Trickster's Choice

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Summary: It's always difficult when your parents prevent you from doing something because it's dangerous. Alliane of Pirate's Swoop knows this all too well as she tries to make her way in the world. Since she was little she learned how to be a spy and absolutely loves the work. Because her mother (Allanna the Lioness) and father (George Cooper) don't believe Spy work should be a girl's work, Aly spends a great amount of her time partying and having fun.

All of this changes when a god decides to put Aly's talents to use. She leaves the Swoop so her parents (who were separted for a year because of a war) may have some time together. This results in her capture by a group of pirates who are determined to sell her off as a slave.

Aly plans to escape from the people who purchase her at the slave market, but her mind is changed when a god appears to strike a wager with her. The remainder of the book is Aly keeping her end of the wager by protecting two noble half-raka (Raka are brown skinned people who are treated very poorly in the Isles) girls. The more time she spends with them, the further Aly finds herself wanting to stay not because of Kyprioth's wager, but because of the girls themselves. Will she be able to win her wager? Will her parents ever know what happened to her? What are Kyprioth's motives for keeping these two girls alive? So many questions and only one summer to solve them.

Opinion: When I first read this book I thought it was one of the best things ever. Now that I've re-read I've realized that, while the plot is detailed and the characters charming, it can be a bit of a drag. Things don't get moving until quite a bit of time has passed and there's more than one session of long, unbroken boring day-by-day filler. If you can bear with those, though, this novel is amazing. I still love it, but I don't think I consider it a favorite anymore.

A large part of what keeps this story going are the characters. Aly herself is sly and fun. Reading her dialogue with other characters always made me smile. She's not perfect, and that makes her even better. The other characters are fun and realistic, from quiet Dove to robust Sarai. I've also always loved Nawat's crow habits, and the way he would always offer Aly bugs to eat and how unoffended he seemed when she turned him down.

I'm unsure if it's because I already knew what was going to happen, but a few things I saw from a mile away. Others I was pleasantly (re) surprised by. Reading about Aly's spy work always fascinated me because Pierce seemed to cover every angle and always come up with a new trick.

This book is a delightfully enjoyable read.

Reccomendation: For patient people who enjoy fantasy. There's a little edge on mystery because of the spy work, but not much. If you aren't willing to wait through until the action, this isn't really a book you'd enjoy.

Title: I really like this title. It's original, creative, and it makes sense!

Cover: There are so many versions of this it's a bit unfair to judge the one above. The cover never really drew my attention, though. I probably wouldn't have even picked up this book if it hadn't been a Christmas gift from my mother.

Series: Trickster's Queen is just as good if not better than Trickster's Choice. If you liked this one, you definitely have to read the second half.

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This review was a bit shorter, but I couldn't think of much to say. And I guess I failed to post on Wednesdsay. Woops. Let's see if I have better luck this week.

-MJ

Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

((Caution: Spoilers for Hunger Games and Catching Fire))

Summary: We interrupt my unimportant spanish homework to bring you another exciting book review from MJ! Okay, okay, some would argue that book reviews can't exactly be 'exciting', but they're definitely interesting. Unfortunately it's hard to say the same for Mockingjay.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The third and final installment in the Hunger Games trilogy brings back all of our favorite characters. Well, the ones that weren't killed. Katniss is shuffling through the ruins of Distrcit 12, reminiscing about the past.Make no mistake, her times in the arena were trying, and she's feeling the effects of them while she stays at 13 with the survivors from 12, citizens of 13, old friends and fellow rebels. With painful memories, stress of the present and fear of the future claw at her mind Katniss is forced to work with 13's harsh president Coin to maintain the face of the rebellion. Even with Gale around to comfort her she cannot get over the loss of Peeta or the harshness of their new environment. Indeed, the people of 13 uphold a diligence that has kept them alive all these years every single day. The only reason she is exempt from the harsh punishments inflicted upon rule-breakers is because she is the Mockingjay. But how will she take seeing her friends beaten for taking an extra slice of bread? Can she save Peeta from the clutches of the Capitol? Katniss is finished with the official games, but will she make it past the Capitol's final level?

