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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

August 10, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

Hot on the heals of reading the first Hunger Games book, I was lucky enough to find book two, Catching Fire, in a local charity shop for 99p and so I was able to quickly pick up Katniss’ story again and see just where The Hunger Games Trilogy took her next.

A slightly battered copy of the second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire.

It’s fair to say that The Hunger Games ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. A twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting and so I felt quite desperate to find out how things progress, but at the same time, it’s also really hard to write this post without giving anything away, so if you don’t want any book one spoilers then please look away now.

Hunger Games spoilers may follow…

Katniss and Peeta hope that now they have been victorious they can return to District 12 and to their normal lives, but life is going to be anything but normal for them both from here on. The famous berries scene at the end of their time in the Games arena has had far reaching impact across all districts. As they see for themselves as they undertake their Victory Tour of the districts. Rebellion is starting to bubble up, and when it does the Peacekeepers’ response is brutal. How do they convince everyone that they are still madly in love? Can they prolong their lies to help restore calm? Do they want to?

A further twist is added when the Quarter Quell details are announced and it becomes apparent that both of them are going back into The Hunger Games arena for a second time. But this time they’re up against other Victors. How can Haymitch help them this time? It’s obvious that they can’t both win again, but which one of them should? What would the best solution be for the people back home in District 12? And all those in the other districts?

There is no doubt that The Hunger Games are brutal. Even more so when the contestants know each other and people from across the districts have been following them on the TV coverage of previous games. As the games progress it is also clear that whilst the Capitol is desperate to maintain control across all districts, the residents themselves are starting to question some of what is going on in what they are seeing on TV, and behind the scenes.

A worthy sequel?

Catching Fire is a very worthy sequel to the original Hunger Games, and continues the story well. There are some parts of the middle section of the book which move a bit more slowly, and at that stage I was a tad worried that I was going to get a bit bogged down in the book, but the pace soon picked up again. The only problem is that now I’m desperate to get my hands on the third book, Mockingjay.

Hunger Games Films

Now that my eldest has finished the first Hunger Games book, we’ve also made a start on the film versions which are available on Netflix. Trying to condense a book like the Hunger Games into a film isn’t easy, and there are obviously a few bits skipped over or changed, but overall I’m actually really impressed with how they depicted the Games themselves and the arena that they’re in. The Capitol was also fascinating to see in the film, and if anything I thought it made the film seem slightly more science fiction than dystopian fiction than the book is. It will be interesting to see if it’s the same for the Catching Fire film, and I’m particularly keen to get to the scenes involving forcefields, if they have included them. I just need my daughter to finish Catching Fire so we can all sit down and watch it together.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. IF you go to Amazon through these links and buy anything the it will cost you no more than if you’d gone their under your own steam, but I will receive a small commission. Many thanks for anything you do buy. It is greatly appreciated. Especially with bills rising as much as they are right now.

Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab – Paula Bowles

July 22, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

We were sent a copy of Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab to review. Please see full disclosure at the end of this post.

Just before the heatwave hit us here in England this week we managed to squeeze in a trip to our favourite beach. One that we love because it’s not over commercialised and is beautifully litter free. There’s loads of space for children to run around on the sand and play in the sea, and at the end of the day the only thing we leave behind on the beach is our footprints to be washed away by the sea. A perfect beach location for us to read Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab.

A copy of Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab placed on a sandy beach with two small shells next to the book

Beach lover

Tiny Crab is someone else who loves the beach. And he also loves keeping the beach clean and tidy. In fact, he loved the beach so much that he wanted to share it with some of his friends. His friends come and enjoy the beach, but when they leave Tiny Crab finds that they have left rubbish everywhere.

He clears up after his friends, but the next day they return again, and bring their friends with them too. It’s clear that they love being at the beach, like Tiny Crab does, but it’s also clear that they don’t know how to keep it clean and tidy. Tiny Crab may be tiny, but he knows that if he’s going to look after his beach then he needs to speak up for it. And so that’s exactly what he does.

