A Simply Enchanted Life

I had previously posted this on another blog, thinking that I would keep all "DIY" type things and craft ideas separate. I found, I just didn't have the time to keep it up. So, I deleted that blog and am reposting this gift idea here!

You will need the following

.88 Cent Hunger Games cups from Walmart
Reduced "coal" from the Christmas section
Goldfish
Chocolate Pirouettes

Optional Treat ideas:

Red Hots
Jerky
Fire balls
Trail Mix

Fill each cup with coordinating treats.

Pirouettes look like logs so use them in the District 7 Cup. Coal works well for any of the district 12 characters however you could branch out and use Jerky,Red Hots or Fireballs in the Katniss cups. Red Hots and Fireballs would all work in any of the Mockingjay cups. For district 4 use Goldfish as that is the fishing district.


Happy gifting and May the Odds be Ever in your Favor!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I’ve come to the end of this trilogy and I honestly thought I wouldn’t like it. As I said in my other reviews—it took a little bit of work on my part to get used to the first person perspective but the lack of knowing what others were thinking was less taunting in books two and three. I like that the books made me think about who was good and who was bad and perhaps that both sides had issues they needed to clear up before their future could become better.

In my review below I’m also going to explain why I thought this book was a five-star book when a lot of my friends were disgruntled with the ending. I will address those issues and hopefully some of my readers who have expressed their thoughts to me will be able to see it from a different perspective now. We’re all entitled to have our opinions and we should all rate honestly but I thought this would allow me a bit of a chance to connect with those of you that have expressed certain feelings about this last book.

Katniss has agreed to be the Mockingjay for the rebellion and is now living in District 13. I had mixed feelings about District 13—well, obviously we were meant to. Coin oozed of corruption from the minute I read about the conditions in the District. Much of the conditions are a necessity but the rest—something just didn’t sit well in my mind with that character and I think the extent of her corruption and power-lust only becomes more evident towards the end. I’ll not mention “the situation” with Prim since some of you may have not read the story yet but I felt that little mishap was the very pinnacle of her power trip. About said situation—some of the comments from friends and fellow readers is that it was unnecessary and cruel. Cruel? Oh yes, I’d agree with that one. Unnecessary? Not by a long shot. It was an integral part of the story that tipped the scales for Katniss. Without it the ending would have been every bit as bleak as the content matter of the story. Book four would have found us right back at The Hunger Games. I thought it was the only way to turn the tides and open the eyes of Katniss.


The second complaint that I’ve heard is about Katniss ending up with Peeta (I didn’t figure this was much of a spoiler) and I’m honestly just shocked when I hear people pull the team Gale card. Sure, he was Katniss’ friend. She loved him even. She could have been with him but Gale was too much like Katniss. Only Katniss chose to do things on a "need to" basis only—Gale ran in with guns blazing. She needed a soft place to land. Peeta offered that mental cushion for Katniss in a way that Gale couldn't. Had she ended up with Gale her PTSD would be more than she could have handled. Gale was right, when he said that Katniss would choose the one that would insure her survival. She could handle herself physically—no, she didn’t need physical protection. She needed to survive the mental onslaught that she would be forced to live with for the rest of her life. So—that’s it, my thoughts on some of the biggest complaints my friends have provided me.


As for the rest of the story, most of it revolved around the war effort and it honestly wasn’t a pretty thing—war never is! There was some funny moments with Finnick that really made me laugh and I really kept pulling for him and Annie through the entire ordeal. Aside from the wedding though—there wasn’t a lot to celebrate in this story. It was fairly bleak. Which then brings to the matter of the ending—I thought it was fantastic. It was realistic but bittersweet. For those that wanted a beautiful ending without any emotional consequences of war—I have to ask, could you go to an arena, kill people that you don’t even want to kill—lose people you care about and then live through the horrors that this young woman lived through and not display any sort of emotional trauma? I think not. Katniss and Peeta both likely suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder—the nightmares and anxiety—normal considering all they have endured. The important thing is that they found love and freedom to make their world a better place for their children. I’m rather glad that Katniss found her dandelion. I really can’t say it any better than Katniss herself

“I know what I need to survive isn't Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hate, but what I need is the dandelion in the spring. The promise of life instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on no matter how bad our losses. And only Peeta can give me that.”

In the end Katniss plays the repetitive game to know what is "real" and reminds herself that there are far worse games to play. She is musing and her worries are about to what extent will her children know of her involvement in the war and in the games. Not her fear of them in the games themselves. There was an unwritten worry of what her children must think of her. YES they learn about the games and the war but will they understand her? That is what I read into the ending that made me connect with Katniss as I too am a mother and I worry about what my children will think about choices I have made in my life.

With that—I am done reading this trilogy and I would like to thank my daughter, my nieces and my husband for encouraging me to read a series I really struggled to pick up and I hope that my review encourages some of you that have been on the fence about reading to go ahead and pick the series up for yourself! Thank you for reading and may the odds be ever in your favor!
View all my reviews

Amazon|Barnes&Noble

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days. The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award.

