Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

Publisher: Algonquin Books (January 1999)

335 pages, eBook (purchased myself for $8.25)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Note: Includes Sexual Situations and Child Death Scenes

Julie and Hank married young after a very short courtship and left the mountain filled with the hope of a newlywed couple in love, only to be thrown almost immediately into the harsh, stark realities of life. Julie had unbelievable strength, courage and tolerance through all of the trials she faces in her new life. I didn’t like Hank through much of the story, but I think it was only because he had a fair amount of growing up to do before he truly became a man and not just a boy trying desperately to act like one. I have known many men like Hank, and I felt it was sad, but an eerily real depiction of such a person. By the end of this story I admired, Julie and Hank, and could see strength and light in them both.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3

Publisher: Scholastic Press (August 2010)

404 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $18.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

The Capitol is growing desperate as Katniss is incorporated into the rebellion, for the most part against her will. This last book is a wonderful example of how anything taken to an extreme is sure to be a bad thing. No matter what side you are on, once the line is crossed, it pretty much looks the same from either side. I felt this book was almost entirely a slow, depressing slide to the end, and there isn’t much left at the finish, but what does remain is beautiful and powerful. Wonderful series!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 2

Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 2010)

391 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $18.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Katniss continues to be extremely confused about the two men in her life, Peeta and Gale, while uprisings begin in many districts, the dangers of the Quarter Quell nears, and it becomes clear that the Capitol holds Katniss responsible for the unrest, making blatant threats to all she holds dear. Though she’s still not my favorite character, Katniss’s obvious bewilderment over the Peeta and Gale situation, makes me feel a bit better about her, if nothing else just to know that she isn’t just being cold out of spite. You can’t help but like Peeta, the man has few if any flaws, and he continues as such. The Capitol in all their ugliness is finally revealed in this story, and I’ll be interested to see how it all turns out in the last book in this series, Mockingjay.

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

Movie Rating: PG-13

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1

Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 2009)

387 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $18.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Katniss Everdeen was honorable, strong-minded and courageous, but she also had a coldness and excessive pessimism about her, particularly toward Peeta, that I could not like. Even though I didn't much care for her as a character, I did enjoy this story. A very different world, presented in first person, and a story that holds you captive to the end. I look forward to reading the second book in this series, Catching Fire, and I hold out hope that I will warm to Katniss as the series continues.

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

The Hunger Games (2012)

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

Movie Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 4 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

Millennium Trilogy, Book 3

Publisher: Vintage (November 2011)

577 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $29.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Note: Includes Sexual Situations, Infidelity, Violence and Swearing

After the ending in the second book, I wondered how there would be much left to explore in this book, but I was not disappointed. Complications and devious plotting abound from the get-go, leading you through another satisfying story of action and suspense. The two main characters in this series, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, are by no means perfect, in fact both characters have many flaws. But, over the course of this series, I felt I knew them both so well that even their most glaring faults could be overlooked, despite my disapproval, as one might do for a long-time friend. There are so many layers of complexity both in the story and in the characters of this series, that you can't help but be intrigued. I thought everything was tied up in a satisfying conclusion, where all is revealed, without any loose ends left untended. This was a great series and highly recommended!

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)-English Dubbed

Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist

Movie Rating: r

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Millennium Trilogy, Book 2

Publisher: Vintage (November 2011)

738 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $29.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Note: Includes Sexual Situations involving Minors, Violence and Swearing

I typically don’t like the second book in trilogies, because they largely setup everything for the final book without much happening. This book was definitely not lacking in action and provided answers to a lot of questions I had from the first book along the way. Lisbeth Salander’s character growth throughout this story was interesting to watch and though she was largely on her own through most of this book by her own choice, Mikael Blomkvist’s loyalty was unfailing and I loved his character here even more than in the first book. I look forward to reading the third and final book in this series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)-English Dubbed

Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist

Movie Rating: R

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Millennium Trilogy, Book 1

Publisher: Vintage (November 2011)

658 pages, eBook (purchased myself in a Trilogy Bundle for $29.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Note: Includes Sexual Situations, Sexual Assault, Rape, Violence and Swearing

I thought the beginning and ending, largely dealing with the financial scandal were overly dry, but the middle dealing with the murder mystery was excellent and definitely kept my attention. The two main characters Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander were very intriguing and I liked both of them almost immediately. There exact relationship to each other being an enigma, it was clear that regardless of the lack of definition they did work well together and developed at least a friendship of significant importance to them both. I look forward to moving on to the second book in this series, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Movie Adaptations/Modern Retellings/Related Works:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)-English Dubbed

Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace

Movie Rating: R

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Movie Rating: R