Catching Fire

No, Patrick is not a pyro. Catching Fire (Which I just finished about two minutes ago and it was so good I had to come blog about it) is the sequel to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It is about the United States after a nuclear war. Panem(which is what it is now called) consists of twelve districts (formerly 13, but 13 was destroyed in the civil war between the districts and the Capitol) and a Capitol. The Capital controls basically everything in the districts. All of the districts are poor and the capitol is rollin' in dough. The people of the capitol even, at parties, after gorging themselves, drink something to make them throw up, so they can eat more (this is like one King Louis XIII, except he gagged himself with a feather). The Capitol stages the annual Hunger Games(hence the title for the first book.) to punish the districts for revolting a long time ago(but still in the future). I would love to summarize more, and I am sorry for any confusion this causes, but I really don't want to summarize an entire darn series again(see my insanely long blog post of doom below) so I will stop there and start with Catching Fire. It starts after (sorry for the spoiler) Katniss and Peeta became joint champions of the Hunger games. On their victory tour, when they go to all the ditricts to "celebrate" they incite a rebellion in districts 11 and 4. These districts are dealt with harshly by the capitol with surprising swiftness. Their are stirrings of rebellion in district 12, Katniss and Peeta's home district, but these are (seemingly) extinguished when, for the Quarter Quell, a special Games held every 25 years, President Snow(The snakelike head honcho of Panem) decrees that the participants will be chosen from the existing pool of victors. So, Katniss and Peeta go back to the diabolical games once more. Many more exciting things happen, but I won't spoil the entire book for you. Suffice to say that if you don't like cliffhangers, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! I repeat, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Cathing Fire contains the biggest cliffhanger that I have EVER, in my entire life, read. Other than that, I loved this book. The plot had so many twists, I thought I was on a roller coaster. For example, when Peeta touches the force-field surrounding the arena and his heart stops, another tribute from gives him CPR to save his life, even though the tributes should want to kill Peeta. I lalso ike the book because it has many interesting sub-plots that keep you enthralled, as in how Katniss feels torn between Gale, back in district 12, who she has known since she was young and who she is beginning to love; and Peeta, who she has to love because they won the Hunger games together, but she also actually is starting to love. I give Catching Fire, on a scale of 1 to 10, a 8.6 because it is has lots of action, but it is not all fighting to the death. There are some actual feelings and thoughts from the characters. I would reccomend this book to just about anyone over the age of 11 who has also read The Hunger Games. Here is a picture of Cathing Fire by Suzanne Collins.

* I commented on Blake's blog this week.

