Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

       

   

         The novel, Vanishing Acts, by Jodi Picoult is a mystery book filled with family secrets and unknown past. Delia Hopkins is a 32-year old woman, living in New Hampshire with her fiancé, Eric, and their daughter, Sophie. One day, a policeman shows up at her door, telling her that her father, Andrew, is arrested for kidnapping a girl named “Bethany Matthews” 28 years ago.  Andrew confesses himself that it is true and that Bethany is Delia herself. This shocking news devastates her, turning her world upside down, and she searches for the truth, trying to find out who she really is.

            Although I do not want to reveal the reason behind the kidnapping, Andrew had a good reason to do it, and I do not think he took a criminal action at all. He knew that the consequence would be going to jail, but he still decides to kidnap Delia to protect her. He took this action out of love, and even though it is against the law to do this, he still takes the risk, knowing what would happen to him. His action shows that he is caring and loving, and I believe he did the right thing. However, Andrew should have told the truth himself earlier because it is the worst to find out a secret from someone else, especially the cops. He had kept the secret for all these years without Delia suspecting anything, and if the police had not shown up, she probably would have never known. Thus, even though Andrew may have kidnapped Delia for the right reason, he should have told her the truth himself earlier as she is a mature adult now. 

            Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel, mostly because it had mystery in it. It is one of my favorite genres, and thus, I did not feel the need to force myself to finish the book. Its plot was very interesting, original and unique, and I am glad I picked up this book. Since this was the first book I read by Jodi Picoult, after reading it, it made me want to read her other books as well. I think the reason why I really like this novel is because it is very similar to Nicholas Sparks’ books, which are my favorite books of all times, where suspense plays a big role in the plot. I recommend Vanishing Acts to those who like mystery and enjoy suspenseful books.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

           Packed with many violent actions, the novel, Mockingjay, is the final book of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, The Hunger Games. The story continues from the previous book, Catching Fire, when Katniss Everdeen escapes the Quarter Quell with the help of the rebels from District 13, who wants her to be the face of the rebellion against the Capitol. In fighting on the rebels' side, Katniss finds herself trapped in an even more terrible version of the Hunger Games.

            A specific incident that occurred in this book is when Peeta is captured by the Capitol after the Quarter Quell. He is hijacked to believe that Katniss is evil, and now, his memories of her are very frightening and threatening. He thinks that she almost killed him and is responsible for the destruction of District 12 as well as the lives of the residents, including his family, when the Capitol bombed their district. While Peeta is held by the Capitol, he is tortured and brutally beaten. Yet, the Capitol keeps him alive to use him to break Katniss. Fortunately, the rebels are able rescue Peeta from the Capitol, but now, his relationiship with Katniss is not like anything before. When he sees her for the first time after the Quarter Quell, Katniss expects him to hug her, but instead, he strangles her. Later, Katniss finds out what the Capitol has done to him, but as you cans see, Peeta is not his old self anymore; while he used to be loving and caring, now, he just shows hatred towards Katniss. As the doctors of District 13 treat Peeta, he slowly improves although he seems confused at times and tries to figure out what is true and what is not.

There are several themes in this particular book. One of them is sacrifice. Since Katniss is the symbol of resistance and a leader of the rebellion, many people have to sacrifice for her in order to keep her alive. When Katniss and Squad 451, a special unit of rebels, go to the Capitol to kill President Snow, they face series of attacks, and Finnick, Leeg 1, Messalla, Jackson, Castor and Homes all die as a result, sacrificing their lives so that Katniss can go on with the mission. In the novel, her internal thoughts can be seen, and she feels very painful that people are giving up on their lives because of her.

             I am satisfied with this finale overall. There were many unpredictable scenes that I was not expecting, and I enjoyed it a lot. I do not think age matters when it comes to reading this book; I think anyone can enjoy it, and I truly recommend The Hunger Games series in general.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

     

       

            The novel, Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins is the second book of her series, The Hunger Games. The story continues after Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark win the Hunger Games when they cause a problem with the Capitol. It seems like their actions (at the end of the Hunger Games) are seen as rebellious, which gets the attention of the citizens. To prevent themselves from being punished, Katniss and Peeta have to pretend that they took those actions out of love and continue being this way as they go on their Victory Tour around the districts.

