Where we left off from The Hunger Games, if you read the first book by Stephanie Collins, is that Katniss Everdeen has survived a game of murder with a fellow victor and plausible love interest, Peeta. This is not a good thing because in this tournament where young and women from different districts have been forced to kill each other off until one wins for ions, history has changed because there are two victors. Her blatant act of defiance causes an uprising across teh nation against the all-mighty Capitol.

Catching up on the craze of The Hunger Games series, I'd like to say I blew through Catching Fire in an easy read. Since life halts me from reading sometimes for several days, this took longer than I imagined. To be honest, thought I was engrossed in the book, I'm unsure if I liked it or not.

I can't hold this against Catching Fire but its worth mentioning that fiction always has been difficult for me ever since I was a little girl. Call me "left-brained" but I always loved non-fiction more deeply and it took me a long while to learn how to immerse into imaginative, fictional worlds. That being said, I've never successfully gotten into the groove of first person narratives. Their thoughts, examinations, and descriptions have to be detailed for the reader to get involved with their world obviously, but no matter how courageous or selfless, or layered, the character is I always feel they are greatly self-absorbed.

Bringing me to Katniss. I feel she is a good character but there are things that prevent me from thinking she is great. First, the paragraph above. No matter how much of her deliberation and fight for survival exists, obviously my limitations as a reader hinders a little of my perception of her. The next is the constant back and forth of emotiosn between Peeta and Gale.

Despite her obvious strength and assessment of environments to survive, and protecting herself physically, her life hangs in the balance of two boys. Sure they are respectable boys who are infatuated with her and could give her the world if they didn't live in a tolitarian society, but a majority of the decisions about her well-being come from them.

I ain't a hater of Peeta nor Gale, nor male characters in general, but what I always expect of Katniss is someone more independent. And, she comes off way more dependent - not just on other characters like Harry Potter who learns to lean on others for help and love - but her survival equates to love she feels from and to them...constantly.

To a point, I understand this. Peeta is her comfort because they went through the games together. Nobody else except fellow victors knows what they went through, and nobody in any of the districts can imagine the remnants of the pain they were inflicted with forever.

And, Gale is her guy because they lived in District 12 together. Peeta is a rememberance of the nightmare of the games in some ways, and Gale is a symbol of her home, familiarity, even childhood. They've faced it all before the games and they'll survive after it.

The trio of them makes the notion of young adult fiction relationships a bit more complication and obstacles than typical - he-loves-me-she-loves-me-not fare...however a lot of her decision-making - even her desire to survive in the first hunger games for Prim dies out - because of her devotion of Peeta.

Peeta definitely becomes the center of attraction in this sequel. With the uprisings start across the districts, Katniss believes Peeta can only be the one ruler when everyone believes / irefutably knows she's the one. So much of the book seems devoted to their romance, I find myself skimming as painlessly as possible to get through it. So much of the details and little puts don't seem much of a point.

Stephanie Collins says that she wrote the series with reality television in mind. While reading this book I couldn't help but feel like a pawn in her game. There were characters I wish her killed off earlier - I'm not gonna lie. There were times where I wanted Katniss to flee and not think about the others; just of her own survival. So quickly we can forget that they are characters representing people, and how we feel control over their lives like the Capitol attempted to....

The second book goes in directions I never saw coming. a revolt with unexpected allies, the seeming good-bye of one character, a pregnancy. Thinking back it's much more layered than I ever expected. Most of the positive reviews of this sequel praises the ending, and I definitely agree. Reading in the company of family, everyone was forced to mute as I reached the last ten pages so I can absorb everything.

Overall, the book is worth a read and perhaps if you're that engrossed a re-read because of the ending. Nothing quite compares to how the finale is going to be and how the third book will begin.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ / 4 Stars
Recommend: For those who crave a imaginative fairy-retelling
Pros: Inventive world-building
Cons: Occasional cliche dialogue
Favorite Chapters: 24, 27, and 30

Summary: In a futuristic retelling of Cinderella, we are taken to the future of New Bejing where Cinder, a cyborg, is in the midst of a cure for a deadly plague, an impending war with a species of residents on the moon called Lunars looms, and her own place in the world.

