gregor & the code of claw

gregor & the code of claw
gregor the overlander series #5
suzanne collins
fiction/ya/fantasy/adventure
scholastic
published 2008

Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep the new prophecy, The Prophecy of Time, from Gregor. Gregor knew from the beginning that it must say something awful, but he never imagined just how awful: The prophecy calls for the warrior’s death. The warrior, of course, being Gregor. Now, with an army of rats approaching, and Gregor’s mom and his sister still in Regalia, Gregor must gather up his courage in the face of this terrifying prophecy to defend Regalia and get his family safely home. But, soon Gregor learns that leaving won't be as easy as he thinks. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor’s hands and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess to contend with, Gregor’s burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars. In this action-packed and suspenseful final installment in the acclaimed Underland Chronicles, Suzanne Collins unfolds the fate of the Underland and the great warrior, Gregor the Overlander, in a manner that can only be described as masterful.

Here is what I know of Suzanne Collins to be true now that I have read both The Hungers Games trilogy & the Gregor the Overlander series:

1. She likes to kill people
2. She writes endearing and wonderful characters
3. She writes crappy endings

I loved this series, just as I loved The Hunger Games, but like THG things happen that bring to mind a sort of 'well, what the fuck was that for?' moments.  And just like THG when it was over I was completely unsatisfied with that sort of blah ending.  Collins certainly has a writing style.

I don't agree that this is good for ages 8 & up.  Maybe 12.  Maybe 16.  Maybe that's the parent in me wishing to keep such darkness, so much death from my kids for as long as I can.  For this was certainly dark and mostly full of death.  The line I remember the most was 'A little girl missing an arm stared at them with empty eyes.'  It wasn't just the missing arm part that was hard to swallow, but a 12 year old kid recognizing the empty eyes.

I cried.  I cried a lot reading these books.  I pretty much cried throughout Part 3 of this one.  I sat ramrod straight in my seat read.  I couldn't keep my hands from intermittently flying to my mouth to cover the horror my eyes were taking in.  I can't soothe the hurt.  It's like this actually has happened.  That these books are history and not fiction.

It be unforgettable, it be. 

gregor the overlander

gregor the overlander
the underland chronicles #1
suzanne collins
fiction/ya/fantasy
scholastic, inc.
published 2003

When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.

When my friend told me that she loved this series more than she loved The Hunger Games I was doubtful.  Actually, I thought she was just plain crazy.  But I thought I should try these books out nonetheless.  I remember looking them up after I read Catching Fire and was waiting impatiently for Mockingjay to come out.  But they seemed not my style and so I didn't look too hard for them.

Boy was I missing out.  I can imagine being a young kid and loving these books.  There is adventure, it's scary, Gregor is brave and he loves his family fiercely.  There is sacrifice and treachery.  It has all the elements any good book should have, but it's not so much that you wouldn't want your kid to read it.

I think what struck the chord in me was Boots.  I just loved her to pieces and I ached that she was homesick or that Gregor was terrified to leave her or take her with him on his journey.  I loved how he took care of her and I was genuinely sad when sacrifices were made in her name.  She is the embodiment of any child at that age.  Trusting, sweet, honest and loving.  She was, as Gregor put it once, the ultimate secret weapon.

I didn't think I would love this book as much as I did so I didn't line up the next from the library and now, as I get ready to go to sleep, I am kicking myself!

dissecting the games, ch 7 thru 9

Remember....don't read these posts if you haven't read The Hunger Games!

There's a lot going on in now.  The Games are getting closer and closer and now it's time to show the Gamekeepers what they're all about.  It's also the chance for tributes to see each other up close & personal before they start killing each other.

• Peeta's mother is even more of a bitch than originally thought
• Peeta & Katniss fight over how great he thinks she is
• Haymitch, waaaaay smarter than we thought??
• we meet Rue - kind of
• two of my favorite quotes
• maybe Effie isn't as horrible as we thought?
• Katniss beats Peeta
• And it makes him feel bad?
• Gale makes life happier
• Katniss is like a dead slug
• Cinna makes Katniss real
• Katniss turns herself into a girl
• Peeta's big reveal

The training begins.  We find out just how truly awful Peeta's mother is when he reveals that during their 'goodbye time' she says that maybe District 12 will have a winner again - and she doesn't mean Peeta.  Haymitch wants the two to stick together like their friends.  Keep up appearances as best they can.  Does he already know Peeta loves Katniss?  Was his plan in place before or after Cinna had them hold hands during the opening ceremonies?  At this point, it's clear that Peeta knows he will die in the Games, but he's determined to make sure Katniss doesn't.

