HUNGER PANGS AFTER FINISHING HUNGER GAMES? TRY THESE!

HUNGER PANGS AFTER FINISHING THE HUNGER GAMES?  TRY THESE!

I had read The Hunger Games trilogy at least a couple of times before seeing the movie when it opened last month.  Of course I then had to buy a copy of the first book and reread it, which led to buying the second book to reread it.  In between, I saw the movie again.  Luckily for my budget, the third book was archived on my Nook, so I read it again--twice.  I had recommended the books to my kids and my friend Sue, resulting in the following oft-quoted exchange:

Sue (after hearing my synopsis of the first two books, prior to the publication of the third book):  Well, that just sounds stupid.  And you've read two of these?  I wouldn't even read one of them.

Me:  Sue, you would really like this.  You love Survivor and The Amazing Race.  These books are kind of like those shows.

Sue:  I don't think so.  I'm not going to read them.

I gave up, never thinking the subject would be up for discussion again.  When the first movie trailers showed up on TV, I was so excited, and the movie itself exceeded my expectations.  I couldn't resist teasing Sue about it, so I asked her if she was planning to see the movie.  Imagine my surprise when she said the previews look pretty good.  After seeing THG, she told me she'd really enjoyed the movie, but added darkly, "I'm still not going to read those books."

Well, you can't win them all.

In the meantime, having read the series again and seen the movie twice, I can't get the story out of my head.  I would read the third book again, but my son is currently reading Catching Fire and will be ready for Mockingjay in the next day or so, if we don't get hijacked by the last few episodes of Season 3 of Justified on FX.  I've given a lot of thought to what I would recommend to readers who are still hungry for some good post-apocalyptic, dystopian fiction to fill the void until the second movie arrives in November 2013.  Here are my selections, in no particular order.

LIFE AS WE KNEW IT           \
THE DEAD AND THE GONE--Susan Beth Pfeffer
THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN    /
     In this trilogy, a meteor knocks the moon out of its proper orbit, wreaking havoc on the earth with tidal waves and other natural disasters to add to the chaos.  The first volume focuses on a family in Pennsylvania, the second on a family in New York City, and the third on both families as they struggle to deal with food shortages, lack of electricity and other amenities, and facing what passes for normal in the wake of disaster.  I had minor issues with the books, which I will gladly discuss with anyone who cares to comment, but overall, I liked the trilogy and have read it a couple of times.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND--Allegra Goodman
     Honor and her family move from the Polar North to Enclosed Island 365, where everything from the climate to children's names to people's jobs are dictated by the Colony.  Differences are punished swiftly and harshly, and conformity is the rule of the day.  Since Honor's parents act differently from their neighbors, it's only a matter of time until they draw attention in ways that cause Honor to question everything she believes.

THE GIVER               \
GATHERING BLUE--Lois Lowry
MESSENGER             /
     I actually read MESSENGER first, after purchasing it at a school book fair, and then had to seek out the other two books, which my kids had recommended to me.  THE GIVER in particular gives a chilling perspective on a world where political correctness is taken to the extreme and everything less than perfectly normal is made to disappear.

ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS
THE FAR SIDE OF EVIL--Sylvia Louise Engdahl
     Yet again, I begin a series with the second book.  Elana is a new graduate from a University very like Starfleet Academy.  She is sent to the planet Toris as kind of an undercover social worker to help this "Youngling" planet negotiate the perilous time when its population will either succumb to nuclear war or unite to develop a space program and explore extraterrestrial life.  This book shaped a lot of my attitudes about politics and war, and it didn't hurt that Elana had some pretty cool psi abilities.  The first book dealt with a more primitive population, and Engdahl uses more of a fairy-tale style to tell her story, which is very effective at presenting the Younglings' point of view.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME--Margaret Peterson Haddix
     All I need to say about this book is that it bears a remarkable resemblance to M. Night Shymalan's movie The Village, which it predates.  There was some controversy when the movie came out, but the book is well worth a read.

FRIDAY--Robert A. Heinlein
     In a world that seems remarkably like the Capitol of Panem, Friday, a genetically-enhanced Artificial Person, is a courier of top-secret information.  She faces discrimination because of her not-human parts, even though, until she reveals her secret, she is completely accepted and popular in her social circle.  What's remarkable about this book, to me, is what an amazing job Heinlein did of creating a futuristic world that is very like the world we currently live in.