            The main event of this novel is the 75th Quarter Quell; it is like another version of the Hunger Games. It occurs every 25 years to remind the citizens to never rebel against the Capitol again as their punishment for doing this is in the form of these games. This year, the former winners of the Hunger Games must re-enter, which means that Katniss and Peeta have to go back to fight for the death again. The result of the Quarter Quell has a surprising twist that no one would have expected, leaving me with many questions in my head on why and how it all happened. The ending is very significant to the overall plot because it affects how the story will continue and change everything. Thus, for those who want to read this novel, it ensures that they will read until the very end and continue on to the next book, Mockingjay.

            The Hunger Games series is a phenomenon in general, but people told me that this particular book was their least favorite. I can understand why because it is the second book, and the first and the last ones are usually the best. However, the ending left the readers on such a cliffhanger that it makes them want to read the next, final book right away. Thus, people told me to get the second and third book together, which I did, and they were right because I went right to the third book after I finished reading this one. I think all age groups can enjoy the Hunger Games series, and I recommend watching the movies as well (the second one comes out this fall).

            

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

           The novel, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson is a powerful book written in a diary format by a freshmen girl named Melinda. Between the summer of eighth and ninth grade, she and her best friend, Rachel, go to a party where everyone is drinking. While being drunk, something happens to Melinda, making her call the cops and bust the party. Keeping the incident a secret, she enters high school where she is ostracized by her peers, including Rachel, and becomes an outcast of the school. As she struggles to deal with depression, fear, trust and isolation, she slowly tries to change herself and mature into a stronger person.

            An important part of this book is when Melinda starts communicating with people again. After the incident, she becomes scared and loses the ability to speak out, making her bottle up all her emotions inside. She has no one to talk to, which makes her feel very depressed, lonely, afraid and painful. Thus, it was very surprising when she makes an effort to reach out to Rachel, who stopped being friends with her after the party. Melinda tells Rachel everything that happened, which makes her sympathetic at first but then angry after. However, Melinda’s intention is not to hurt Rachel but to protect her from the same mistake she made. Although Rachel betrayed Melinda, the action Melinda takes is very caring yet courageous.

            I think Anderson did a great job, constantly attracting the readers to continue reading throughout the book. The readers, especially the teens, can relate to this book in some ways because we all struggle with growing up and friendships just like Melinda. I think anyone would enjoy reading this novel, and for those who are looking for a new book, you should try this one!

            

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The novel, The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold is a suspenseful book about a 14-year-old girl named Susie Salmon, who is murdered and watches her family and her murderer continue their lives from heaven. 

One of the significant scenes from this book is when Susie’s sister, Lindsey, starts getting involved in the investigation of her sister’s murder. One day, Lindsey and her dad talk about Mr. Harvey, whom he thinks is the murderer, and how they need to find evidence that would link to Susie. Thus, Lindsey decides to stalk Mr. Harvey and memorize his daily schedule in order to break into his house. When the day comes, she secretly and successfully sneaks into his house. She “sees” Susie and is lead by her to Mr. Harvey’s bedroom where she finds a sketchbook. Inside the sketchbook is “a small drawing of stalks above a sunken hole…in a spidery hand [Mr. Harvey] had written “Stolfuz cornfield”…Now [Lindsey] saw what [Susie] wanted her to know.  [Susie] had died inside that hole; [Susie] had screamed and fought and lost” (183). While Lindsey is horrified by her new discovery, Mr. Harvey comes home and hears her upstairs. Although Lindsey is able to escape and is unharmed, Mr. Harvey sees her run away. After reading scene, I thought that this was an important part of the book because now that evidence is found, I figured Mr. Harvey would be arrested for all the crimes he has committed in the past, including Susie’s murder. However, this cunning, clever man acts all innocent and tells the police a believable story that he was trying to figure out how Susie’s murderer killed her in which the cops believed. Thus, Mr. Harvey unfortunately gets away with it once again.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel because I like suspenseful stories, and I constantly wanted to know what would happen next. People should read until the very end since it is very satisfying and karmic. Although I saw the movie first, it was still interesting to read the book and compare it to the movie. I recommend this novel to those who like suspense, and they should watch the movie after as well.