The Fire Within

Hi there all you bloggers! Patrick (me) is back and excited about a new book. The Fire Eternal, which I checked out of Ms. Pietrzak's classroom library(Thanks!), is the fourth book of the Last Dragon Chronicles, consisting of (so far) The Fire Within, Icefire, Fire Star, and The Fire Eternal. They all take place in the home of Liz and Lucy Pennykettle, descendants of Guinevere, an ancient woman who had a special connection to the last great dragon, Gawain.(All dragon names start with a "G") The Pennykettles have the ability to make clay dragons(miniature ones) that have a semblance of life.(i.e. they can fly and breathe small amounts of fire.) However, only the Pennykettles can see them move. Everyone else just sees a blur, if they're lucky. All dragons have a specific talent, such as listening(Grace), writing(Gadzooks, or Zookie for short),or granting wishes(G'reth). David Rain(the main character) moves in with them because he needs a place to stay for college. Later(in Icefire), Gwilanna, who is a (evil!) sibyl(or a witch), bespells David into being able to see and talk to the dragons using dragontongue(which consists of saying hrrr to a dragon, which somehow they understand). His writing professor at college gives him an assignment on whether or not dragons exist(suspicious, you say? Well, you're right. The writing professor turns out to be a shape-shifting polar bear shaman named Thoran. And yes, that is just as weird and confusing as it sounds.) This assignment makes him aware of the Icefire, which consists of a snowball in Liz's freezer that she uses to animate the dragons. Bonnington, the Pennykettles cat, ends up drinking some Icefire and acquires some dragonish qualities as well as the power to change his shape. As a result of the essay, he wins a trip to the Arctic with Suzanna(A.K.A. Zanna), a girl from his college that he ends up falling in love with. During this trip to the arctic, they discover a type of entity from another dimension(Ki:mera) called the Fain. The Fain are divided into two races. The normal Fain(who accept dragons) and the Ix(who hate dragons and are trying to make an anti-dragon). David, in the arctic, finds out of a plot to raise Gawain, the last (non-clay) dragon. For some reason that I forget, this would be bad. David battles an Ix:risor, or assassin, who throws a spear of ice through David's heart. David does not die because the ice is in fact Gawain's fire tear(a fire tear contains a dragon's auma, or essence). David kills the Ix:risor, but...(I am struggling for a word here because David doesn't really die, but his auma no longer occupies his body) let's just say the Ix:risor temporarily incapacitates him(this means the Ix has been defeated, but David is still not long for this world)(but he is long for other worlds). With David temporarily incapacitated, Zanna is heartbroken(remember, they are in love) and they have to say goodbye. David assures her that they will see each other again and then he "dies". His body is carried out on an ice flow with Ingavar, a polar bear. Their spirits are somehow fused and they return as a shape-shifting bear know as Nanukapik, or Greatest Bear. When Zanna and the Pennykettles return home, Zanna informs them that she is carrying David's child. Then The Fire Eternal begins. So far it is an extremely good book because there are so many plot twists and surprises. For example, Alexa, David's daughter, draws a picture of G'lant, the dragon David gave Suzanna just before he left this world. G'lant is invisible and can only be seen by (so far) Zanna, David, and Alexa. The picture features the correct triangular eyes and small scales under the eyes. In the picture, G'lant's eye reflects something that looks like the Earth. Another surprise was when David (who returned to Earth as a bear, remember?) sends another bear to find Gwilanna, who was trapped in the form of a raven inside a block of ice, and bring her back to him. This is shocking because before, David despised Gwilanna for kidnapping Lucy(loooooong story).The Fire Eternal is a moving book, too, because almost all of the characters believe David to be dead, and Zanna especially mourns his loss. She expresses this by writing to him every year(even though to her knowledge he is dead) and by keeping a valentine he sent her in her gift shop window(guarded by the guard-dragon Gruffen). Here is a picture of The Fire Eternal in case you wanted to know. I will now say goodbye to you in dragontongue: hrrr.



*I commented on Erin's blog.

Sent

Hi there, fellow humans! I am back and about to tell you about a good (so far) book. Sent, by Margret Peterson Haddix, is the sequel to Found, book one in the Missing series, in which Jonah, an adopted 13-year-old, and his friend chip, also adopted, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you." Katherine, Jonah's sister (not adopted) is drawn in to the mystery when she sees the letters. Long story short, they all are sent back to the 1400s along with Alex, another adopted child. Sent picks up just after they find themselves in the fifteenth century. They are trying to figure out what happened and how to get back to the 21 century, with help from JD(a time traveler) and the Elucidator,  a complex gadget from the future, when they find out that Chip and Alex are actually fifteenth century princes about to be murdered by their uncle. Jonah and Katherine save them from an untimely death, but the are not sure of the consequences of their actions... And that is as far as I got. I like the book a lot so far because the characters really don't seem to have any idea what is going on. For example,  when they find Chip and Alex's tracers, or a image of what they would have been doing had they not been ripped from their time, they really don't know what they are until JD informs them. I also like that the book moves along at a fast pace. The characters hardly have time to recover from almost seeing their friends murdered when they have soldiers searching for them and trying to figure out how to become un-invisible(thanks to the Elucidator). I would give this book a seven out of ten, with ten being the most awesomest book I ever read(and yes I know that is not propper grammar) and one being extremely horrible.That's all for now, folks! Blog to you later.
P.S. I commented on Tommy's blog.