Opinion: For all of my eagerness when I opened this book I was remarkably disappointed at the end. Unlike the previous two books there is relatively little physical action. While I believe this book may be on par with Catching Fire, it wasn't really in the same realm that Hunger Games was. As with CF, the story was out of Katniss's hands, something I found more frustrating and annoying than anything. She is no longer the hero, but a figurehead. She was the spark that started the rebellion, but nothing more. Half of this book she's being sedated or on some form of medication. Not exactly the strong hero-type we saw in HG. During Peeta's rescue she is told to 'sit back and wait'. Would Katniss from the first book do that? I don't think so. But Katniss from book 3 pretty much does. There were a few fun surprises thrown in there which I appreciated, but overall the plotline had me groaning. Even the end was unusual. The book did not end with fighting. Instead we continued on with more internal grief and confusion on Katniss's part. A few more twists here and there, and then the Mockingjay is all but stuffed in a confined, observed room. There were a number of unnecessary character deaths. Conversely I thought there were a few characters who should have died and didn't. Yes, I like Collins's writing style. Yes I like Hunger Games. Yes I liked the series. But Mockingjay... just wasn't the ending I had hoped for.

Reccomendation: I'd say read it, if only so you know how Hunger Games ends. For all of its flaws it was worth the read; I just wouldn't suggest you buy it for yourself. Borrow it from a friend. I doubt I'll re-read this one.

Title: I love the title. My favorite of the three in the series. Mockingjay flows well and it's creative. If only such were true for the book itself.

Cover: It follows the theme, it's creative, eye-catching. I like it.

Series: I LOVE Hunger Games. One of my favorite books. Catching Fire is about as good as Mockingjay, but in a way this one is more depressing because its the end of the series and Collins doesn't have another chance to redeem herself. Depressingly mediocre for a series that started with such a bang.

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On a more blog-centric note, I might update more like twice a week. Say personal writing on Wednesdays and then Book reviews on Sundays. Or I might alternate on Sundays. We'll find out what school allows.

~MJ

Consistency

It's been a while, huh? I could say a whole bunch of things to explain my absence, but they'd all just sound like excuses. So rather I'll start off by saying that I plan to update this blog once a week on Sundays. Most likely afternoons. Kind of perfect, don't you think? Fits with the theme.
Anyway.
Due to a suggestion from my friend, M. S. Steed, I'm going to use this blog to post a little more than just book reviews. Maybe a snippet of writing here or there, a little about my day, more of an all purpose blog I suppose. A little like hers. (If you haven't alread, go check hers out!) But mainly I think I'll stick to books. At least if I can manage to read a book a week... which generally isn't a problem for me, but you can imagine I'm a little tighter for time what with school having started and me being a student.
Now that I've dedicated myself to updating once a week, I'll spare some time to mention my current project. It's been on a small hiatus because it's been wearing me down a little and I refuse to write something I'm sick of/don't enjoy writing. I expect to pick it up tomorrow or the next day. But I digress. Currently it is going under the name of 'Spindles', although is very susceptible to change. It's a Steampunk/Fairytale mix, and my quick pitch for it is: "Two unlikely people must bond together to save the Steampunk city of Blackpool from a dark conspiracy. Will this fairytale have a happily ever after?" As with the classical fairytales, there is a princess, prince charming, 'magic', strange creatures and a castle. The steampunk comes in when we bring up the setting. It's some 300 years after the world has ended and the remains of humanity are figuring out how to function as the society they once were.
I know the latest thing in fiction is 'angels' and while I've always been in love with the idea, it's not something I've really acted on. Mostly because I don't want to betray my 54,000+ word story. With any luck I'll manage to finish Spindles off before NaNoWriMo, and then use that month to do something with Angels... I don't know. To qoute NCIS, my 'mind is like a pachinko machine.' There are so many ideas clamoring for attention it's crazy.
In general I tend to write what I want. I figure if I'm not having fun, why bother? This of course leads to dozens of half-finished projects or random sentences or partly developed characters and relationships I never plan to revisit. I just hope to keep my attention focused on Spindles long enough to finish it, as it means a lot to me.
So much to write...
so little time.

I'll update next week with a review on Mockingjay.
Until next time,
MJ