Nimo Ven Ven itibaren Hacıosmanlar Köyü itibaren Hacıosmanlar Köyü

Unlike the heroines of many imaginative pre-teen books, Plain Kate is NOT a witch. Unfortunately, she lives in a strange land where the all villagers appear to be superstitious, small-minded and ruled by a mob mentality that burns any woman (of any age) who they fear may have witch-like powers. Plain Kate's "power" is her talent in carving wood - learned from her father. She's so good, people have suspicions. After her father dies and she is left alone, a real witch with a obsession to avenge his sister's death at the hands of such villagers, draws poor Kate into his scheme. When she is forced to leave her hometown, at least she has her cat Taggle as a close companion. The atmosphere of this book gets pretty creepy (and at times there is too much emphasis on blood and it's "powers," especially in the opinion of one of my 12-year-olds), and sometimes the story seemed to drag - but overall I liked Kate very much and had to follow the tale through to its end.

After all the hype built around this series I was a little hesitant to take the plunge. After all, when everyone tells you a book is phenomenal it can go one of two ways: either they're all right, or the book can't live up. I'm thankful to say that The Hunger Games was more than equal to the buzz built around it. Gritty, dark, and beautifully built, it is the book other dystopian YA novels strive to be. Collins did such a marvelous job with her worldbuilding that I found myself contemplating whether or not this could be a real, and scary, glimpse into our future. Katniss, our heroine, is strong, willful and a wonderful literary role model for young readers. She has a tough exterior but inside she does what she does out of love, mostly for her sister, Prim. I won't get too much into the plot, because the more you find out for yourself the better the book is, and I'm glad no one spoiled anything major for me. One of the best books I've read all year.