You can find out more about this author by visiting her website at http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After reading The Hunger Games I quickly jumped in and read "Catching Fire" I find the title of the book to be ironic as the books have caught on...like fire. I suppose like Katniss says “Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!” I really enjoyed this second book; I think a bit more than the first. I've really had to work on getting over my dislike for first person perspective but it helps now that I'm getting use to Katniss' voice and her persona.

Katniss defied the Capital and won the Hunger Games along with Peeta Mellark—the first time there has ever been two victors in the arena. Returning to life in district 12 hasn’t been that easy however. President Snow has let it be known that Katniss has unknowingly sparked a rebellion and if she can’t convince the world that her rebellion was out of love for Peeta rather than out of spite for the Capital—her life and the lives of her family will be in danger.

At the end of the Victors tour in which Katniss and Peeta travel the other districts and meet with the families of those that participated in the Hunger Games—it is announced that for the first time in history the reaping will come out of the list of surviving Hunger Games victors. This means that Katniss, as the only surviving female victor for district 12 is going back to the arena. Of course this is a way to punish her for stirring up rebellion, even though she wasn’t trying to start a war! When Haymitch’s name is drawn as the second contender—Peeta steps up and volunteers so that he can protect Katniss.

And so it is that the pair makes their way back to the arena. Only this time they have surprising allies that seem willing to die for them—though neither Katniss nor Peeta can figure out as why that is. I think one of the tributes I enjoyed the most was Finnick. At first he seemed like such a cocky jerk but that was before I knew his entire story—of course I wouldn’t know his story until later on but really—he was a great guy. Finnick cared deeply about the woman he loved but also about doing his part in undoing a great injustice in his world. He put his own wellbeing and the selfish desires of his heart aside to do what he thought was the right thing.

I won’t go into any more detail than this because I really think it’s a book you should just read for yourself. I think this book had a lot more depth to it and insight into the other characters than the first book had. I was really pulling for some way for the majority of the tributes to remain alive whereas the first time around I nearly sighed in relief every time one of the careers died. I am so glad that my daughter kept bugging me to read and I hope that my review convinces a few friends who have been “on the fence” so to speak about this series to give it a shot!
View all my reviews

Amazon|Barnes&Noble

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles.

Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.
She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award
You can find out more about this author by visiting her website at http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

This is my first ever edition of "My Week in Pictures" I'm hoping to start doing this to sum up my week on Saturday evening and also give all of you a chance to show me what is new with you!!! So without further ado...

TADA! This is how I spent my week! Now it's your turn...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally picked up this book—much to the delight of my daughter who is practically obsessed with The Hunger Games. I mean—obsessed to the point that her friends call her Katniss. She has read the book at least three times and she’s been on my case to read them. I failed the first time I tried reading because of the first person perspective—it’s just so hard for me to read that perspective for some reason but I was determined to make it through and read it for her and because I was sure it had to be better than the poor acting in the movie that I was not at all pleased with. So—here is my review (finally) and I’ll try to put into words what I thought.

I’m sure that I’m wasting my time really typing up what this story is about since I’m probably the only person in the world that hasn’t read this story up until now. I’ll give it a go anyway just in the off chance that you haven’t read the book yet. This story is narrated by Katniss Everdeen and she is from post-apocalyptic America which is now known as Panem. There was once a rebellion and now the Capital punishes each of the twelve surrounding districts with “The Hunger Games.” Each year two children, ages twelve to eighteen, are taken to fight to the death in a massive outdoor arena. Katniss steps forward to take her young sister’s place as a tribute for district twelve and the rest of the story follows her fear and agony through the games. There are plenty of bittersweet moments in this story that I could touch on—a budding romance that is doomed from the start and a friendship not meant to be—but I’ll leave my little summary at that since I’m sure that most everyone has already read this story and I don’t want to ruin it for those that haven’t!

This story was so hard for me to rate and it’s largely due to the fact that I have a hard time reading first person perspective. I will say this—the story was fantastic and the only reason that I’m giving it four stars is because of the perspective it is written in. This is simply personal preference when it comes to reading –don’t let it sway your decisions to read (or not read) the book based on my personal preference on a writing style. I think with first person I miss a lot of detail—the descriptions that make colors and characters jump off of the pages and paint a picture in my mind. I didn't feel my heart racing when I read like it does with other fantasy/adventure stories. I get caught up in the descriptions that make it play a movie in my head and I miss that when reading first person. For example—I can’t really picture what the characters look like from the Hunger Games and have to just visualize the movie characters instead. For that reason alone I give a four star rating—no other. The story was really interesting and I look forward to doing a bit more research into the author and getting to know all the symbolism in the books that I am sure exists. I am glad I made myself read this book even though I’m not a fan of the perspective and I would definitely recommend the book to friends.
Read an Excerpt|View all my reviews

Amazon|Barnes&Noble
Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles.

Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.
She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award.

You can find out more about this author by visiting her website at http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/