The forest of hands and teeth - Carrie Ryan

**

Genre : Fantasy, Young Adults

Series : The Forest of hands and teeth

American publisher : Delacorte Press : 9,99$

English publisher : Gollancz : 6,99£

In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.
Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

What I think

I liked the book, but I was disappointed. I think there's a lack of originality. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is kind of a mix between I am legend and The Village. The Village because, everyone is in a village surrounded by a forest, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, inhabited not by imaginary monsters, but by real zombies. The Village is ruled by the Sisterhood who knows everything, and guarded by The Guardians. Mary grew up with the fear of the Unconsacrated. But when her dad becomes one and her mom follows him, her brother turns her back on her, and gives her to the Sisterhood. But there, she discovers some things, like there is an outside. And when the zombies breach into the village she and her friends run outside to try and find another village or maybe the ocean.

I am legend, because, the zombietude is some kind of disease that contaminated the entire world, leaving alive only a few survivors like Mary. Everyone in the village believes they're the only one left on the planet. And they're trying to keep humanity alive.

I think this book could have been a lot better if there was not this lack of originality. The subject of zombies is not enough developed. But maybe it will be in the next book. Mary is a tough girl, and that's a good point in the book, but sometimes I just wanted to smack her.

The love story, yes there is one, turns not very well, but that's great, because for once, it's not all is well that ends well.

The zombies are hilarious. Well they're zombies, with limbs hanging and flesh decomposing and all that, but the image is to recurrent and it makes the style too ponderous.

There is a sequel, The dead-tossed waves, but right now, I don't know if I will read it.

Now I'm going to perfect my zombie knowledge, with some movies a friend gave me, like 28 days later and 28 weeks later, and Shaun of the dead, Dawn of the dead, Zombieland, and Dead snow.

Catching fire - Suzanne Collins

**

Genre : Dystopia, Young Adults

Series : The Hunger Games : The Hunger Games, Catching Fire

American publisher : Scholastic Press : 17,99$

English publisher : Scholastic : 6,99£

Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And The Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won The Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the disctricts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. if they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

What I think

I had high hopes for this second book, because even though I liked it a lot, The Hunger Games had disappointed me because of its lack of originality.

With Catching Fire, I went through different phases. I was enthusiast in the begining. A lot! I loved this side of the story, the rebellion, that was what I was waiting for. For people to stand up against The Capitol. But when I was begining to love it, and I told a friend that it was really good to not relive Battle Royale again, BAM, she did it again.

I sensed from the begining, but I hoped it will be otherwise. From the start I thought about Kawada in BR who was in the game for the second time. And I was right. bad luck, we teke the same and we do it again!

Yes, for the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games, it's the quarter Quell. They decided to take all the winners in history and put them back in the arena.

At this moment, I was extremely disappointed. Then I began to hope again with this interview of the candidates, Katniss wears a dress made by Cinna, a fabulous dress that takes fire and becomes the costume of a Mockingjay, Katniss's symbol, also symbol of the rebellion. This scene is absolutely wonderful, and I told myself that Suzanne Collins will surprise me in the end.

Again, I was mistaken. Everyone enters the arena, makes surprising alliances, alliances that make the reader wonder as much as Katniss to the end, this end which is a cliffhanger, not really reassuring.

Suzanne Collins gave us the same recipe aas for The Hunger Games, with a few new ingredients to make us wait for the last of the trilogy. My hopes are very high for this third book...

***SPOILERS***

Now we're waiting to see how Katniss reacts in this atmosphere of rebellion, et what will become of Peeta who's now in the hands of the Capitol.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

***

Genre : Dystopia, Young Adults

Series : The Hunger Games : The Hunger Games

American publisher : Scholastic Press : 17,99$

English publisher : Scholastic : 6,99£

Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality show is taking place? Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule : kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

What I think

I had seen this book on Word for Teens a long time ago, and her review made me think of Battle Royale by Koushoun Takami. I've read only good reviews on this book, I have nothing against it, but I'm surprised that no one made a link with Battle Royale, and it is so obvious. After all, maybe no one has read it yet either. But I want to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. The Hunger Games has nothing original in the plot. But it is well treated.

