It’s finally here!  Yes, my copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins was waiting in my mailbox yesterday.  I dove right in and have barely resurfaced to the real world until I reached the very last page.  It is a thrilling, dramatic, and violent conclusion to The Hunger Games trilogy.  Katniss unknowingly sparked a revolution with her actions when she took her sister Prim’s place for District 12 in the Hunger Games.  Ever since she has been used as a pawn by the people in power.  She has been battered and beaten, but not yet broken.  Now she has decisions to make.  What role will she play in the rebellion?  What price is she willing to pay to save the people she love?  Who can she really trust?

I won’t tell you much more since I can’t without giving too much away.  I will promise you though, that Collins will surprise and shock you with every turn of the page.  For those of you who have read or are reading this series, I want to raise a question that came across my email today.   Here is the question raised by one (an adult) reader:

Why, I wonder, is no one (that I am aware of) talking about how violent these books are? It seems to me they go beyond the usual mayhem (that we’ve come to expect and accept in these kinds of thrillers as it were.) Now we have not only children killing children, we have electrocution, drowning, burning, stabbing, being injected by virulent venom and more torture than I can recall in any young adult novels I’ve ever read. There’s collateral damage of innocent people (yes that happens in war) except some of it is by the righteous “good guys”–there’s decapitation, and even sexual abuse that thank god is at least not described but what finally brought me down was the psychological abuse some characters sustain from which they never recover (mostly created by extreme sadistic torture)…I suppose some readers, maybe many, will be exhilarated in the end that “whew” the world was saved, but what are we saying here about what we (they) had to do to get there? I listen to young people’s booksellers all the time vet books as to their appropriateness around sexual content–is anyone worried about the murderous content also? Just wondering.

I think this reader raises a good question.  How much violence is too much?  The violence increases with each book in the series.  I also think Collins raises questions about violence within the books, too.  When, if ever, is violence ever justified?  How much violence is justified to stop evil?  These questions don’t just contain themselves to books.  Think about the world we live in and its history.  What thoughts do you have?

If you want to join in a larger discussion of the first two books, head over to the League of Extraordinary Writers.  Just don’t spoil Mockingjay if you’ve already read it.

OMG!  I don’t usually go for texting lingo, but this book blew me away.  In Life As We Knew It, Susan Pfeffer creates a chillingly believable case for how the world as we know it might fall apart.  How would you cope with the end of the world?

In the beginning, Miranda (who tells the story through journal entries) is concerned with normal teenage life:  date for the prom, getting a driver’s license, too much homework.  Then one night a predicted asteroid hits the moon.  Unfortunately, no one knew how powerful the hit would be.  The asteroid knocked the moon out of orbit and closer to earth.  First come tsunamis and earthquakes.

Rural Pennsylvania is not directly affected at first, but soon supplies–everything from groceries to gas–start running out.  The volcanic explosions cover the earth with a thick ash cloud, blocking the sun and chilling the temperature.  Miranda and her family hole up in their home, hoping to survive the worst together. 

The good news?  Pfeffer has written two other books to follow this one.  The Dead and Gone follows three children from New York City.  This World We Live In brings the two families together.