RESTOREE--Anne McCaffrey
     It's no surprise that this is one of my favorite Anne McCaffrey titles, since it is, at its core, a romance in science fiction clothing.  Sara is kidnapped from Earth by aliens intent on devouring the human race.  When she regains consciousness, she discovers that she has had a makeover that has turned her into a model of physical perfection, but she is working as a caretaker for a man who is being drugged to keep him out of his rightful role as Regent of the planet.  She decides to wean him off the drugs, thus opening the door to intrigue and romance.  McCaffrey once said she was surprised at how much fans loved this book, which she wrote in protest of the science fiction that was then being written by men, but it remains a huge favorite among her fans.

THE CITY OF EMBER
THE PEOPLE OF SPARKS
THE PROPHET OF YONWOOD--Jeanne duPrau
THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD
     If your only exposure to this series was the less-than-satisfying film version that came out a few years ago, do yourself the favor of forgetting the movie and sink into the books.  Lina and Doon live in the City of Ember, an underground community that was designed to be the last hope of mankind in a post-apocalyptic future.  The electricity in Ember is failing, supplies are running out, and food is becoming scarce.  When Lina and Doon find the pieces of an old map, they realize that there is a way out of Ember.  The remaining books deal with the people from Ember trying to carve lives for themselves aboveground, where resources are nearly as scarce as they were in Ember and the people are not completely thrilled to welcome them into society.  I've read this series a couple of times, and I can tell you, the filmmakers did duPrau a huge disservice with what they put onscreen.

THE HOST--Stephenie Meyer
     This book was as unlike the Twilight series as it could possibly be, but I loved it.  Yes, it does feature a love triangle, but the rivalry is not like any you've encountered before.  Earth is being invaded by parasites, shiny silvery wormlike creatures which are implanted in the brains of humans and take over their minds, displacing the humans.  When Wanderer is inserted into the body of Melanie Stryder, she is flummoxed to discover that Melanie's being refuses to be displaced from her body.  As they share one body and get to know each other, Wanderer gets to know Jared, Melanie's beloved, who is a rebel in hiding from the aliens.  This book is, pardon the pun, more cerebral than action-packed, but I enjoyed it as a cautionary tale against the arrogance of humans and the decline of social mores.

I'm certain there are lots more books I could add to this list.  I'm equally certain that I am not finished with The Hunger Games.  If, like me, you're suffering from Hunger pangs, perhaps this list will help you find something to keep them at bay.  May the odds be ever in your favor!

WRITERS' WORD CHOICES

I've been working a lot on my book the last few weeks. I'm about halfway through the manuscript, and my reading partners seem to like it well enough. One thing I'm very aware of as I write is word choice. My friend Sue pointed out that I used the word "palatable" three times in one chapter. I haven't gone back to edit it yet (it's still handwritten in pencil on a legal pad), but I'll be thinking about what I was trying to say and how I can change up my words so they won't stick in the reader's awareness and pull him or her out of the story.

When you write a book of 200 or more pages, naturally you're going to repeat a lot of words. The trick is not to repeat words or phrases in a way that readers notice. For instance, if you use a really unusual word, such as fungible (which describes commodities that can be traded to satisfy a contract), it makes sense to use it once and then find another word. Of course, since I was reading a thriller that involved embezzlement when I encountered that word several times, perhaps there wasn't another choice, but it really stuck out and subconsciously, I was almost counting how many times the author used it.

Phrases are something to be aware of, as well. I have a tendency to pick up words and phrases that I hear other people use, and I'll use them for a while until something newer and shinier catches my attention. When I'm writing, I try to be aware of repetition, so if I say someone looked like she'd swallowed her tongue, the next time I'm trying to describe a character's expression of shock or surprise, I'll be scouring the wordwork for something that says the same thing a different way.

