Since I never blogged about the Hunger Games when I first read it last year, I figured I would go ahead and do it now along with it’s sequel, Catching Fire.

The Hunger Games From School Library Journal:

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districs, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.

 
When I picked up The Hunger Games, I could not put it down for anything. Probably from the very beginning of the book, it had me captured. Seeing all the things that Katniss and her family have to deal with on a daily basis, and then the feeling what she feels when she has to leave everyone she loves to go compete in sick, sadistic games that the government force them to participate in. Suzanne Collins knows how to get you into the story. There were times where I actually felt scared when she was having to fight for her life or triumphant when things went her way.

I absolutely love the Hunger Games and suggest it to everyone I know!

I’m not going to post the summary for Catching Fire here because it would have major spoilers in it but I wanted to make sure and post that there is a sequel to the Hunger Games. And I know once you read HG, you will want to turn right back around to the store and pick up Catching Fire.

I had a whole year between reading Hunger Games and Catching Fire and luckily, these are the type of books that you don’t have to reread to remember what happened. As soon as I started reading CF, the first book came right back to me and I was raptured into this book nearly as fast as I was in Hunger Games. In all actuality, I probably enjoyed Catching Fire better than Hunger Games but they are so close it’s hard to tell.

can⋅dor / [kan-der]
–noun

Synopsis:

In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town’s founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause.

But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant–perfect–through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar’ s built a business sabotaging his father’s scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they’re turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?

Then he meets Nia, the girl he can’t stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever. Keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more

I absolutely loved this book. It’s completely different from any book I have ever posted about but is pretty high up on my list of favorites.  Candor brings you the Stepford-esque community. The adolescents in Candor do their chores, homework and work without complaining. The adults quit addictions and get the life they always wished for.

From the outside looking in, Candor looks like the perfect community. No backtalking from the kids, perfect grades and absolutely no rule breaking. Kid’s don’t vandalize property, they don’t steal. They are perfect.

Oscar Banks is the son of the town founder, Campbell. He has learned his dad’s secret ways of creating subliminal messages in music to control others’ minds. He has fought hard to control the messages in his own brain and helps other kids fight it too. For a small price, of course. Everything goes to plan, he has his rules. Everything happens in a specific way and if it doesn’t go as planned, it risks Oscar’s side business being discovered.

Enter Nia. She is THE girl for Oscar. She is wild, artistic, and everything that Candor is not. He has to decide, does he want to keep her in Candor and have her become one of the brainwashed girls or does he tell her goodbye so she won’t lose herself? 

Getting hooked into this book didn’t take long at all. If you’re looking for a good read and something a little different, check out Candor today!

Click Here for the original Spooktacular Giveaway post on Page Turners.

Page Turners is hosting a Halloween themed contest. The prize(s) will be a surprise, but they give you a few hints.

• A new book (one that has been released in the last 3 months) that deals with something paranormal/fantasy.
• a gift card of some kind
• Halloween movie
• lots and lots of treats

This contest is open to everyone. They will be using random.org to pick the winner. To enter, leave a comment letting them know one of your favorite things about Halloween.
~ Extra Entries ~
+1 for being or becoming a follower
+2 for guessing my Halloween ringtone
+1 for following us on twitter
+1 for posting about our contest somewhere(leave us a link).

Contest ends on Oct. 30th the winner will be announced on the 31st.