There's a point where they're trying to keep conversation going and Katniss tells Peeta about the time she was chased by a bear.  He laughs, looks engaged and she thinks he's better at this (faking business) than she is, but I think he is actually interested in what she has to say.

We get to see the steel in Katniss's spine when she goes in for her private training session and shoots 'at' the Gamemakers' table hitting the apple in the roasted pig's mouth.  Then she concludes with 'Thank you for your consideration.'

Lovely.

Of course, afterwards she freaks out 'cause she's pretty sure something bad will come of that.  And when she finally comes out of her room to join the others for dinner we finally get to see a side to Effie that shows she's not as idiotic/awful/useless as we thought.  But everyone is surprised and rewarded by Katniss's number and even Peeta's number is better than expected.

After this scene Katniss runs through how she met Gale.  They were both so young, but already heads of their households.  She says how being out in the woods with Gale she was sometimes actually happy.  And of course she was!  This was the only time she not only felt that she was doing something, but she also got to do it with someone who knew how she felt and she could be herself with.  She didn't ever have to be strong for Gale.  She just had to be herself.

So in the wake of their number shockers Peeta tells Haymitch that he wants to train separately.  Katniss's first feeling is betrayal, but she doesn't believe that feeling because how can you be betrayed by someone you never trusted.  Dun-dun-duuuuunnnnn....

A bit of comedic relief is injected as Katiss gets a charm school lesson from Effie and leaves in a huff holding her dress up to her thighs.

Then back down to business as Haymitch and Katniss try to determine how she's portray herself to the masses.  Well, Haymitch tries to decide while Katniss fumes.  My favorite line is here where Haymitch says they want to know about her....'But I don't want them to!  They're already taking my future!  They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!'

After all this gets them nowhere Katniss holes up in her room where she throws a full on tantrum.  One of the things I just don't like about her.  Don't get me wrong, I can't imagine what she must feel like.  Basically, she knows she's going to die.  It IS unfair and all these lessons and training are annoying, but dang it girl, suck it up.  This is my dilemma with Katniss.  Yes, I admire her.  Her strength and determination to keep her family from starving.  Her honesty and her grudges.  Yes, I admire her.  But I don't like her.  And I know it's not fair.

And then Cinna tells her to be herself.  During her three minute interview with Caesar it's as if she becomes the person she would have been had her father not died.  If all the responsibilities of life on the Seam hadn't rested on her shoulders.  She answers honestly still, but she revels in her beauty, in the dress & the attention.  She giggles and all of a sudden you see Katniss as a girl, not as a provider or a fighter or the daughter of a dead coal miner.  To me, it is truly one of the best scenes in the book.

Now it's Peeta's turn and he has everyone rolling in the aisles until....Caesar asks him if he has a girl back home and he tells everyone in Panem that the girl he's in love with he's going to have to kill.

And then it's onto the Games.

dissecting the games, ch 5 & 6

And on we go.  Remember if you haven't read the books, don't read this post!

Stuff in chapters 5 & 6:

• Cinna is awesome
• Peeta & Katniss have their first real moment together
• Katniss becomes The Girl of Fire
• Katniss gives Peeta a kiss on the cheek - for strategic purposes?
• Effie is an idiot
• Katniss meets an Avox and the room stands still
• Peeta comes to Katniss's rescue

After quickly meeting Katniss's styling team we begin to wonder if everyone in the Capitol has fluff for brains, but then we meet Cinna.  Katniss notices right away that he's different.  He talks differently, dresses differently and acts differently than everyone else she's met so far.  We learn that this is Cinna's first games and that he requested District 12.  It makes me wonder....is Cinna's part in the revolution something he was already a part of or was he a part of it because of Katniss?  hmmmmm

We all know that Peeta loves Katniss, but mostly because we already read the books.  Katniss has no idea because she isn't thinking like that.  She's thinks that Peeta is just trying to keep her off balance so it will be easier to kill her later.  They have their first real moment together while laughing at Haymitch during the opening ceremonies.  It's during these moments where I wish she would just let go and trust, but to be honest, would you?  I can't even imagine the insanity she's a part of at this moment.

