Wordless Wednesday

Book Review ~ Catching Fire and Mockingjay (The Hunger Games)

Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, you have provided a spark, that left unattended, may grow into an inferno that destroys Panem. ~ President Snow, Catching Fire

Finally, I'm taking time to post my promised review of the rest of The Hunger Games trilogy. WOW. I haven't really read that many fiction books in a long time, but I'm not sure I've ever read a book that had me gasping out loud at events. It definitely drew me in more than I ever expected. Again, here's your warning about this containing spoilers about Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

I admit, one reason it's taken me so long to write this review is because I was left with all these emotions that I didn't know what to do with. It took me a few days at least to process everything I had read, how it made me feel, and the feelings I was left with when it was all over. I cried. Yes, at 2am on a Monday morning when I finished reading Mockingjay, I cried like a baby. Happy tears, yes, but also the heart-wrenching emotions letting loose. Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job bringing the reader into the story, making it feel alive. Yes, it was fiction, but it felt real. I couldn't help but imagine what it must feel like to have your entire life taken over. To have those you love most ripped from you. To sacrifice your wants for the greater good of everyone.

Catching Fire picks the story back up with Katniss becoming the face of rebellion for the people of the twelve districts. The government, ruled by President Snow, is very aware of the uprisings and rebellion starting in some of the districts. And they blame Katniss. Following their win in the Games, Katniss and Peeta, as all victors, are forced to be paraded around the districts for the next year, reminding the people day after day about the Games. It reminded me so much of 1984, how the government controls the media, what you see, what you hear, and always has eyes on everyone. The haunting knowledge that your life is truly at the mercy of the powers that be. That any minute they can swoop in and kill you, or worse harm the ones you love. In a sick twist, every 25 years they celebrate the Quarter Quell of the Games by opening a time capsule type note and following the prewritten directions. The seemingly rigged note for the 75th Hunger Games, the year after Katniss and Peeta won, it's required that the reaping include only previous victors from each district. District 12 has only ever had 3 victors. Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, which forces Katniss back into the arena. It also gives a chance to see the other previous victors and the living hell which has become their lives. It's proof that you can't just take another life without having life altering consequences.

Oh, no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people? It costs everything you are. ~ Peeta Mellark, Mockingjay

She and Peeta both have nightmares that only other victors can understand. It gives insight into Haymitch's continual drunkenness. I couldn't help but mourn everything the Capitol had taken from them. It's hard to wrap your mind around people so cruel that they would ruin another person just for their entertainment. To physically, emotionally and spiritually break someone for a good reality show. It sickened me in a way that 1984 didn't.

The victors enter the arena and the Games play out strangely, with the others oddly helping to keep Katniss and Peeta alive. Catching Fire ends with turmoil as the arena is compromised by an arrow from Katniss' bow and she awakes to find herself rescued by rebels and in District 13, which was never completely destroyed. She learns of the uprisings all over the country, the bombing of District 12, the complete destruction of her home, and worst of all, the Capitol has Peeta. After all the heartache, I was inspired when Katniss accepted the challenge of being the face of the rebellion. The Mockingjay. Maybe now there would be hope.

Mockingjay is mixed with the rebel plan to overtake the Capitol, the eerie feeling from President Coin the leader of the rebels, Peeta's rescue and the realization that the Capitol has taken everything from him and Katniss. His memories of her have been replaced with a belief that she is the enemy. I admit, it took my breath away when they were reunited and I was expecting an embrace and instead he choked and tried to kill her. It's just more proof of the inhumanity of the Capitol and what they'll do to protect their world. The rebels carry out their plan of attack. Katniss realizes that President Coin isn't all that different than President Snow. In a tragic unexpected turn of events, the rebels sacrifice some of their own in order to beat the Capitol and another heart-wrenching moment comes when Katniss realizes Prim is one of the ones sacrificed. To her, the ends don't justify the means. Killing is killing, even if it's to help good overcome evil. It's unforgivable. And good does overcome. President Snow and Coin are both eliminated. The rebels win. The districts overtake the Capitol. And Peeta remembers.

Through the development of the characters, several things are evident. It's impossible to ever be the same after you've been forced to kill or be killed. The guilt from killing innocent people haunts forever. It's takes longer to repair the damage then it did for the damage to occur. Relationships change because of life experiences. Things are never the same between Gale and Katniss.

