Most Popular Books - 11/3/14

The most popular book last week:

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.

The Greek and Roman demigods will have to cooperate in order to defeat the giants released by the Earth Mother, Gaea. Then they will have to sail together to the ancient land--Greece itself--to find the Doors of Death.

Runner Up:

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.

Third Place:

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

Fifteen-year-old Eli, locked inside a radiation-proof compound built by his father to keep them safe following a nuclear attack, begins to question his future, as well as his father's grip on sanity as the family's situation steadily disintegrates over the course of six years.

Fourth Place:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death.

Fifth Place:

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.




Honorable Mention:

We Have a Katniss for ‘The Hunger Games’

When we were off for a week of spring break there was big news about 'The Hunger Games' movie ...

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate Confirms Jennifer Lawrence As Katniss In 'The Hunger Games'

So, Jennifer isn't who I had pictured as Katniss when reading The Hunger Games, because she's older than Katniss and she's blond! Of course, the blond hair can easily be fixed for the movie. I'm willing to give her a chance and wait and see how she does in the movie, especially since the director says she blew him away at the audition. Now, I can't wait to see who is cast as Peeta! All I can say, is no one that's 'known' really matches how I envision him, so I really hope it's an unknown. Probably not, but we'll just have to wait and see.

What do you think? Do you like the choice of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss or who would you have cast? Who is your pick for Peeta? Do you have any favorites for other characters?

To read more about this, check out Scholastic's On Our Minds blog.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games #3)

Having read (and loved) The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, I could not wait for Mockingjay to finally be released. I bought it for my Kindle, so I could start reading it on the Tuesday it was released. I didn't want to have to wait for the UPS or FedEx worker to deliver or drive to town to pick up a copy at the book store.


I eagerly began it the day it was released, only to find myself willing to put it down after reading one or maybe two chapters at a time. At first, I claimed I was just savoring the final Katniss story and taking my time. After a while, I realized I was slowing down in reading it, because I could just sense that the story was doomed. I wanted to know what happened to Katniss and Peetah, but at the same time I DIDN'T want to know. I dreaded turning the page for fear of what I would find out. Did I really want to know or would it be better to just imagine things the way I'd like them to be? That's something I'm still thinking about, almost a week after finishing the book.

I waited a bit to write my reaction, because I wanted to let time give me a bit of a perspective. I'm not sure if it helped or not, because I still feel emotionally empty. I was emotionally pushed, pulled, wadded, and thrown out, but I'm still glad I read Mockingjay. I didn't like it as much as the first two in the series, because I wanted more descriptions during some of the action scenes. Many times, as the reader, we'd just hear about an event afterwards, rather than experiencing it at the same time as the characters in Mockingjay. That's not to say I didn't find it a compelling, but disturbing read. In fact, I'd say it's a must-read for those that read the first two Hunger Games books, but be prepared to be taken for quite a ride.  My grade? I give it a B.