On a recent drive back to Georgia from Naples, FL, my aunt and I listened to Evermore by Alyson Noel. Nearly every time the main character reacted to something, Noel used the phrase, "I pressed my lips." The first few times we heard it, it was pretty funny, but that phrase grew to be painful before we reached the end of the last CD. This was not the only thing the author repeated. Every time the heroine asked the hero a question he didn't want to answer, "he shrugged." Those two phrases really worked my nerves. I don't know if my reaction would have been different if I'd been reading the story rather than listening to it, but I suspect not, because that's the kind of thing I tend to notice. At any rate, much as I enjoyed the story itself, I could not bring myself to read the second book in the series.

Another peeve of mine is when authors use the wrong word. If someone does something on purpose, they did it purposely, NOT purposefully. I've seen that one a lot lately, and boy, does it grate. I also hate when authors spell celebrities' names wrong. Two I've seen lately are Steven King and Stephanie Meyer. (Should be Stephen and Stephenie.) And why, oh, why cannot people get the use of me vs. I straight? Billy and I went to the store. Mom gave the candy to Billy and me. If you're not sure which one to use, people, for heaven's sake, take out the other person and you'll know which pronoun to use. It's really simple.

Writing is not always easy, I'll be the first to admit that. A little extra work on the writer's part, however, will make it a lot more rewarding for the reader.

GENERAL BOOK CHATTER

I've read a lot of YA books this year. The Twilight series was really good, and I'm waiting for the movie nearly as eagerly as my middle students are. I just finished the third book in Marianne Curley's Guardians of Time trilogy, and I must say, I'm actually disappointed with the ending, which was quite abrupt and deeply unsatisfying. I must find out if there's another book, because there were so many loose ends that I can't believe she doesn't plan to write any more about this group of people.

I'm reading A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN right now. This is one of those classics that I've just never gotten around to before. I'm not very deep into it, but I think it's going to be one of those head-smacking, why didn't I read this sooner kind of books.

I was pretty excited to see that they were making a TV series of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series, but I just can't figure out why there's so much sex in it, because I truly don't remember that from the books. Maybe it's just HBO and their need to titillate, but I think the show would have done just as well without it. On the other hand, I would still love to see Kim Harrison's books made into a series.

This hasn't been the greatest of reading years--only 143 books so far, with about six weeks of reading time left to reach my minimum goal of 185 books for the year. I'm sure I can do it, but it's a little disconcerting that even with the large number of YA books read, the total isn't higher. More disappointingly, my total pages average will be well under 300 pages per book. Sigh.

Suzanne Collins, author of the Gregor the Overlander series, hooked me with her latest book, THE HUNGER GAMES. Given the results of the latest election and the recession that seems likely to escalate into outright depression, the premise of the book is not nearly as far-fetched as it might have seemed a year or so ago. After catastrophic civil war, what used to be the United States has been regrouped into twelve districts, ruled by a thirteenth district which conquered all of them. In most of the districts, poverty is rampant and hunger a very real part of everyday life. Each year, each district must submit one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in a reality show where the participants hunt and kill each other. The show's producers intervene to stir things up if the show gets too boring. The last one standing is showered with wealth and privilege. I devoured this book, staying up late into the night when I could hardly keep my eyes open because it was such a compelling story and the characters so interesting. I thought I would die when I got to the end and discovered that it was first in a trilogy! And since the book just came out last month, it will be ages before the next installment! AARGGGHHH!

Another YA book in a similar vein is SURVIVING ANTARCTICA: REALITY TV 2083 by Andrea White. In this one, with a similar socioeconomic condition, a group of teens must recreate Robert Falcon Scott's journey to the Antarctic. This book took a lot more swipes at politics and TV than THE HUNGER GAMES did, but it had many elements in common with that book, too. Both are highly recommended.

Well, that's about it for the moment. Drop me a line and tell me what you're reading these days. There's always room for more books on Mt. TBR!

Summer Reading

I figured being on vacation for most of the month of July would give me the opportunity to get lots of reading done, but that proved not to be the case. I've only read five books so far this month (more or less) and finished listening to one audiobook.

The good news is, I finally got a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and bombed through it in less than two days. I've just started the sequel and will go directly on to book three as soon as possible. I've got about a week to read nine or ten books so my July goals will be met. I don't mind being off by a book or two, but half a dozen or more is just downright unacceptable.