Creating mini eco activists

Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab is quite simply a perfect book for helping young children understand about taking care of our beaches and our planet as a whole. That’s not where the book’s message ends though. Children, even tiny young ones, are encouraged to speak up for what they believe in. It may be that they need to make themselves heard to those who are bigger than them too, but if they believe in something then that is exactly what they should do.

There’s no doubt in my mind that we’re at a tipping point with climate change right now. The horrific fires that followed the heatwave have been a wake up call for many of us as to what the results of climate change can be on our lives. But the environmental message goes even further. We need to remove rubbish from our beaches and oceans. We need to reduce our reliance on single use plastic. It’s our children’s tomorrow that is being affected and we need to help and enable them to make changes for their tomorrows. Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab does exactly that. Shows them how to speak out and be heard.

A three year old girl, wrapped in a towel, sat in a camping chair on a beach reading a copy of Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab

It was absolutely perfect to share this book with our three year old at the beach. She loved the bright and busy illustrations accompanying the story. As we read the book I could see her looking around at everyone playing on the beach and she started asking questions about whether or not they were all going to take their rubbish home with them. I’m pleased to say that they did. As did we. With the tide chasing us up the beach there was a final check to make sure that all we left behind were footprints and the remnants of a sandcastle that the sea was reclaiming. Exactly how it should be left.

Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab by Paula Bowles was published by Simon & Schuster on 7th July 2022. Paperback RRP £6.99, ISBN: 9781471191794 It can be purchased online here.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of Tiny Crab is a Tidy Crab for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you arrive at Amazon via one of my links and buy anything it costs you no more than if you had arrived there under your own steam, but I receive a small commission for which I am very grateful. Thank you.

Want to see more picture books?

If you want to see more picture books that we have enjoyed then you might like to look here on Penny Reads.

Murder Underground – Mavis Doriel Hay

July 16, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

I’ve spoken before of my love of old-school crime fiction, and anyone who also reads my travel blog will know that I’m a huge fan of the London Underground and trains in general. Murder Underground is therefore the perfect combination of these two loves.

Murder Underground

Miss Euphemia Pongleton is found strangled to death (with her own dog’s lead) on the stairs at Belsize Park station on the Northern Line. Murder Underground tells the story of trying to discover who murdered her, and why.

Miss Pongleton used to live at the Frampton Hotel and we get to meet the other boarders at the hotel, as well as the deceased’s nephew Basil and niece Beryl. The residents and Miss Pongleton’s family have their own theories as to who may have murdered her, and why, but it seems that none of their theories quite fit the circumstances correctly. Everyone has always assumed that Basil will be the beneficiary of Miss Pongleton’s will, but she also had a habit of changing her will whenever he annoyed her – which he seemed to have an ability to do regularly. It is therefore no surprise that some assume he must be guilty in some way. Basil’s own behaviour and vagueness about his alibi don’t help the matter, or impress fellow Frampton resident Betty, who he is supposedly courting.

A chance find by one of the residents eventually leads to the murderer, but not without various twists and turns on the way.

The Northern Line

With the murder taking place at Belsize Park station the Northern Line becomes a key part of the story. It was lovely to see a layout of the station inside the book to help readers understand where Miss Pongleton was discovered and give some context about some of the logistics involved in her murder.

In the end the layout of the Northern Line itself is key to understanding some of the suspects movements and just how well their alibis hold up. I’m guessing that even back when this was first written there were probably restrictions to including part of the tube map, but I certainly found it helpful to reference a couple of times whilst reading the book.

My thoughts

I really enjoyed the physical setting of this particular crime, and found myself becoming more and more fascinated by some of the characters involved, but at the same time the period of time in which the book was set caused some frustration to me personally. At so many points in the book I found myself asking why the people involved didn’t just check CCTV. Or look at the logs for the timing of trains on the day in question. They obviously couldn’t, it being 1934, but a part of my brain just really struggled to switch off from the modern day London Underground and how a crime like this would be solved in a matter of hours rather than days.