That what I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. ~ Katniss Everdeen, Mockingjay

I think it takes all of this for Katniss to realize that Gale isn't the type of person she needs. His anger, his attitude towards killing - in The Hunger Games he tells Katniss that she'll be fine in the arena since it can't be any different than hunting animals - and the damage she's sustained have made it impossible for them to be together. She needs hope and only Peeta can give that. That our past affects the future and that if we don't pass on the lessons learned from it, no matter how painful, then history will repeat itself.

So I cried. Because of the happy ending, because of the tragic losses they had to endure to get to the happy ending, and relief because it was finally over. Aside from nightmares and memories, the suffering was over. The Games had ended.

What started as a sort of skeptical wanting to know what all the hype and outrage was about ended up in me deciding this was one of the best series I've read. I still won't allow my kids to read it until high school. But again I'm drawn to the question, if there was no God, would it even matter? Would we see a faster decline of our society? Is it that far-fetched to imagine our world as being one that devalues human life and is selfish beyond measure? I don't think so. And I believe that by discussing this series with our children, we can get them to understand the real control that Satan can have over people. The kind of selfishness and carnality portrayed can only survive in a world where God is disregarded.

In doing some research on the series, I stumbled upon Focus on the Family's review of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. I especially like that they include questions to use for discussion with your teens. Things that I wouldn't even necessarily think of asking. Questions that arise from seeing the books as more than just recreational reading. Topics that make good writing assignments, that reminded me of things I thought and wrote about in high school.

Book Review ~ Made to Crave

A few months ago when I started my journey to health, I bought the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. I admit, it's taken me a few months to get through it, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I don't make enough time to actually sit and read. Let me just say right now, if you've ever struggled with food, this book is for you. It is written from a Christian perspective with a big emphasis on the spiritual aspect of food. I never realized how much God cared about my relationship with food.

Has food become more about frustration than fulfillment? The New York Times bestselling release Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. Author Lysa TerKeurst personally understands the battle that women face. In Made to Crave, she will help you:

• Break the cycle of “I’ll start again on Monday,” and feel good about yourself today.
• Stop agonizing over numbers on the scale and make peace with your body.
• Replace rationalization that leads to diet failure with wisdom that leads to victory.
• Reach your healthy goals and grow closer to God through the process.

This book is not a how-to manual or the latest, greatest dieting plan. Made to Crave is a helpful companion to use alongside whatever healthy eating approach you choose — a book and Bible study to help you find the “want to” in how to make healthy lifestyle changes.
Taken from madetocrave.org

The biggest thing for me was finding the "want to" to make healthier choices. And realizing that by using food to try to ease my emotional pain, I was cheating myself from the healing that only God can provide. The false sense of calmness a mountain dew provides can't compare to the feeling after taking a few deep breaths and quoting Scripture.

This book is definitely not a diet plan or a huge list of don'ts - two things that turn me off quickly. I needed something sustainable, not something that I can't live with long term. I don't need a set of meal plans restricting what I'm allowed to eat. My main goal isn't even to lose weight or look better. Sure, that's a huge side benefit. But none of that compares to the spiritual growth I've experienced and the overall feeling of being healthier. It's also very empowering to finally realize that I am more than this battle between eating right and eating junk. God made me to be more than that and He gives me the power to overcome it. And that's pretty awesome.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Book Review ~ The Hunger Games

By now I'm sure most everyone has heard of The Hunger Games, either from the trilogy or the recent movie. If you haven't read the book or seen the movie yet and plan to, beware this post will include spoilers! So if you don't want to know what happens, stop reading! Otherwise, carry on.

I didn't know anything about the books until the previews for the movie started hitting tv. I still didn't know that much about it, I guess it just didn't interest me much. Once I discovered the plot, basically kids killing kids, it was something I knew I'd stay away from and keep my kids away from. What changed my mind? One of the speakers at the recent homeschool convention. We attended Robin Finley's workshop, "A Framework for teaching Literature", where she discussed what she calls The Eternal Argument. This description is from her website:

The Eternal Argument is Robin's term for her framework for studying these treasures. In her opinion, western culture is really one big ongoing argument that debates whether man or God is in charge of our lives. Many great works and classics can be interpreted through this "lens" to allow modern readers a deeper, more thorough understanding of this important literature.

