/10/still-hungry-for-more-books-like-the-hunger-games/

NOTE: The Lawrence Public Library has never heard of me.  I just really like flowcharts.  And The Hunger Games.  And libraries.  Over and out.




Praise for The Hunger Games

• #1 New York Times bestseller
• YALSA's Teen's Top Ten, 2009
• American Library Association Notable Children's Book
• A Kirkus Best Book of 2008
• School Library Journal's Best Books of 2008

See The Hunger Games in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• The Hunger Games in book format
• The Hunger Games in audiobook format (CD)
• The Hunger Games in audiobook format (Playaway)
• The Hunger Games in electronic audiobook format (electronic resource on Sunflower eLibrary)

See The Hunger Games on Goodreads.com

itstriciaa.  (2011, May 5).  The Hunger Games Book Trailer Project [Video File].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HnwvVZBl8M


Collins, Suzanne.  The Hunger Games.  New York: Scholastic Press, 2008.  Print.  ISBN-9780439023481; hardback; USD $17.99.

"The Mockingbirds" by Daisy Whitney

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6882274-the-mockingbirds

The Mockingbirds begins with Alex, a junior at a very prestigious prep school, waking up in a room that’s not hers, without any memory of how she got there.   Beside her?  A male student. 

She can’t remember a thing at first, though pieces of that Friday night slowly begin to come to the surface over time.  With the help of her friends, she unwillingly defines the ugly thing that happened to her.

Rape.

But what happens now?  Themis is an honorable school and does not recognize any misconduct in its student body. 

Rumors quickly fly and Alex becomes a victim in more ways than one.  Since Themis offers no road to justice for Alex, she turns to the Mockingbirds – a secret society comprised of students designed to protect students from the wrongdoings of the Themis student body.

The Mockingbirds offer Alex support on her search for justice against the guy who raped her while they act as a governing body of law within the student body.

Daisy Whitney’s writing will keep you glued to the pages of The Mockingbirds, and reaching for its sequel, The Rivals.

Praise for The Mockingbirds

• "Powerful... A pitch-perfect examination of Alex's emotional journey." - Gayle Forman on NPR, picking The Mockingbirds as one of NPR's best books of 2010
• "Utterly thoughtful and engrossing from the first page, this is a must read." - I Heart Daily, Best 2010 teen books pick

See The Mockingbirds in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• The Mockingbirds in book format

See The Mockingbirds on Goodreads.com

LittleBrownBooks.  (2010, October 26).  THE MOCKINGBIRDS: By Daisy Whitney [Video File].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fggmEIJF7c

Whitney, Daisy.  The Mockingbirds.  New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010.  Print.  ISBN-9780316090537.  Hardback.  USD $16.99.

"Annie on My Mind" by Nancy Garden

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/595375.Annie_on_My_Mind

Liza and Annie meet during their senior year on an enchanted rainy day and immediately find a connection in one another.  Annie has a beautiful voice and wants to go to college on the west coast, while Liza goes to a prep school and dreams of studying architecture at MIT.

Coming from two totally different economic backgrounds, Liza and Annie’s love and relationship develops while they help each other cope with school and family issues.

The teens manage to protect their relationship from the world until an unfortunate incident at Liza’s school, and Liza is nearly expelled.

Will they make it?  Read this best seller by Nancy Garden to find out!

Praise for Annie on My Mind

• Designated "Best of the Best Books for Young Adults" by the American Library Association
• "100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century" in School Library Journal
• Winner: 1982 American Library Association's Best Books
• Winner: 1982 Booklist Reviewer's Choice

See Annie on My Mind in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• Annie on My Mind in book format

See Annie on My Mind at Goodreads.com

Ekbunch.  (2011, October 30).  Annie on My Mind [Video File].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqfW2bk9rAw

Garden, Nancy.  Annie on My Mind.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994.  Print.  ISBN-0374303665. Hardback.  Unknown.

"Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38990.Fun_Home

Alison Blechdel presents her life in an innovative way though the means of a graphic novel. From her childhood through her young adult life, Alison’s unconventional life experiences will pull you in to her gothic-based drawing style and witty writing. Her family is… interesting. Her father is a high school teacher/historic home preservationist/closeted homosexual/3^rd generation funeral home director who is more than slightly abusive toward his family. Alison’s mother doesn’t have time to notice her children’s angst at her husband’s behavior between her Master’s classes and aspirations of stardom. Alison’s life becomes exponentially more chaotic when she confesses her lesbianism to her parents, which sparks a string of unfortunate events.

Graphic novels prove to be popular among young adults, and I would expect that this fresh and interesting take on the LGBT autobiography would resonate with a variety of young readers. Even though Blechdel jumps around in the chronology of her writing, it still flows and seems easy enough to follow her age though the illustrations.

To be totally honest, I’m really, really glad that my dad is absolutely nothing like Alison’s.



See Fun Home in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• Fun Home in book format

See Fun Home on Goodreads.com

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780618477944. Hardback. $19.95 USD.

"Hidden Roots" by Joseph Bruchac

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2011098.Hidden_Roots

Sonny is an 11 year old boy growing up in 1954. As an only child, he observes the strained relationship between his mother and angry, abusive father. Stress at home follows him to school where it appears Sonny is an outcast, befriending the school librarian. When a factory accident threatens the well being of his family, Sonny begins to observe his father in a new light, while a family friend, “Uncle Louis” becomes present more often.

Bruchac’s book presents a likeable character in Sonny, though the narrator’s voice leaves the dynamics of the setting slightly ambiguous longer than I usually prefer. As a first-person narrator, Sonny’s 11 year old viewpoint of his father and his father’s accident is well developed for being as brief a read as Hidden Roots is. TO be honest, I wasn’t entirely ready for the book to be over, once I realized I was on the last page.

See Hidden Roots in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• Hidden Roots in book format

See Hidden Roots on Goodreads.com

Bruchac, Joseph. Hidden Roots. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2004. Print. ISBN-0439353599; paperback; $5.99 USD.

"Forever" by Judy Blume

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37743.Forever

Judy Blume introduces her readers to a slightly older, worldlier character in Forever. Kath and Michael meet at a New Years Eve party, and quickly fall in love.  As seniors in different high schools, their new love is bound to be tested and challenged.  The focus of their relationship becomes sexual, and the two teenagers are faced with the future of separation in college.  After graduation, Kath’s parents insist that she leave Michael for the summer for a job at her younger sister’s summer camp where Kath meets someone who tests and challenges her feelings for Michael.

Before I get going, I must mention that I am a huge supporter of Banned Books Week, intellectual freedom, and that I feel that this book should be made available to whoever wants to read it.  That being said…  While Forever is a classic of its time, a book that challenged the norm, and is something that reflects the voice of the quintessential teenage love story, I couldn’t wait to be through with it.  The voice of Kath is choppy, somewhat confusing, and at times, crude.  She holds her relationship to Michael above everything else, until someone more interesting comes along.  Michael is just something I am unable to convey while using kid-friendly expletives.  I understand and respect Blume’s influence in YA and children’s literature, but I must say, her writing style leaves me unimpressed.

See Forever in Salina Public Library's catalog:

• Forever in book format

See Forever on Goodreads.com

Blume, Judy.  Forever…  New York: Bradbury Press, 1975.  Print.  ISBN-0027110303; hardback; unknown.