So yeah, Effie is an idiot.  And she's power hungry, or at least image hungry.  She's been irritated to be saddled with the poorest district with the most pathetic victor ever.  When she begins to see a glimmer of hope that maybe these aren't the weakest tributes yet she gets a little more interested.  I'm not sure if her helping them is solely for her own gain or because she cares about them.  There are moments when you think her care is genuine, but those moments are few and far between.

And then there's the Avox.  Someone convicted of a great crime gets their tongue cut off and is then a servant to the Capitol.  The movie doesn't really go into this at all.  Katniss makes a comment to Peeta about how they'll cut off their tongues, but it doesn't sound like she's serious, like it's a real punishment.  When Katniss recognizes the Avox serving them dinner the adults in the room (Haymitch, Effie, Cinna & Portia) all freeze.  Haymitch and Effie insist there's no way she could know the Avox and Peeta jumps in with the name of a girl who Katniss must've been thinking about (who looks nothing like the girl here).  They both know he just covered for her, but it does the trick and the adults back off.  Katniss later tells Peeta how she and Gale saw that girl and another boy outside the fence.  She saw the girl get sucked up by a hovercraft & the boy get speared.  While the whole thing is brief and seemingly unimportant, as a whole in hindsight it has more bearing on the story.

Coming soon.....training!

dissecting the games, ch 3 & 4

I can't keep up with the twitter business.  Yeah, I suck.  Oh well.  I'm still reading the tweets Lauren posts & reading along so I guess maybe I don't suck that bad?

Remember, if you haven't read the books, don't read this post.  If you don't want to read the books (cause you're crazy) but do want to see the movies, don't read this post.

Anyhoo....let's move on to chapters 3 & 4.  Here's what we know:

• Katniss is already preparing for the games - no crying
• despite her bitterness she loves her mother
• doesn't really trust her to take care of Prim
• Peeta's father is much better than his mother
• the mockingjay pin comes from Madge
• Gale's goodbye was the worst - made me cry - again
• District 12 is in the Appalachians
• the Capitol is in Colorado
• Madge starts the revolution?
• Katniss's birthday is May 8th
• she's named for a plant
• Haymitch might not be as useless as thought

 So the names have been called and Katniss & Peeta are whisked away to the fancy(er than they're used to) rooms where they'll say goodbye to family & friends.  Katniss wastes no time in instructing her mother & Prim how to take care of themselves while she's gone.  And despite her inner monologue insisting that she's not going to return to District 12 she begins taking steps to fight, like making sure she doesn't cry so cameras can't catch it and people think she's weak.

Peeta's father comes to her and gives her a bag of cookies and tells her that he will make sure that Prim is taken care of.  Madge arrives to give Katniss the mockingjay pin.  And finally, Gale.  He does what Katniss did to her mother & Prim, his best to make sure she can survive the games.  And he too promises that her family doesn't starve.

On the train ride to the Capitol we learn that the Capitol is somewhere in the Rocky Mountains and District 12 is in the Appalachian Mountains.  While the Appalachians span from eastern Canada through 18 US states we can assume from the fact that District 12 supplies coal that they're somewhere in the Coal Region of Northern Pennsylvania.

Katniss studies Madge's mockingjay pin for the first time and realizes that the pin is sort of a slap in the face to the Capitol.  Does this mean that it was Madge, not Katniss who really starts the revolution?  And maybe even more so as it seems to be deliberate whereas Katniss seemed to stumble upon rebellion?

We learn a lot more about Katniss's father here and the sting of losing him is harsh.  She recounts the months after he died again and the moments after Peeta's offer where it seemed hope had finally taken flight.  She finds katniss, the plant she's named after, growing in a pond and remembers her father's joke 'As long as you find yourself, you'll never starve.'

Finally, Haymitch starts to become the mentor he is supposed to be for Katniss & Peeta.  He makes them a deal after the a quick fight at the breakfast table.  If they don't interfere with his drinking he will stay sober enough to help them.  There's some 'controversy' about Haymitch in the movie when it comes to his drinking.  Though I believe Woody Harrelson did a great job as Haymitch, he did seem to get - and stay - sober really quickly.  There wasn't much discussion and it didn't seem like he was the alcoholic in the movie that he was in the book.  I'm not sure I necessarily agree with this.  Though there are certain points where it's mentioned that he takes a swig out of his flask after the vomiting on the train incident he seems to keep everything under control.