Where to buy Murder Underground

Murder Underground is available to purchase online here and has an RRP of £8.99. Mavis Doriel Hay’s other titles are also available, and you can find out more about all the British Library Crime Classics on their website.

Want to read more?

You can discover all the titles that I’ve enjoyed from The British Library Crime Classics series here. If modern crime fiction is more your cup of tea then try this page instead.

Disclaimer: All books mentioned in this post are ones that I have bought myself or borrowed from the local library. Some links are affiliate links. If you happen to buy anything having clicked on one of them I receive a small commission, but it will cost you no more than normal. Thank you for any purchases that you make. All are very much appreciated.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

July 15, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

Something I’ve been really struck by recently is just how much Young Adult fiction has moved on since I was a teenager. Racking my brains I seem to recall trips to the local library (as that’s how people read books back then!) and working my way through pretty much everything Judy Blume had written and a few notable others like I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan (which apparently now has an updated version rather than the 1973 version that I’m pretty sure I must have read). Nowadays the YA section at most bookshops is sizeable and social media, TikTok in particular, has lead to rushes to read certain YA titles like the successful Heartstopper series.

In an attempt to make sure that my daughter is reading a whole range of books I spent some time recently browsing the shelves myself and picking out a few that I wanted to read along side her – the first of these being The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

A copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins sat on a table with a cup of tea. In the reflection of the table's glass surface you can see clouds in the sky.

A worldwide best seller

The Hungers Games is one of those books that virtually everyone seems to have heard of. The term “hunger games” crops up all over the place now and there has of course been a series of successful films released based on this first book and others in the trilogy, with a film of the prequel book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes set to release in 2023.

Released in 2008 The Hunger Games passed me by somewhat as by then I was firmly into adulthood. For those of you (like me) that may have missed all the hype, let me tell you a little about this dystopian best seller.

What is The Hunger Games About?

The book is set in Panem in North America, a country that is divided up into numbered districts and a Capitol. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest district in Panem, which is centred around coal mining. District 12 is also a place where residents regularly die of starvation.

Originally Panem had 13 districts but District 13 rebelled against the Capitol and was eventually destroyed. As a punishment for this rebellion there is now an annual competition in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 remaining districts competes. This is the Hunger Games. Chosen by a random ballot, the contestants fight to survive and fight each other with the winner simply being the last one alive. The Capitol and the Games Makers control the Games to ensure that the television audience across the whole of Panem never forgets the Capitol’s power or the consequences of District 13’s failed rebellion.

My thoughts on this dystopian thriller

The Hunger Games is utterly gripping. It’s been a while since I’ve had my nose glued in a book like this and by the end I was desperate to get my hands on the next book to find out what happens next. The dystopian genre is one that I’m not very familiar with, having only really read Vox that fit into this category before, but I found myself totally caught up in the world created. A slightly strange feeling as I’m someone who has never really got on with Science Fiction books or films, so I’d always assumed that I wouldn’t like anything dystopian either. How wrong I was.

Where to get The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games can be bought online here or you can get hold of the whole trilogy as a box set here.

Want to read more?

Please hang around if you want to find out more about the other Dystopian or Young Adult Fiction that I’ve been reading lately.

Knots and Crosses – Ian Rankin

April 11, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

It is years since I read any Ian Rankin. I was always a huge fan of Rebus. Never the TV version of him, but instead the one in my head that had been built up from years of reading stories about him. But then life got in the way a bit and I sort of lost track of what he was up to. Life a relative that you just hear of through others in the family, I knew that he’d retired, but somehow been lured back into police work. I knew I wanted to find out what he was up to, but knowing where to pick up his story seemed a bit tricky. Instead I decided to go right back to the start. But by only following him through secondhand purchases. So, that’s exactly what I’ve done.

Starting again at the very beginning of Rebus’ story with Ian Rankin’s Knots and Crosses. This version with an introduction from Rankin himself about how he formed Rebus at the time and a bit about how he ended up changing over time. He was supposed to die at the end of Knots and Crosses, and having no re-read the story the ending really could go either way.