Review:
Much more than a cyborg or a retelling of a tale as old as time, Cinder is a female heroine I've been trying to fill a very big void with. With the great disappointment to me that was The Hunger Games series and a peaking curiosities like Divergent and even still Twilight, I was satiated to come across a female character who has brains, is the savior / chosen one, and has a normal range of emotions other than raging hormones - though she does get herself in a bit of romance. Surprised by the under-whelming praise for the mentioned series', I'm a bit amazed about the limited fan fare Cinder has warranted.

Author Marissa Meyer not only creates a fun and admirable young female lead but compatible world-building as well. The story follows along the path of Cinderella; a young girl abused by her step-mother and step-siblings who falls in love with a prince who has the wrong idea of her real identity. Only Meyer layers the tale in a world where a plague threatens humans - not necessarily Cinder but those she loves dearly including the inevitable prince charming Kai - and uses her main character as a hunt for a cure.

The hierarchy of humans, cyborgs, and a new inventive species of Moon dwellers called Lunars who can alter the thoughts and feelings of humans. She created a world that is imaginative and accessible. Meyers doesn't randomly label Places with Capital Letters just to make them seem Important like the recent Trend that has Hit many young adult fiction books these days. Instead you get a bit lost. The villain is equally parts Cinder's step-mother Adri who threatens and abusses her to no end, but also Queen Levana of the Lunar species refuses to come to a peace treaty with the Prince Kai - Cinder's love interest. There were several chapters where I intuitively knew where the plot was heading however the prose kept me intrigued to move further and deeper along.

In my mind right now if there is a series I'd love to see made for television or film, it'd really be Cinder. It's not quite cliche with young adult fiction where two young individuals meet at the right place at the right time and unlock secret worlds that threaten every life form on Earth. It goes a little bit back to a time of storytelling where a new world of characters are each other's unlocking. I definitely look forward to getting my hands on the next installment!

Written in a conversational tone, I felt that this book by Milton Meltzer offered a basic history through the ages and across the world about witch hunting. The terrifying and saddening search for people who were accused of satanism and workers of evil magic, it was definitely an informative read. The splices of stories and information of how thousands upon thousands were tortured, and or killed, was maddening. There wasn't one specific figure of witch craft that was a central focus for the book rather one theme; which was often terrorizing investigations and accusations of men, women, and children that were proven guilty of performing heinous acts against their family, friends, and neighbors. Taking the blame for the world's downtrodden economy, fall from religious grace, etc., Meltzer points out the fear that trickled from stranger to stranger to name people who were accused of witchcraft; whether they knew of any justified evidence that could prove they caused harm. I'd like that he not only shown light on the Salem Witch Trials but also Hitler's regime and McCarthyism. Definitely a good read for someone who is looking into the witchcraft to write fantasy fiction (like I was) or someone who was interested in its history.

Author Matthew Kelly discovered at a very young age the varying degrees it takes for people to reach some sort of level of success through occupation or public service, and began connecting the dots on how it connects to spirituality, emotions, body, mind, etc.

As a frequent reader of personal growth books (saw a sign of personal growth instead of self help at a bookstore and have quite an attachment to using the former instead), I think this is a fairly average book.

While I wouldn't say that this book is entirely just average, it kinda hits that level and stays there. To be honest, a lot of the syntax used doesn't flow. Every sentence or so feels a bit forced, and many paragraphs don't feel complete. At some point you may find yourself -as I did - feeling like you were going around in circles. The language/grammar/metaphors/analogies are quite cliche, and many of the chapters seem to run together; Kelly's messages are quite repetitive. In some chapters, you could do shots to how many times he uses the same phrases over and over and over again. I think overall it doesn't get very spiritually meaty until the half way mark or 30 pages until the end.

This book isn't completely without merit. Nuggets of wisdom, personal aha moments were discovered here and there. Personally, I enjoyed Kelly's use of stories and examples both from scripture and public figures to cement his messages and lessons deeper.

The trajectory of your life is based on your decisions, actions and thoughts. You have a choice of the meaning you make of your life or not. You can live for a purpose or not. You can stay at Point A - unsure of where you're going. You can thrive for a Point B which is some vision you hold yourself - big or small - and do all that it takes to get there.

The biggest lesson I took away from this book is that whether you don't take action or don't make a decision, you're still making a decision, you're still choosing NOT to do something. I found that I would rather be a human being about something rather than nothing.

"The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage."