Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games

Series: The Hunger Games

Book #: One

Author: Suzanne Collins

Pages: 374
Published: October 14th, 2008

Reading Level: Young Adult

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (from Goodreads)

In My Mailbox + Affiliate News!

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. In My Mailbox is a list of the books I have bought, borrowed, or won from that week.

I was about to write that I hadn't bought any books this week, but then I realized that wasn't true! I bought four books, they just haven't arrived at my house yet. This week I bought a book from the Undercover Book Lover's auction and then my affiliate, Amber Skye, and I bought three books together. We always swap books anyway, because we go to school together, so we figured we might as well split the cost! The books are all signed, which is exciting. I am looking forward to reading them and letting you know what I think when I post my reviews.

Bought:

The Candidates by Inara Scott

Other by Karen Kincy

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala

Affiliate News!

This week my affiliate, Amber Skye from Reading Addict has been very busy with homework and she still managed to make time for her blog! This week she interviewed author of I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, Erin McCahan and wrote a Teaser Tuesday for the highly anticipated Clockwork Angel. Amber also posted a Waiting on Wednesday and participated in the Book Blogger Hop. Last week Amber started her very own, Weekend Wrap Up. Check it out on her website, Reading Addict!

Film Friday: Avalon High

I have come up with my own meme, Film Friday. Every week I will talk about a movie that is being adapted from a book. I will update you with news of the upcoming film and hopefully give you either an official trailer or a fan made trailer. This week's Film Friday is about the movie adaptation of the best selling novel, Avalon High by Meg Cabot.

Who is excited about the premiere of Avalon High: The Movie? I have to say that sadly I am not. I absolutely love the book, I love all of Meg Cabot's books, but Avalon High is going to be a Disney Channel Original Movie. Disney Channel is not where I pictured King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake! I have to admit, I kind of like the actor who is playing Will. The teaser pictures look amazing, but I still can't get over the fact that it is a Disney Channel movie. If it was Disney Animation movie, I would be okay with that, but the Disney Channel doesn't float my boat when it comes to original movies. For those of you who do like DCOM's, it premieres in eight days! Here is information about the actors. To find out more, visit  Meg Cabot's website HERE, or the movie's IMDb page HERE.

• Ellie Pennington: Playing the main character, Ellie, is Brittany Robertson. You may have seen her as Cara in Dan in Real Life, or as Lux Cassidy in the new television series, Life Unexpected. I think she fits the role well in terms of how I pictured Ellie physical. Hopefully she is a good actor and will help save the movie from being a typical DCOM.
• Will Wagner: In the book, Will is the class president, Quarterback of the football team, and Ellie's romantic costar. Although Gregg Sulkin is from England, he has a pretty good American accent. According to an interview of him on Clevver tv, he has been working on perfecting it for months with several voice coaches. He seems like a nice guy, just like the character he is playing in Avalon High. You may have seen him in Wizards of Waverley Place or in the feature film, Sixty Six when he was just thirteen years old.

About the Book:

Avalon High, I was starting to think, might not be so bad after all.
Maybe it's not where Ellie wants to be, but if you have to start at a new school, Avalon High is typical enough: There's Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader. And Will, senior class president, quarterback, and all-around good guy.
But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be . . . not even, as Ellie is about to discover, herself. As a bizarre drama begins to unfold, Ellie has to wonder, what part does she play in all this? Do the coincidences she's piecing together really mean—as in King Arthur's court—that tragedy is fast approaching for her new friends?
Ellie doesn't know if she can do anything to stop the coming trouble. But somehow, she knows she has to try. (from Goodreads)

Blogiversaries in November!

I was checking out some of the blogs on the Book Blogger Hop list and I came across a few blogs with Blogiversary celebrations in November. I thought I would update everyone about them here! Click on the name of a blog to learn more. Also, check out my affiliate, Amber's blog, Reading Addict to find cool reviews and author interviews from this week!

1. The Heart of Dreams- Mevurah is hosting her blogiversary until November 30th! There are four sets of two books, meaning there will be four winners! The books include ARCs and signed copies! Extra entries are available, click on the blog name for details about this contest.

2. Jo Jo Loves to Read!- At Jo Jo Loves to Read, they are celebrating the second year anniversary with giveaways of Amazon Gift cards to the first and second winner and one of four books to the third winner. This event ends on November 19th! 

3. I Just Finished Reading- Although they aren't hosting a giveaway, they just celebrated their FIFTH blogiversary at I Just Finished Reading and I thought it was worth mentioning!

Crazy for Books: Book Blogger Hop!

Jennifer at Crazy for Books puts on an event every week called the Book Blogger Hop. This event connects a book blogger to other book blogger, and it seems fun! Anyone who has a book blog can enter if they primarily post about books. Click HERE to read more about it and enter the list. You do not have to enter the list every week, you can do it whenever you like. Every week that you enter, you have to answer a question from another participant. Today's question is: What are your feelings on losing followers? Have you ever stopped following a blog?

My Answer:
I haven't had a blog for very long and I only have three followers. Thankfully I haven't lost any of the three yet! Also, I have never stopped following a blog, I am enjoying the contests and learning from the ones I am following!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting On Wednesday was created by Jill at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post where you share the upcoming books you can't wait to read! Check out the Waiting on Wednesday posts on my affiliate, Amber Skye's blog, Reading Addict!

About the Book:

When Jill finds a rusty sword tip on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued—and little expects it will transport her through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Will a dark enchantment, salty kisses, and a duel with an evil pirate captain leave her stranded in the eighteenth century forever?

Drawing on piratical lore and historical fact, Carrie Vaughn creates a vivid world of swaying masts and swelling seas, where blood magic overrules the laws of nature, romance is in the air, and death can come at the single slip of a sword. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

I was looking at Goodreads today, and I came across this fantastic looking book, Steel by Carrie Vaughn! It was in the list of most beautiful covers of 2011. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but I did with this cover and it made me want to read it. I looks great, don't you think? Now, after reading the synopsis, I want to read it even more. I can't wait until it comes out March 15th, 2010. Check out Carrie Vaughn website HERE and learn about Steel and her other books, including Discord's Apple.

Teaser Tuesday!

Teaser Tuesday is a meme created by MizB at Should Be Reading and it's open to everyone! Here are the instructions from my affiliate, Amber at Reading Addict:

-Grab your current read.
-Open to a random page.
-Share a couple of “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
-BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

"You don't get a choice, do you?" she asked. "About being a Shadowhunter. You can't just opt out."

"No," he said. The door swung open, letting in a blast of muggy air. The carriage had drawn to a stop on a wide square of green grass surrounded by mossy marble walls. "But if I had a choice, this is still what I'd choose."- City of Bones, page 177.

What is a Shadowhunter and why can't he get out of it? For my first Teaser Tuesday, I am using a quote from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I haven't read to this part yet, but it sounds interesting. I hope to finish City of Bones this week and post a review of it. City of Bones is the first in the series by Cassandra Clare. Check put the rest of the series and updates from the City of Bones movie on her website, www.cassandraclare.com!

About the Book:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end. (from Goodreads)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Don't forget about the 10 Days of Halloween being hosted by Book Infinity and Elena's Book Cafe. 10 Days of Halloween is an event with great giveaways, interviews, guest posts and more. For more about the event and a list of the blogs involved go to their websites HERE or HERE. Hurry because today is the last day! Enjoy!

Also, I found this on crazied.com and thought it was hilarious! I hope you enjoy your Halloween!