2013 Recap: Books I've Read this Year

January

1. Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Schbosky)
2. The Dawn Patrol (Don Winslow)
3. Lumayo Ka Nga sa Akin (Bob Ong)

February

1. After the Quake (Haruki Murakami)
2. Kapitan Sino (Bob Ong)
3. Mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan (Bob Ong)

March

1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)

April

1. It’s Not that Complicated: Bakit Hindi pa Sasakupin ng mga Alien ang Daigdig sa 2012 (Eros S. Atalia)
2. Looking for Alaska (John Green)
3. Titser (Liwayway Arceo) 

May

1. The Pearl (John Steinbeck)
2. Paper Towns (John Green)
3. An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)
4. Divergent (Veronica Roth)
5. The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

June

1. Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
2. Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)
3. Free Four (Veronica Roth)
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson (John Green and David Levithan)
5. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

July

1. Slumdog Millionaire (Vikas Swarup)
2. Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
3. Let It Snow (John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle)
4. Unholy Night (Seth Grahamme-Smith)
5. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

August

1. The Giver (Lois Lowry)
2. The Wasp Eater (William Lychack)
3. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
4. El Filibusterismo (Jose Rizal)

September

1. Beatrice and Virgil (Yann Martel)
2. Animal Farm (George Orwell)
3. A Million Little Pieces (James Frey)

October

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
2. Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)

December

1. Geography Club (Brent Hartinger)
2. The Order of the Poison Oak (Brent Hartinger)
3. Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/ Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (Brent Hartinger)
4. Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)
5. The Elephant of Surprise (Brent Hartinger)
6. The Realm of Possibility (David Levithan)
7. Two Thousand Pounds Per Square Inch (Brent Hartinger)
8. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (Jennifer Smith)
9. The Lover's Dictionary (David Levithan)
10. Wes and Toren (JM Colail)
11. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Jesse Andrews)
12. Teenage Rewrite (Brandon Williams)
13. Out of the Pocket (Bill Konigsberg)
14. Boy Meets Boy (David Levithan)

Mockingjay

"My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead. It would be best for everyone if I were dead . . ."


Mockingjay. The third book in the The Hunger Games series. This novel continues the events which took place at the second novel, Catching Fire. Katniss narrates that she was taken from the arena during the Quarter Quell and was saved by Plutarch Heavensbee, the Gamemaker, together with other living victors. Peeta and some others were taken to the Capitol. The rebellion did already start. There really is District 13, governed by President Coin. Katniss realized, she really was the Mockingjay, the one that started it all.

The novel, unlike the two others, was the one with the most deaths -- from little children to refugees to victors like Finnick to the two presidents and to Prim, her sister. Prim. I was surprised with her death. It was really unexpected and depressing to know that she was killed. She was innocent and just there to aid the injured.

The novel, written by Suzanne Collins, is I think too rushed with events happening quickly, especially the last parts. After the killings, the rebels succeeded immediately. I haven't even noticed how Snow was captured, then suddenly, he was to be executed. Then Coin was killed. Then Katniss was taken into the Training Center. Then she was freed. Then there was Peeta. Then they got married. Then they had children. It was a bit too fast for me.

Overall though, the novel is good. Not as great as the first two books though. I like how the novel ended peacefully, and Peeta and Katniss married is what I wanted since the start. I thank Suzanne Collins for her way of writing. I learned a lot from her. I'm really excited for the movie adaptation of this novel.

And ohh.


May the odds be ever in your favor...

On Catching Fire

(Source)

After reading the Hunger Games, I immediately read it's sequel. I just cannot resist it. The sequel titled, "Catching Fire," narrates what happened to the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, after winning the 74th Hunger Games together with Peeta Mellark, both from 12th District of the country Panem. What happened during their Victory Tour. What happened at Seam. And most especially, the Quarter Quell. I was surprised when Katniss together with past victors would again fight for the title as the victor of the 75th Hunger Games. Nobody expected it coming except, of course, Suzanne Collins, the author of the trilogy.

What I love about this novel is that it was less morbid, and it has more twists than the first one. There were chapters where I am just sitting there in awe because I never expected that it would come. Especially the ending. It was the 26th chapter already and they were still inside the arena. The ending was very unpredictable. Who knew Finnick, Beetee, and Johanna were protecting Katniss all along? I never thought of that. I thought Finnick and Johanna were actually anatagonists who were trying to ally with Katniss, for she was the girl on fire.

There was one problem though. There were lots of characters in the story that I got confused with them and had to read back again to freshen my mind a bit. Nevertheless, the novel as a whole is good. I cannot wait to read Mockingjay, the third and last installment.

Hungry for More

Yesterday, I decided to read the novel my brother was so excited about, "The Hunger Games." It was never my plan to read the novel (since I'm not a book reader), but since I'm so left out because everyone seems to be in love with this book, I decided to read it. Furthermore, I've read somewhere that reading would improve the way you write. So I read it anyways. And after reading the first pages, I couldn't stop myself from reading. I could not put it down. It's a page turner! It's mind-stimulating. My mind is creating a lot of images. I'm loving this book!

(Source)

The novel by Suzanne Collins is about a 16-year old girl named Katniss Everdeen and how she dealt the Games. She volunteered in place of her 12-year old sister Prim to go to the Hunger Games. Inside the arena, there were many challenges they undertook. They had to fend for themselves -- 24 of them -- and be alive. The last person standing wins. Of course, they had to kill the other tributes (the name of the selected 24) in order to survive while the whole country watches them. Of course, since Katniss was narrating the story, I pretty knew well that she would win. However, there was a slight twist. Peeta Mellark, her co-tribute from District 12, was her co-victor. It's a long story why so you have to read the book.

I probably would read the second novel tomorrow or tonight. Whichever the case, I'm so excited. I'm so hungry for more! And ohh, I'm so excited to watch the movie.

And ohh, may the odds be ever in your favor. :)