Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I rarely, if ever, read a complete series of books. Perhaps it is the fact that I have a short attention span and a run of books on the same topic can't keep me entertained. Or maybe it is that the second book usually ends up being a disappointment. In the case of Catching Fire, the problem was the latter.

As much as I don't like to join the bandwagon of teens who carried the first book to massive success, I actually loved The Hunger Games in both of its forms - as a book first and later in the movie. It captured an exciting dystopian society and didn't dumb down the writing so much that I lost interest. Even the obnoxious teen romance was palatable because the rest of the story took the forefront. I was excited to check out the Catching Fire after everyone promised me it was even better than the first and I would go batty over it.

The problem is that everything I didn't like about The Hunger Games, was amplified times ten in Catching Fire. The teen love triangle took up almost the entire first half of the book, even when the story was trying to build up to something interesting. My wife kept telling me that "it gets better", and indeed it did... but it became a case of too-little-too-late. Sure, the hunger games portion was fun but it was less than half the book and truthfully wasn't that different from the first book. I can't imagine why people thought this one was great. The excitement that I had for the story was lost in Katniss' blubbering about Gale and Peeta. Barf, Barf, Barf.

No doubt I will continue to watch the movies because they only take up 2 hours of my time but I can almost guarantee that another round of the Hunger Games book series will not be in my future.

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Book Review: The Reanimation of Edward Schuett by Derek Goodman

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The Reanimation of Edward Schuett by Derek J. Goodman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I never thought I'd be able to find another zombie book as kick ass as World War Z was but then this little beauty came along! The Reanimation of Edward Schuett is what I've been waiting for for years - a fresh, totally unique zombie story that actually has a brain. Nothing like your traditional been-there-done-that, 'let's see who can create the most gory brain-eater' type of thing, The Reanimation of Edward Schuett reinvented the way we look at the undead. It actually gave them a soul. And I loved it!

This novel had it all - gore, action, science, emotionally-engrossing characters, and yes, even a bit of romance (that didn't make me want to puke!). It was everything I ask for in a novel. I just wish there were more of it.

I never even considered that any other book would take over the top spot over WWZ as my favorite zombie novel but I think Derek Goodman may have managed to do it here. It's a close call but they are so different from each other that I don't even feel like I have to choose! This is a zombie novel that anyone could swallow!

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Book Review: The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

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The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is definitely one where I question my sanity in giving a 5-star rating. The story is so agonizingly painful and frustrating that I wanted to throw my book at the wall while Caleb and Camille tortured their children for the sake of art. There were glorious moments of laughter but my overwhelming reaction to the book was wanting to slap someone across the face with it.

Why the 5-star review then? Well, because Kevin Wilson did such a masterful job of making me hate Caleb and Camille and feel sorry for A and B that I didn't want to stop the agony! This was a brilliantly written book that made me actually feel like I was emotionally invested in the craziness and heartbreak that everyone went through. That fact alone deserves 5 stars.

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Book Review: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

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The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been a Jodi Picoult fan for years and while I agree with her critics that she has a predictable formula is her stories, it is a formula I thoroughly enjoy. She always takes controversial subjects and leads you along in a story that leaves you questioning your morals. I love stories that challenge my belief system and make me think beyond the story itself.

The Storyteller is another such example of this. It takes an emotionally challenging subject and makes you tread the line between right and wrong, good and evil. For the most part, the story was successful and thought-provoking. There were a few times when I felt frustrated by the lack of depth in Leo and some of the minor characters but overall I felt the story was well crafted and the different voices blended together well.

The one major flaw of this book was that the ending was so utterly predictable that I could have finished off the writing myself. Normally Jodi Picoult leaves me with questions that lack answers, and I like this. This time she made the ending too easy. I guarantee that anyone who reads the first third of this book will figure out exactly how it ends. It's a shame because otherwise this story was brilliant.

When all is said and done, The Storyteller is a book that pretty much any Jodi Picoult fan will enjoy and joins the list of her books I love.

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Book Review: The Games by Ted Kosmatka

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The Games by Ted Kosmatka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Games was a pure adrenaline rush. Don't be fooled by the title or timing of the book's release, this isn't a copycat of The Hunger Games.

The story is filled with action and gore and Kosmatka did a fantastic job of researching the medical and scientific topics that are covered in the story which made it an engrossing, fast-paced read.

Very little time is spent indulging the ethical nature of the story, which is a shame, but at the least, it forces the reader to think beyond the story to the implications (which really aren't too far fetched to modern society).

This book went way beyond my expectations and definitely think it is a worthy read for someone who just wants to participate in an action-packed adventure.

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Book Review: Man Made by Joel Stein

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Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity by Joel Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Joel Stein took on the quest that I have contemplated myself since my son was born 6 years ago. There were actually times when I felt like he had somehow gotten inside my head and found all of my insecurities and decided to go test them. I don't know if this is a challenge that all new fathers face but the lack of confidence in our manliness is definitely something that both Joel and I have in common.

From the moment I read the first paragraph, I knew I was going to love this book. I laughed, cried, laughed some more and got inspired along the way while he desperately grasped for any bit of rugged toughness he could find to fill in his own gaps in masculinity. Just like him, I want the best for my son and have often wondered if I am man enough to teach him how he should be. How can I teach him to kill a bear with his bare hands if I spent my childhood playing with Carebears with my sisters?

I'm glad that Joel Stein fought an MMA fighter so that I didn't have to. Maybe we're just fine as fathers after all. All I know is that this is one of the best memoirs I have read. I'm sure that not everyone will feel as connected as I was to the story but it is a laugh-out-loud adventure that is definitely worth the read!

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