And there we are at the end of Chapter 4...

dissecting the games

I mentioned here that I was going to be rereading The Hunger Games with Busy Bee Lauren.  I've actually even tweeted....twice I think.  I thought about writing as I went along here, but wasn't making any promises.  I'll try though....it's mostly going to be a lot of comparison to the movie, but also just trying to recapture that feeling from the first time I read it.  It's been long enough since the last read that everything starts to feel a little new again....if you haven't read the books (first of all, you're nuts - go out and get thee to a library please) then you should skip over these posts for I'll be holding nothing back.

There's so much information in chapters one and two that never really made it to the big screen.  Already at the end of chapter two we know these things:

• Katniss loves Prim fiercely
• She pretty much despises her mother
• Her mother came from 'wealth'
• And is pretty much useless 
• Katniss is hard, bitter & older than her years
• We know what tesserae is (and it's not a tile)
• Katniss's father died in the mines
• There was a revolution
• District 13 existed and was obliterated
• The Capitol sucks
• Gale is important
• Gale is more vocally passionate about his hatred for the Capitol
• Peeta basically saved Katniss & her family's life
• Peeta's mom is an asshole
• Peeta loves Katniss

That's really a lot of info for 33 pages.  And think of how much of that wasn't really in the movie.  Big stuff too like District 13.  I guess that it will be talked about in the next movie??  I mean, you can't leave them out, right?  But really, they were a big part of the first revolution so you'd think they'd get a mention.  Did they even really explain the reason for the Hunger Games in the movie?  I don't even remember.

Little things, like Haymitch groping Effie and falling off the stage.  It's small, but it was part of a portrait.  Katniss doesn't find the mockingjay pin at The Hob.  She sells strawberries to Madge.  Little things....

It doesn't matter how many times I read it I am still hopeful that another name gets pulled out of that glass ball.  How silly is that?  Rereading just reminds me of what a talented writer Suzanne Collins is. There are so many things I love so quickly.  The crowd going silent while Effie is trying to illicit applause for Katniss's volunteering.  The three fingered salute that begins the revolution though no one really knows it at the time.  Peeta taking a blow to the head to feed Katniss.  Despite her grudge against her mother, the hopeful little girl in her comes out for a moment when she sees the dress her mother has laid out for her for The Reaping.

I want so badly to love Katniss, but it's hard.  I respect her.  She's smart, resourceful, tough and honest, but she is not loveable.  And I guess that's the way it should be.  Not that there weren't moments that I didn't get glimpses of the person underneath all that hardness.  I did, but in the book so far we haven't gotten there yet.

what am i reading now?

I'll give you one guess.

The other day I was feel nostalgic for books that I have read multiple times and loved every second of reading them.  I'm trying to slog through the books that have been sitting on my tbr shelf, but I'm just not feeling it.  I did pick up a book by a new (to me) author and so far am loving it, but everything else just isn't exciting so far.

Yesterday I decided that I was going to reread The Hunger Games.  Then I picked up this new book (Heartsick by Chelsea Cain) and got into that so I put it off.

Then today Ms. Lauren over at Busy Bee Lauren wrote this post about rereading The Hunger Games together so I thought it must be meant to be.  If you want to join in the reading happiness you can participate in the tweeting madness that will occur starting tonight.  I'm @knowitnotsomuch and Lauren is tweeting specifically about the book here @TheLaurenGames Of course, you can follow me on twitter, but I'll warn you that my previous attempts to keep up with that junk have been grossly unsuccessful.  For this group reading thing it's best if you follow Lauren.

Maybe I'll post about each chapter as I go along, but I'm not making any promises 'cause I pretty much suck at bloggie follow through.  *sigh*

So get your books out and your favorite HG bookmark & let's get to reading!

fifty shades of annoying the ever living crap out of me

I read an article today on cnn.com about Explaining 'Fifty Shades' Wild Success. And dang it, I wanted it explained to me!

This whole phenomenon is utterly baffling to me.

I have collected erotica for about 18 years now.  And no, I'm not talking about Johanna Lindsay-like smut books, but classics by Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Anne Desclos and then pretty much everything that Susie Bright puts out there as well as Maxim Jakubowski, so on and so forth.  Altogether I have over 30 anthologies and novels both fiction & autobiographical.

So maybe that's why nothing in here is 'tee-hee' shocking to me or blush rendering.  I've read it all before - and then some - except by authors who can write.  I swear this is some of the worst writing I've ever read and I do consider Stephenie Meyer a bad writer despite my love for the books.  I have repeatedly picked up the first book and just can't stomach the over the top obviousness of it, the terrible character names and the cliched catch phrases and 'oh my god no one should be this good-looking' lines.  Meyer already did that thankyouverymuch.

