Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins

An incredible sequel to the Hunger Games (See its review here). The quality of the series hasn't diminished even a bit.

The story starts off after Katniss returns home from the Hunger Games crowned as the champion along with Peeta. They settle down and begin to prepare for their victory tour, where they visit all the Districts. This is tradition for the Game's victors. But before they leave, Katniss learns that their act of defiance during the Hunger Games has led to unrest in the other Districts, because they have started to realize that they can stand up to the Capitol.

Soon enough, President Snow himself visits Katniss and threatens to kill her friends and family if she doesn't try to keep the peace of the Districts. Even though Katniss tries, President Snow still gets his revenge on Katniss.

Another well laid out book. The same amount of suspense as the Hunger Games. The flow of the story wasn't disturbed at all. I liked some of the twists in the plot, but I can't mention them otherwise I would ruin the story. So read it for yourself.

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games has rapidly risen to become a must read for young adults around the world. I came across it for the first time at a Scholastic Book Fair a year ago and gave it a try. 

The Hunger Games is set in a country Panem, which is sometime after the destruction of North America. Panem is a country where there is one ultra-rich and extremely technologically advanced Capitol, with twelve other districts. These districts are exploited by the Capitol. They are poor, backward and brutally suppressed. At one point, these districts (there were thirteen at the time) had revolted but were put down by the Capitol. As a punishment, the Capitol introduced the Hunger Games. In these, one boy and one girl of ages 12-18 from each district were selected every year to participate in a fight to the death. 


Katniss Everdeen  is a sixteen year old girl from District 12 who volunteered to participate in the Games in place of her younger sister, Prim, who was originally selected. She goes along with a boy called Peeta Mellark, who has secretly had a crush on her for some time now. Their only coach is a drunk , paunchy, middle-aged man called Haymitch Abernathy. He is the only one from District 12 to ever have won the Hunger Games. Together they must try and survive the Game knowing all to well that at some point they will have to face each other.

The Hunger Games is a perfect example of what a young adult book should look like. It has the right amount of suspense, romance, action and laughs. Its is a wonderful change from other books in the genre which almost always feature werewolves, vampires, dragons, magicians, or anything else of the sort. It opens up this video game-like feeling. You know- run, dodge, jump, collect the power-ups, survive. At the same time, it has a very intricate story woven into it, which builds up till the end, keeping you guessing over what will happen next. Just what any book needs.

Quite surprisingly, I found that this book wasn't too predictable. When it started out with Katniss saying how much she loved her sister and how improbable it was for here to get selected for the Games among the hundreds of other children out there, I thought the whole book would reveal events so obviously. But that wasn't the case. Collins has also set up the story quite nicely for the next book, Catching Fire, which is equally good, if not better. I can't wait for the final book, Mockingjay, to release on August 24.


As I said before, this is a must read for all young adults (maybe adults wouldn't find this too fascinating).

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams

WARNING- Contains Spoilers

My friends started to crack jokes from this book and quote lines from it, and I started to get a little frustrated since I didn't know what they were talking about. So I decided to read the book for myself and find out.
It was one heck of a ride.

Its starts off with Arthur Dent, the protagonist of the book and series, whose house is just about to be destroyed for the construction of a bypass. As it turns out, it doesn't matter because the Earth is about to be destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Weird? Wait till you read the rest of the book.

Arthur and his friend, Ford Prefect (a field researcher to the famous book- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), hitch a ride on a Vorgon spacecraft. They are found and are subjected to a painful experience of Vorgon poetry (which is also painful to read) before being thrown out into space. They are then picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox, who has stolen the Heart of Gold spaceship. Zaphod is accompanied by Trillian and the ever depressed robot, Marvin.

They land up on a deserted planet, Magrathea, which used to construct luxury planets. Here, Arthur meets a native, Slartibartfast (what a mouthful). He learns that the Earth was a super computer constructed by Magrathea at the special request of mice to give a question to the answer 42. This is the Answer predicted by a super-supercomputer Deep Thought when he was asked to calculate the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. 


However, just five minutes before the Earth was about to finish it's calculations, the Vorgons blew it up. So the mice needed Arthur since they he is the last things to survive from Earth and may contain the answer (I mean question). They offer to buy Arthur's brain, which he declines (I wonder why...). They start fighting. Suddenly klaxons all over the planet sound and Arthur, Trillian and Zaphod are able to escape.
But then two officers of the galactic police arrive to arrest Zaphod. The officers die. Why? Because Marvin was talking to their ship's computer, which got so depressed that it committed suicide, causing the officers' life support systems to fail. 


The group decides to go to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe for lunch.


I've read plenty of 'funny' books, but this one was the first to actually make me laugh. And I mean laught out loud and not just inside my head. 
This is a book that can take away all stress. It can be read anywhere, at any time. Its outrageous. Its random. Its improbable. Its..., I've run out of words.


Anyway, this is a must read for anyone. Although a lot of people have already read it. Heck, I must be one of the last to read it. Well, now I'm definitely going to read the other four books soon.