 She took us from 476 A.D. to present through literature showing how the pendulum swings between whether man or God is in charge. And what does this have to do with The Hunger Games you ask? One of the parents brought up the book and how instead of letting our kids read anything or censoring them from everything that isn't sweet and rosy, we - as parents - need to use the opportunities as teaching experiences.

That led me to further thinking. Dangerous, I know. I thought back to my high school days, many years ago, and the books I read - either by choice or by assignment. Metamorphosis, A Farewell to Arms, Of Mice and Men, Slaughterhouse-Five, just to name a few. Those books certainly weren't all sugar and sweetness. But did they have literary value? Was I exposed to different writing styles? Was I forced to look beyond the words on the page and think about what the author was trying to get across? Absolutely. The final stage of the Trivium in Classical Education is Logic. A time for teaching our kids to beyond just knowledge to questioning why things are, why things happen, why people act the way they do. Which led to my question, who are the great authors of our time? Who are the modern day writers on the same level as John Locke, Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Hemingway, Steinbeck? I still don't have my answer.

Now you know what led me to read The Hunger Games. Just this morning I finished the first book. It was a fairly easy read and kept me wanting to keep reading. Yes, I found myself not wanting to put it down. The setting is a future United States where the Capitol is in control over the twelve Districts in a way that reminded me of Orwell's 1984. The people were kept poor, hungry and at the mercy of the far off Capitol. As a way to remind the people that rebellion is futile, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games every year. Each district must send two young people, tributes, for a total of 24 players. The players are put into an arena, not a coliseum, think a Survivor type atmosphere in The Truman Show bubble. The Gamemakers can control everything that happens in the arena, including weather, available supplies, etc. The only object of the Games is to be the last one standing. The winner is awarded with riches, food and praise and their District also benefits. The Games are televised to all the Districts so that everyone can watch as the tributes turn on each other in an attempt to be the only one alive at the end. This reminds me of the things I've heard about The Lord of the Flies, although I've never read it myself. The book follows two tributes, Katniss and Peeta, as they fight to survive the Games. It takes readers through adventures of hunting, fighting, constant fear, death, friendship and romance. While Katniss and Peeta grow closer, you become very aware that the Games only have one winner. One. Katniss or Peeta, but not both. I felt Katniss' anger at the Capitol for putting them in such a position, helpless to do anything to stop it. The two portray such a romantic facade, although the love is real for Peeta, that the Capitol allows them to think they have changed the rules to allow two winners, as long as they're from the same District. This dreamed is shattered by the reality that it was all for show, entertainment for the viewers. When all the other tributes are gone and just the two of them are left, the new rule is recanted and once again they are left with the option of kill or be killed. On a last ditch effort to save themselves together, they work out a plan to fake a double suicide, forcing the Gamemakers to stop them by allowing them both to win. It works, they both are declared winners and thus begins the celebrations. The reader breathes a huge sigh of relief that they've both been spared. The book ends as a cliff hanger, begging you to read more. As they return to their District, they're very aware that the Capitol is not happy with their scheme. Peeta is also met with the fact that although his love is quite real, Katniss was mostly playing the part, knowing the romance would benefit them in the Games. True, she developed some feelings, but she's not quite sure how to sort them out. You're left wondering what will happen next. Will the romance be kept alive? How will the Capitol retaliate? And most importantly to me, will the people ever have the chance to overthrow the horrific reality of the Hunger Games?

As I read, I couldn't help but be drawn to Katniss. Her innocence and beauty. And the harsh reality of the human fight to survive. Given the right circumstances, most humans will do anything to survive. Even if it means taking another life. When you strip a person bare of the necessities of life, a feral person comes out with the sole purpose of surviving. The different stages of this are played out well through the friendship Katniss forms with another tribute, her struggle with killing, her anger and rage at the Capitol and her final alliance with Peeta.

While not something I would let my younger children read, I do see the value in having my high-school aged student reading it to explore human reaction towards survival at all cost. In thinking back to The Eternal Argument, without God, would it really matter?

I'll be continuing my reading with Catching Fire and will follow with another review.