Amelia's Book Room: Mockingjay

Last week I told you about the latest and (sniffle) final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay. I finished it not long after that post. So, let's talk about it! It's pretty impossible not to spoil the events of Catching Fire, so if you haven't read that, you probably shouldn't read this.

When we pick things up in Mockingjay, everything seems to be falling apart for Katniss. District 12 is destroyed, Peeta has been kidnapped by the Capitol, while Katniss, her family, Gale, and the remaining survivors of 12 are refugees in District 13. Everyone wants her to be the Mockingjay of the rebellion, the face that will encourage the districts to fight back. What will make a reluctant Katniss step up to lead (albeit for show) the rebellion? The sight of Peeta on a Capitol broadcast, being used by President Snow to regain power over the districts.

This is a very dark, serious time of battle and loss for Suzanne's series; prepare to get your heart broken many times over. While the end is slightly dissatisfying for some, all in all Mockingjay is worth the read, with lots of suspense and drama.

I hope you've all been reading Scat by Carl Hiaasen; it looks like we'll be discussing it on the blog next Sunday! Stay tuned for details!

Amelia's Book Room: Just Released: Mockingjay!

I'm afraid I don't have a regular review this week; I'm too busy reading the final Hunger Games novel!

If you're even a little into young adult books, chances are you've heard of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Today, the third and last book in the trilogy, Mockingjay, came out. I've been reading it pretty much all day since I got my copy in the mail, so hopefully next week I'll have a full-fledged review for you. So far, I'm liking it a lot!

Don't forget; we're reading Carl Hiaasen's Scat for the Dekoposh Reading Club, and will probably have a meeting to discuss it near the end of August! Happy reading!

Amelia's Book Room: Aphrodite's Blessings

As you know, I've been way into the Percy Jackson series, which involves the Greek Gods and myths. So, when I saw Aphrodite's Blessings on the shelf while volunteering at the library, I knew I had to read it!

Clemence McLaren retells the stories of three young women of the Greek myths, whose destinies are all touched by the Goddess of love, Aphrodite. In Running From Love, we meet Atalanta, an oddly-raised princess who, instead of practicing embroidery and wearing traditional robes, is well trained in sports and prefers a man's tunic. She feels terrible when dozens of male athletes begin competing against her for the grand prize: if they win, they have her hand in marriage; if she wins, they are put to death. And Atalanta is too good!

The second tale focuses on the beautiful Andromeda, whose father has picked her a very unsavory husband, and in the final story, Psyche must venture into the land of Hades to earn her soul mate's love. If, like me, you recently finished Rick Riordan's hit series and you're hungering for some more Greek mythology, this is the book for you!

Don't forget, we're reading Carl Hiaasen's Scat this month for the Dekoposh Book Club, and will have a meeting to discuss it at the end of August. Happy reading, and don't let your busy new back-to-school schedules keep you from the books you love!

Amelia's Book Room: Ramona

As you may have heard, Selena Gomez's new movie Ramona And Beezus, came out this month. I haven't seen it yet, but I hear it's pretty good; so this week, we're going to talk about Beverly Cleary's ever-popular Ramona series!

The characters of the Ramona books were originally introduced in the Henry Huggins series, which featured Henry, his dog Ribsy, and his friend Beatrice 'Beezus' Quimby--and occasionally, her pesky little sister, Ramona. Finally, in Ramona The Pest, her own series began! We meet our favorite little pest as she is starting Kindergarten, and learn all about the quirky and mischievous adventures she gets herself into. Over the next six books, ending at Ramona's World, we go through first grade and beyond, all with lovable Ramona and her friends.

I read these books when I was little; they were one of my favorites! And you teens out there, don't be embarrassed to read these great books; no matter what age, they're still fun!

I won't be writing next week, but don't forget to start reading Carl Hiaasen's Scat for the Dekoposh Book Club in August! Happy reading, folks.

Amelia's Book Room: Kissing Vanessa

Every once and a while I like to just pick a random book off the library shelf; I've found some good ones this way, such as Guitar Highway Rose, which turned out to be one of my favorite books. And, this week, I've got another good find: Simon Cheshire's Kissing Vanessa!

Kevin Watts is your average wallflower; he's not the guy your eyes would immediately snap to when surrounded by his classmates. He prefers to keep to himself and spend time working on his photography. But when a new girl comes to school, the beautiful, smart, photographically talented Vanessa Wishart, he finds himself falling head-over-heels for her, and his only hope of catching her attention? Standing out from the crowd.

With the maybe-not-so-helpful help of his best friend Jack, Kevin tries to make himself appeal to Vanessa. But he has a lot to learn about love--and girls--including that most people like you best when you're just being yourself. Kevin is a quirky and lovable protagonist, and Cheshire drops the poor guy into a lot of painfully awkward situations that make you almost squeeze your eyes shut in horror, yet keep you turning the pages to see Kevin to the hopefully happy end of his quest.

This is a quick and fun read, and I enjoyed it a lot; I hope you will too! A quick announcement; we will be starting the Dekoposh Book Club back up in August! Next month we'll be reading Carl Hiaasen's latest young adult novel, Scat! If you liked the previous two, Hoot and Flush, this one's sure to be good.

Happy reading!