America is divided into 12 districts plus The Capitole. The 12 districts (they were 13, but there was a rebellion, and the 13th has disappeared and everyone is punished) are hungry. There are rules, these rules make the people of these district hungry, and they have to work hard for the glory of The Capitol.

Each year, when the harvest comes, a kind of national holiday, a game starts, The Hunger Games. Twelve girls and twelve boys, a pair of each district will be chosen hapharzardly to participate. Well "hapharzardly" is not really the word because a candidate can put his/her name several times in the ball in exchange of food.

These 24 candidates are prepared, and launched in an arena where the hung will begin and will go on until there is only one remaining. The winner will come back to his /her district where (s)he will live in a beautiful big house and (s)he and his/her family will have anything they want. And it will permits to feed their district for a whole year.

During the games (several weeks), the villagers of each district will watch the games, at home or on big screens.

When Prim's name, Katniss's little sister, is draw from the ball, Katniss takes her place. She's paired up with Peeta, a boy who gave her bread when she was little. They will be placed in the hands of designers and stylists who'll try to give them an advantage. They'll have a special training to learn how to survive in the arena and gain the public's preference. But some candidates have a few advantages because they were chosen by their district to participate, so they've been training for a long time.

I won't tell you everything... but if you really want to you can read further...

***SPOILERS***

I liked this book, but I'm disappointed, because Suzanne Collins didn't bring anything new. The Hunger Games is a sweet version of Battle Royale on every level. I say "sweet" because where Takami pushes things to their extreme, Suzanne Collins were overcautious. I'll explain what I mean. Suzanne Collins took everything to Takami, the arena, the plots of Th Capitol to gather the candidates and have some action, and many other things. The game is exactly the same. But Takami went farther, because he developed all the characters, their hopes in life, and of course he created a system of alliances and treason, some characters killed their best friends willingly or not. So Suzanne Collins, with The Hunger Games, gives us a Candy-version remakes. Katniss finds an ally in Rue, but she's killed. Katniss takes her revenge, and she'll be saved in turn by Rue's partner. Then The Capitol announces that if two of the same district survive, they'll be declared winners together. Of course the goal was to make the love story between Katniss and Peeta last longer (because Peeta declares his undying love for Katniss before they entered the arena) and from this point, the end is clear. We know how it will end. And I was not surprised in the end when The Capitol told them that the new rule was cancelled.

In The Hunger Games, we don't find the true human nature. There is no treason, Katniss doesn't have to face a friend, like Peeta or Rue. That's why I said that Takami pushed things to their extreme and he made them more realistic. He really showed the true nature of human beings, this egoistic nature when survival instinct takes its toll, and there's no best friend anymore, nor alliances, everyman for himself!

Even the end, Collins took it to BR, because Katniss and Peeta win the games together, but find themselves enemies of The Capitol. In BR, Shuya and Noriko become fugitives because they escaped the games.

Where Suzanne Collins tried to make her own recipe is with the Muttations, but I really laughed in the end, with these wolves (kind of) which are in fact the deceased candidates. It is difficult to believe, but there is no explanation on the subject. I hope we'll find out in the other books, otherwise I think it's a shame to tell us about it without development.

Katniss is the main character, we know her from the begining, but I didn't manage to attach myself to her, nor Peeta.

The Hunger Games didn't make me really react, because there's no surprise, the events are predictable.

Well, don't think I didn't like the book, that's not the case. I spent a good time reading it, and I want to read the other books too. But I had to choose, I'd choose Battle Royale without hesitation. It made me cry from the first pages. And I advise you to read it too, especially if you liked The Hunger Games, because you'll see the difference.