What was a bit strange though was that Knots and Crosses doesn’t really introduce the Rebus I know and I love. Instead it told the story of a slightly familiar Rebus, with familiar characters around him, but it was as if he wasn’t quite fully formed. His music tastes were still developing and he didn’t seem quite so sure of himself as he did later on. But that’s all to be expected I guess. You can’t expect any author to completely nail a character in their first book about him. Rebus develops over time and I guess that’s exactly how you get to know people in real life too. You form some initial impressions, but as you get to know them more your opinions change, and as they go through life’s experiences (and let’s be honest, Rebus has a lot of those!) people change too.

I really enjoyed reading Knots and Crosses and love getting caught up with the thrill of trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys and work out who was behind the whole story. Rankin really made me realise just how much I love crime fiction as a genre and it seems crime set in Scotland in particular. I’m also really keen to know more about the various tunnels under Edinburgh. Another thing to add to my list of topics to research when time allows.

There’s something really nice about being back at the start. Knowing that I’ve got all Rebus’ adventures to come again. And then there’s also the challenge of scouring charity shops and secondhand book stalls with a list to try and complete the collection. But if anyone can please tell me why the third Rebus book Tooth and Nail / Wolfman is proving to be so illusive I’d very much appreciate it!

They Both Die at the End – Adam Silvera

April 11, 2022 by penny Leave a Comment

This is a book that I had been aware of for quite a while before reading it. Let’s be honest, the title is one that jumps out at you somewhat when you see it in a bookshop somewhere. The main reason for reading They Both Die at the End though is not due to how much I’d seen it around, but because my daughter read it. As she’s moving more into Young Adult books I find it really useful to read some of them too as it helps open up conversation topics that might not otherwise crop up. I also think that with the increase in influencer influence on young people today books which are shared widely online (as this one was) can really have a huge influence on children and in some cases can give them unanswered questions that can trouble them for a while.

So back to the book in question. They Both Die at the End is a dystopian tale and not at all the kind of book that I would choose to read. Set in a time when people are told when they are going to die that day in a phone call in the early hours of the morning, it follows two teens (Mateo and Rufus) on their “end day”.

It’s a very strange world where whole industries are built up around what people want to do before they die. Restaurants give people free meals, and whole exhibition centre like places become places where “Deckers” (as they are known) can go to tick off things on their bucket lists before the inevitable happens.

All the time though you’ve got this knowledge that the two characters that you are getting to know aren’t going to live to see the end of the book. That is a weird sensation.

In this world geared towards knowledge of impending death there is also an app which allows people to reach out and have a “Last Friend” to prevent them from living their last day alone. Again it’s a strange thought, but also I suppose is a reasonably natural extension of dating and friendship apps that already exist. It’s how our two main characters meet in They Both Die at the End.

It’s worth noting that neither of the characters come from a straightforward background. Rufus lost his whole family in a recent accident, but survived himself, Mateo has just his father, who in the book is lying in hospital in a coma. It’s also a book with a bisexual character, and whilst his sexual orientation does form part of the story there is lovely acceptance and unconditional love from his friends about it.

I can’t say that They Both Die at the End is a book I would necessarily recommend to someone with reading tastes like mine, but at the same time it was a good read to expand my reading, and an excellent one to promote conversation with my daughter. We both found it a very dark book and were in agreement that we wouldn’t want the ability to be told when we were going to die, let alone have to be told it as the characters in the book were. And we both agreed that there was one character (Delilah) where we simply just never find out what happens to her. We know she’s a Decker, but her actually end seems to either have been left out, or passed both of us by.

More than anything though, reading this demonstrated how wonderful books can be in igniting conversations and bonds between people. I’ll continue to keep track with what my daughter is reading (and my son) and keep dipping into their book choices too.

They Both Die at the End is available to buy online here.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on them and buy something it costs you no more than if you’d arrived at the site on your own, but I receive a small commission. Any purchases you make are very much appreciated.