I have never cried while reading a book up until I read Nicholas Sparks' A Walk to Remember. Now I realize why they had to make it into a movie... because it was just THAT GOOD! I think that if everyone was as kind hearted as Jamie, or as compassionate as Landon, then the world would be a bright place. When i read that Jamie had Leukemia, it reminded me of a past experience. When I went into physical therapy, I learned two things: the therapists are "mean" because they make you work hard even when you hurt, and they also loveeeee to gossip and talk about EVERYTHING. Well I found out that my therapist had a daughter who was battling leukemia. She was invited to Disney world for a week along with many others fighting the same cancer. I also learned about many of the daily routines that she had to go through because it was a common topic of conversation in the clinic. Well when I read about Jamie also having this, I envisioned the same types of routines. The fact that Landon wanted to make Jamie's only dream come true before her possible death was amazing... I tried to imagine the joy that Jamie could have felt but I think that that is  not fathomable. This book was awesome to say the least. I am trying to get my hands on the movie so I can see if it differs in any way. I'm sure it's good whether little details were changed or not. This was a good change in mood versus the last group of books I just read. I can't wait to get back together after break so we can have a couple "Walk and Talks". I might start my next book.... "HELP'!! :)   (my mom is soooo excited and has been nagging me to start so she can discuss it with me too!)

I just read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It was a little twisted. I think that the ritual of stoning a citizen to ensure a good harvest is sad.... but calling the ritual "the lottery" is even more interesting. when i think of a lottery, i think of gambling and winning money. something that is both good and bad; throwing away money to have the rare possibility of winning, but then there is the opportunity to win a lot of money. The ritual was a little disturbing. This reminds me of the Hunger Games and shares the parallel of drawing names of people who are being sacrificed. The works both show the dark side of humanity.

Mrs. O'Berry-- you were right. While reading Mockingjay, I did feel like I was in a video game. The action never stopped. I was very disappointed that Katniss jumped to conclusions about Gale. She did not know for sure if Gale had anything to do with Prim's death, even though there was a pretty good possibility. I feel like she was lost in the midst of evil and turned to the easy option of "happiness" with Peeta. If I was in her shoes... I would have tried to fix things with Gale. I would have married him instead of Peeta because I would have Gale as my husband and Peeta as my close friend. I like how Collins incorporated their lives years after the Games. It kept the readers' eyes glued all the way to the last page of the book. Ending with her thinking about all her good memories helped end this dark story in a somewhat bright way. I liked the trilogy and it was perfect to hook me back on reading. I am staying in ISL.... so we will have to have a walk-and-talk soon to discuss the trilogy fully. :)

After realizing that Haymitch betrayed her, Katniss' outlook on her life changed dramatically. When she was summoned into the Games yet again, she was nervous but still confident because her main focus was to keep Peeta alive. She knew that only one of them would survive this time. The last thing that Katniss needed was to be betrayed by the one person she always counted on to guide her in the right direction. Unfortunately she found out that Haymitch planned a huge scheme to rebel against the Capitol and Katniss was only a tool he used to set the scene for battle. Katniss not only was impacted by the deceit, but she also realized that she had fallen before saving Peeta from the Games. The Capitol took Peeta from the Games just like Haymitch took Katniss. Haymitch allowed for this to happen because he knew that the Capitol would not allow Peeta to die because that would create even more rebellion amongst the districts that were still left. Katniss seems to be getting weaker as I read deeper into Mockingjay. I feel that she does not know who to turn to and is very lost. She knows that she can not trust anyone in District 13. Without the constant companionship that she once had with Peeta, her persistence to move ahead and fight for those who died for her is diminishing. 

When in was coming back from the MacArthur mall this weekend, I had to go through the tunnel. When I was driving I wondered how far i was beneath the water..... this depth did not even compare to how deep District 13 was. District 13 always seemed very sketchy to me. Katniss was originally excited at the knowledge that 13 actually did exist. I did not like the idea of the District being underground. It made me feel claustrophobic just reading about living underground..no sunlight... i knew that this would be a tough obstacle for Katniss to overcome because she loves being outside. But the true dark side of 13 was revelaed when Katniss was taken to a deep level in which she found her beauty team... they were not treated well and she wondered why 13 was punishing those who she cared about. Katniss did not understand why they wold do such horrible things to people who were no threat to their plan. 

If I were Katniss, I would not trust anyone. I would keep everything to myself and not reveal my emotional weakness that both the Capitol and 13 could prey on. I would try my best to recreate the bond i once had with Gale. Then in would ask for his aid in saving Peeta from the Capitol. 

I am almost done with the book. I need another idea for a blog that I can do this weekend :)