Graceling

Hello there! Patrick the Blogger is back! I am reading a book called Graceling, which is about an unnamed land broken up into seven kingdoms, Leinid, Sunder, Monsea, Wester, Estill, Nander, and The Middluns. Certain people in these kingdoms are born with an extreme skill, called a Grace. This could be fighting, cooking, archery, mind reading, or many others. The main character, Katsa, thinks she has the Grace of killing(I know, very cheery), but later on she finds out her Grace is in fact survival. This is based on the facts she can go longer than anyone else without food, water, or sleep; has a lot of stamina; doesn't feel cold much; and her wounds heal with impossible speed. She and Prince Greening Grandemalion(A.K.A. Po)(not the Teletubbie) set out to find the person who kidnapped Po's grandfather. In the process, they find traces of an insidious Grace, a murdered queen, and a displaced princess. To find out more, read the book. I really am enjoying this book because the author, Kristine Cashore, moves the book along at a fast pace and has lots of adventure. I like how the auther uses humor to keep the book interesting. I think it is cool how Katsa has to figure out her powers with the help of Po. I also like how Po has to deal with Katsa's feelings of betrayal when she finds out Po is a mind reader. This is a picture of the book, in case you were wondering.

I commented on Bloggy Blakes blog, Ms. Pietrzak.

Epic

Hi there again, people in blogland! Patrick R back and rereading a very good book. It is called Epic and it is about people on a planet called New Earth where humans fled to in order to escape wars. This planet is basically governed by a virtual-reality computer game called Epic. Everyone plays and all disputes are resolved in the arenas in Epic. All violence is banned in the real world. (hitting someone can get you exiled, which is what happened to Erik's dad)Most characters are poor, except for the nine members of Central Allocations, who control all the resources of the world and have some of the most powerful players in Epic. Erik, the main character, creates a Epic character (female, oddly enough) named Cindella. He and his friends Injeborg, Bjorn, Big Eric(a.k.a. B.E.), and Sigrid manage to kill Inry'aat, the Red Dragon, after Erik figures out a loophole in its attack pattern. They get lots of money and items and are now trying to solve the largest and most mysterious quest in the game, the Epicus Ultima. I really like this book because it moves along quickly and could actually happen in the far future(but I hope it doesn't). I would give this book a 8.333 out of ten, and would reccomend it to young adults who like science fiction and a fast-paced, gripping read. Thanks for reading, fellow bloggers! Bye 4 now!

P.S. I commented on Tommy's blog, Ms. Pietrzak.

The Stoneheart Trilogy

Hello! It's Patrick(that's me) here talking about more books. I finished Stoneheart, Ironhand, and Silvertongue. If you don't know, those are the three books in the Stoneheart trilogy. I really liked all of them because they had a lot of action. For example, George Chapman, the main character, has to fight three duels after choosing the Hard Way when he breaks the head off of a stone dragon-using a making hand to mar, in other words. If you want to know what that means, read the books. Two of the duels he fights in Ironhand- one by standing on the Gunner's plinth at midnight, saving the Gunner but forcing himself to endure some of the war the Gunner was built to commemorate. The other duel was stopping the Walker from opening a portal into the outer darkness and letting some ancient powers of darkness into the world. He stops all but one darkness from getting through, but obliterates the pentagram of protection the Walker made. The Walker is sucked into his own portal to take the place of the darkness known as the Ice Devil('cause nature abhors a vacuum!). The third duel is with the Dark Knight(please, no one mention Batman), who is the head night of the cnihtengild (pronounced k-nik-ten-gild) possessed by an ancient darkness.(not the ice devil, another one) I also like it because there is some romance going on between George and Edie(who is, in fact, a girl). The trilogy ends before anything really happens between them, but it does seem like they might be serious. Overall, these books are a very good read for young adults who enjoy fantasy and action.

Stoneheart

Hi! Patrick is back and talking about himself in the third person. He finished Bluestar's Prophecy a few days ago and he really liked it even though it was sad. He would give it a rating of 7.5 out of ten because it was a good book but not the best book ever. But now he has finished another book called Stoneheart about a boy named George who is dropped into an alternate London where statues and carvings are real when he breaks the head off of a stone dragon in anger. A taint, or a statue of a non-human creature, chases him and the only thing that saves him is a statue of a soldier form World War two, called the Gunner( a spit, or human statue), shoots it into powder. The Gunner continues to help George throughout the book. Patrick is done with the book but he won't reveal what happens. He likes the book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who likes young adult fantasy. He enjoys it because the main character doesn't really know or accept what is going on until the end and has to figure it out almost on his own. Patrick also likes how Eddie(who is, in fact, a girl) has to figure out her own power of seeing the past through stone or metal, called glinting, with only a cryptic riddle from a sphinx. Patrick is going to start reading the sequel to Stoneheart, called Ironhand soon, so look for that on his blog. Bye for now!