So when I read this article I realized how maybe I'm just not in that 50 Shades demographic.  Here's my take:

Most of the people I know who have read the books, raved about them and then badgered me to get them are Twilight fans.  Not surprising considering this trilogy was written by a Twilight fan on a Twilight fan fiction site.  There is an interesting phenomenon (ha!  I used that word twice and spelled it right each time) in which someone who is a Twilight fan will mention a book she likes and it slowly catches on until the damn thing has a movie deal (The Hunger Games, I Am Number Four - gag -, The Mortal Instrument series, The Beautiful Creatures series).  This can be both awesome (Hunger Games) and bloody awful (I Am Number Four).  One of the most common review quotes on the back cover of YA Supernatural/Romance books is 'Fans of Twilight will love this book!'

And it makes sense.  I wasn't a big YA reader until I picked up the Twilight books.  Now I would say I've read more YA in the past 3 years than general fiction.  When you find a genre you like you tend to stick with it until you've made yourself sick of it.  And the covers (which is pointed out in the cnn piece) is very Twilight like.  Very simple, bold, curious covers in only a few colors.  Even for me, someone who most certainly judges a book by its cover, it's appealing.

The subset of readers who were not Twilight fans that rave over this book are the people who rolled their eyes at the Twilight madness and called Bella a horrible female role model and Edward a psycho stalker.  They knew enough about the books because deep down they really wanted to read them, but their hipster attitudes didn't want to be part of that crowd.  So they turned up their noses to the series because it was childish and unrealistic because, you know, books aren't supposed to be any sort of fantasy.

So these people, they saw 50 Shades and thought, now here's a book I can read and I'll be cool because it's got handcuffs and butt plugs in it and that's soooooo shocking.  There's not a sparkly vampire to be seen!  Plus, you've got the added bonus of not having to be found searching the teen section at Barnes & Noble for the book.  You shall be in Grown-Up-Book-Land.

I'm not saying I won't read these books and possibly end up loving them.  I own them.  I owned the Twilight series for about 6 months before I finally gave in and read them, but I waded through 82 pages of that book and fell in love.  This one, it's been a shitstorm in my head just trying to get through the first chapter.

Honest to Buddha I just don't get it.  I cannot stomach this writing.  It's almost a crime against the erotica genre.  On the other hand it's nice to see women so readily relishing in some porn without being ashamed so, carry on! 

Power to the porn!

this has got to be a joke

Have y'all seen this?

My first response to this was 'what the frak?!'  Isn't this everything that Katniss is against??  Isn't this the worst part of the Capitol?  Then I thought about all those Twilight fans out there who insist that Twilight sold out when they started marketing with Burger King and with Valentine candies.  They said that's why they're such big Hunger Games fans because of everything Katniss represents.

Oh really?  The movie hasn't even come out yet and their first big marketing campaign is NAIL POLISH!?!  Are you kidding me?  That's not selling out?  Puh-leeze.  What do you think about The Hunger Games now?

My third thought?  'Dang those are cool eyelashes.'

only a few hours to go!!!

Tonight's the night - finally!!!  If you'll notice on my sidebar there are only 12 hours left until Breaking Dawn!!  Woo hoo!  I'll be there at 11:59 with my fellow Twinerds.  So excited!!

I'm bummed that it's going to be just Part 1, but I guess it just prolongs the fun for one more year, right?  And sometime between this one and the next we'll have the first of The Hunger Games.  Which I just recently saw the newest preview for.  Did anyone else watch it?  What did you think?  Even though I've read the books when I started watching the preview I thought 'Too much, too much!'  It felt like there was too much given away in the preview.  Stuff that, visually I kind of wanted to be surprised, but oh well.

I'm still not a fan of that Josh kid as Peeta.  He looks awful with blonde hair.  Ugh.  But I am excited to see the movie.  It looks fantastic!

But let's focus here.  Back to Edward & Bella and that other kid I don't care for.  I'm so interested to see how they do the whole entire part of his 'book'.  Since most of it was in his head (and in the heads of the other wolves) and Edward can't translate everything I'm wondering how much Jacob will be a wolf?  I'm also wondering when they'll cut it off to go on to the next.  I'm thinking it'll be at the end of Jacob's book.  But we'll see.  I can't wait!!