"Mockingjay" by Suzane Collins

We both liked this one!

Gerard's review:
You know the deal about Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins--the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy!  Some people were disappointed in this book, but I am not one of them.  I thought this was the best of the three because it has tons of action!  I never knew what was going to happen next.  I like how not everyone thought Katniss was all that, the Gale-Peeta-Katniss triangle, and the surprise ending!  I enjoyed Mockingjay a lot!  It was hard to put down and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next!

Karen's review:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is the last book in The Hunger Games trilogy and did not disappoint.  This book is amazing!  There is so much action, well developed interesting characters, and psychological drama that I was engrossed in it right from the start all the way to the end.  To get the most out of Mockingjay though, I highly recommend that you read the entire series.  I felt so bad for Peeta throughout the book but am satisfied with the ending.  There is a lot of suffering but loved that Prim’s cat survived and enjoyed Katniss’ relationship with it.  There is some humor in this book too which helped balance the gravity of it.  I liked Katniss throughout the series and admired her intelligence, determination, spontaneity, skill, compassion and perseverance.  At no point was I able to know how it would end for sure. 

This is a great book to end the series and I highly recommend this series (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire) to anyone 14 and older.  I also think this entire series would work great for a book club, there is just so much to discuss.  This series is a MUST READ for anyone who likes suspense, adventure, excitement and books about relationships.  

Reviews by other bloogers:
Bloggin' 'bout Books: Hunger Games Finale Leaves Me As Mute As An Avox
Scientific Nature Of The Whammy: Mockingjay

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Who's The Dummy Now? by Terry Fator

10 Stars!  Inspirational!
Who's The Dummy Now? is about Terry Fator, who won $1,000,000 on America's Got Talent 2.  He is a ventriloquist.  He tells his story in a fun way.  He overcame an abusive father, no friends really and everybody telling him he could not do it, but he did. 

Way to go, Terry!  I enjoyed your book so much!  I think everyone would like this one.
(Gerard's review 2/5/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Word of Honor" by Terri Blackstock

Word of Honor by Terri Blackstock is a fast-paced novel about Frank Harper, a Vietnam war veteran who suffered brain damage while saving others in his unit, who escapes from the mental hospital and plants a bomb in a post office of a small town which kills three people and badly injures a little boy.  Frank gets Jerry, an army buddy whose life he saved, involved by asking him to drive him to the post office that day.  While Jerry waits for Frank to come to meet him at a hotel later, the police arrive instead and Jerry takes Jill, the attorney staying in the adjoining room, hostage.  There is quite a bit of action in Word of Honor which addresses the question of keeping your word with a romantic subplot between Jill and Dan, a firefighter afraid of commitment.   

I really liked this Christian fiction book because the characters were very believable and likable.  Jerry was caught between keeping a covenant he made with his army buddy and breaking it to protect his family and save himself.  I think Terri Blackstock did a great job in this book at incorporating a challenge to be serious about giving our word and having a covenant relationship with God and our spouse.  I recommend it to everyone!

This is actually the third book of the Newpointe 911 series but can stand on its own. Others in the series are: Private Justice, Shadow of Doubt, Trial by Fire, Line of Duty. I look forward to reading these as well! I really like that her books have clean language and a sex free.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Teaser Tuesday from "Mockingjay" and "Word of Honor"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought I would play for fun! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser. 

Karen's:

The sound of the gunshot shattered through Dan's brain with as much impact as if the bullet had traveled the phone line. He clutched the phone and shouted, "Jill! Jill!" She was no longer holding the phone, and he could hear screaming in the background, things crashing, people yelling.

From p. 39 of Word of Honor by Terri Blackstock.

Gerard's:

He doesn't know that I'm already asking for the moon by demanding they spare Peeta's life. Before I can decide whether or not to tell him, a bell signals the end of our eating shift.

From p. 53 of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

"Lucky Man" by Michael J. Fox

"Lucky Man" was a very interesting book to me because it was about Michael J. Fox, the star of "Family Ties," a show I liked a lot because of the part he played as Alex.  Michael had a tough start and did a lot of drinking, but married the girl who was Alex's girlfriend on "Family Ties."  She stayed with him through his drinking and his illness and was a good wife to him.  Book gave great insight into Parkinson's disease and ended on a positive note--he quit drinking, became an advocate for Parkinson's research.  He shared a lot about his family and his failures as well as his successes.  He was down but never quit.    He has quite a story to share!
(Karen's review 2/5/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?