Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has been on my list for a long time. I’m not sure why it took me so long to get it and read it, but I finally did. It was amazing! I read the first one in a flash and realized soon after that it was a trilogy!!! I couldn’t believe my luck…there were two more!!!
I can’t tell you a lot about the trilogy without giving very important details away. I can tell you that at the heart it is the story of a very strong girl who never gives up. It is set in the future and the world as we know it as been destroyed. There is “The Capital” which is where the government is located and is a rich and thriving city. Then there are the 12 “districts” that are not faring so well. Each district provides a different commodity to The Capital (mining, agriculture, etc.) and they are all poor. The higher the district number, the farther they are away from the capital and the poorer they are. They suffer greatly. Each year, to remind the districts that The Capital is in charge, they hold “The Hunger Games”. Each district has to send one boy and one girl to the games…to fight to the death. The “winner” gets riches for their family for the rest of their life and their district benefits for years. But they have to kill 23 other kids to get it. It’s crazy good. If you haven’t read it yet, go get it right now. If you have, let’s dish! Be prepared though; you’ll want to read the whole trilogy right away!
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Are you a Patricia Cornwell fan? I am…but I have been extremely disappointed in her last few books. Ever since Benton came back I feel like they’ve fallen short. I was so excited to see this new one “Port Mortuary” pop up. Let me tell ya…it sucked. Don’t waste your time. I kept reading all 512 pages thinking there was some big twist or plot change coming…but it didn’t. I give it two thumbs down.
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Olivia’s regular education teacher, Ms. M, found out that Gabe loves to read. She hopped right up during our IEP meeting and grabbed this huge book called “The Invention of Hugo Cabret“. She said to give it to Gabe right away because he will love it. It’s 544 pages! Gabe finished it in 3 nights. She also said that I should read it. I did…and read it in one day. It’s amazing!! Throughout the story there are these beautiful illustrations too…it’s as if the story continues in your head while you’re looking at the pictures. So unique!
The story is of an orphan who runs the clocks at a train station in France in 1931. He discovers an automaton and restores it to see what it does. It sounds weird but it’s wonderful. Your kids will love it too!! I’d say it’s a 4th or 5th grade level book if you’re curious! Let me know if you’ve read it. If you haven’t, go get it!
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When school started in the fall, Olivia came home talking about “Pin”. I had no idea what she was referring to. I found out it was a character in a book that they were reading in her class…and that Ms. M had a special voice for the character and everything. Of course I had to go right to the library and get it! I got “The Prince of the Pond” from the library and we’ve all been reading it aloud together. We just finished it last week. It’s such an awesome book! It’s a twist and take on the Prince and the Frog story. You will love it and your kids will love it. Even Matty, who’s 5, was able to follow it and understand it. We all loved it! When was the last time you found a book you could read aloud to your 10, 9 and 5-year-old? It’s been a while for me!
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I’d love to hear if you’ve also read any of these and what you thought….and if you have any new ones to recommend!
Elastamom's Excerpts 
I read The Hunger Games trilogy this Christmas. I got a giftcard for my kindle and blew the whole thing in the three days it took me to read those books. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them. They were impossible to put down.
(And then I borrowed the audio CDs from the library to listen to while I cleaned. Overkill? Perhaps. But trying to “read” with kids around usually makes it necessary to go over things a few times to get it all!)
I LOVED the Hunger Games series. A good friend gave me the first one while Evan was still in the NICU because she knew that I would be be absorbed into the book and it would offer a great distraction from the hospital scene. I found it to be amazing!
I have nothing to add to the book discussion but just wanted to say that I love that Olivia’s teacher gave you a book for Gabe. How awesome to have an educator who takes an interest in your entire family? She sounds wonderful.
Check out “Making Toast” by Roger Rosenblatt. I read this recently and really found his writing spare and refreshing. It’s about a heavy topic, but handled with such a deft touch that it never bogged down for me. It was a quick read, which is also a bonus.
Jane adores Patricia Cornwell so I’ll have to pass along the thumbs down!! Reading is on the back burner for now. But I’m planning on going through a few books while on vacation in a few weeks. I’m grabbing that trilogy from the library and going for it!
I need to read Hunger Games!
I’d recommend Sandra Dallas — The Diary of Mattie Spenser and Prayers for Sale. They’re not phenomenal, but they’re really good.
Our kids’ school (K-4) had a program where the PTO gave each family a book “The World According to Humphrey” by Betty Birney & had little incentives for reading I think it was 3 chapters per week. I thought it was a great book for reading as a family together. And it was very cool that most of the other kids were reading it at the same time, so they could talk about it with their friends. There are additional books about Humphrey that we are looking forward to reading – my 3 oldest (ages 8, 6, & 4) really liked this one.
I have been waiting to see what books you have read. I always get a few loves from your suggestions! Thanks