The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

ISBN: 9781407109084

I really struggled to put this book down, and when I did I couldn't stop thinking about it. Set in a dystopia future for the USA, the Hunger Games are a way for the Capitol to keep the people under its thumb, reminding them that they are owned.

Each year at the reaping, two young people are picked at random from each district and all are forced to fight to the death... while the whole country watches on their television screens. Collins weaves romance into the plot in a way that isn't twee or mushy, but stark. She portrays the conflicting emotions and desires that come with being sixteen years old accurately, but with the added dimension of the need to murder your peers.

I am wary, now, when reading teen fiction surrounded by hype, for the commonest comment is 'but it's so badly written!' Well I was so wrapped up in this novel that I forgot to take stock of the language at all! I devoured it how a dog wolfs down his dinner without tasting it. It was entirely satisfying, without Collins spoon-feeding us every answer. The first person present tense narrative was a bold choice, but one which highlights the claustrophobia of the Games and also the immediacy of everything when you know that death could spring upon you at any moment.

In this grim update of 1984, Collins raises questions about how we get our entertainment, how relationships develop under the most extreme pressure, and how far we are willing to go to survive.

Rating: 9/10

The Borrowers - Mary Nichols

ISBN: 978-0140364514

Over my Christmas break, I thought it necessary to relive this charming classic. In fact, I started reading it aloud to my family. However, after the first chapter nobody seemed available to listen to it... Rest assured, this is certainly due to my over-emphatic reading voice, rather than this gripping tale.

And it is gripping; the plot moves quickly which makes it highly accessible for children, and the characters are more than endearing. Despite the small scale of these heroes, they have enormous personalities which glow through the pages like a night light, reassuringly present throughout. Each of us, I'm sure will have somebody we know who is encapsulated in the character of each Borrower.

This novel is interesting from a literary standpoint too, with it's exquisite frame narration. We are told this story by a girl, who pretends to be Kate, who is told it by Mrs. May, who was told it by her brother! This of course has interesting implications on the reliability of the plot, which is so important in a story where many of the characters feel the need to be believed. This has elements of meta fiction too, with the storyteller coming out of the tale at the end, reminding us that it is, in fact, just a story.

Rating: 8/10

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

ISBN: 9780099523994

This is the first graphic novel that I have read--and what an introduction! This book is at once poignant, moving and laugh-out-loud funny. Above all, it is intelligent. Told in two parts, this is the autobiography of a woman growing up in Iran in the 1980s: The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return.

The first section is narrated mainly by ten-year-old Satrapi, who is a witty, sharp and immensely endearing character. She is that questioning child found in every culture and every situation, asking the questions that adults don't dare to... or don't think of.

Though this book is highly political, it is so very real. More than anything else, this is the story of a woman becoming a woman. Satrapi shows us that humanity is humanity, no matter what the situation, that societies, and particularly children, share the same bonds and frailties across the globe.

At times I found the speech a little 'I'm saying this so that the reader will know where we've got up to in the plot', which did irritate me. However, this may be standard convention for graphic novels, given their layout and style.

Satrapi questions family, God, and identity openly, but with both precision and care, like folding together a delicate meringue. The result is glossy.

Rating: 8/10

Uglies - Scott Westerfield

ISBN: 1416911049

Welcome to the world of uglies and pretties. Set in the future, Westerfield presents us with a society of perfection: on your sixteenth birthday, you receive an operation to change you from an ugly to a pretty. Seen through the eyes of Tally, a very-almost-sixteen-year-old, Westerfield shows us humanity without flaws, without disease, without prejudice and without difference.

Very quickly this is revealed to be a dystopia, as the same-ness which is immediately apparent goes deeper than anybody would have thought. Tally is faced with a decision and more horrific secrets are revealed to her as she progresses. This is a coming-of-age story pushed to the extreme.

This novel is fast-paced and intriguing, with hugely likeable characters. It is a tale that causes us to ask 'what if?' of our own world every time we put it down, which, I have to say, I found hard to do. It raises questions about beauty, about identity and about love. Aimed at teenagers, it is a refreshing look at how beauty is only skin deep, but shows us what could happen if it wasn't...

Rating: 8/10

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

ISBN: 9780571226160

This is the most real book I have ever read. It is alive and painfully honest. In this semi-autobiographical novel, Plath portrays what it is to be on the verge of entering into the world, through the eyes of 19-year-old Esther Greenwood, who is working in New York for the summer.

The plot oozes with the sense of needing to find a place in the world, of carving out a niche for oneself in a society that is increasingly success-oriented. Which 'fig' should Esther strive for: business woman or wife, mother or linguist, typist or writer? Or pleasing her mother? Each holds promise, but each option seems to close the door to all other possibilities. And each looks so tempting.

This is a work about first times, about putting one's toe in the water, about self-discovery. It is not a cheery read, especially given Plath's biography, but the true depiction of emotion and despair is so intricate that it grabs at you like the tendrils of a lonely octopus.

Rating: 9/10

Selected Poems - Christian Rossetti

ISBN (Everyman's Poetry edition): 0460878204

Christina Rossetti is not a household name among poets, and I don't understand why. Her poetry is alive with the pain of a broken heart. Not that it's whiny or depressing; far from it. This is a collection that is full of hope even in the most desolate of internal landscapes.

Born in 1830, Rossetti is best known for writing 'In the Bleak Midwinter', which happens to be my favourite Christmas carol. This is clearly a lady who knew great pain and loneliness; this is only too evident as you read her verse, and yet her deep faith saturates every line. Rossetti is clearly in love with Jesus, and this brings her great hope as she chooses him above "looking earthward". This is perhaps most evident in 'The Convent Threshold'.

Her language is polished to the point of sparkling with the emotion she pours out. Though she uses clipped phrases and the sentiments are subdued, they are veiled only thinly, so that the true feelings in this repressed life glow through the lines like a blush.

Rating: 8/10

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett

ISBN: 0140366881

This is one of my all-time favourite books. It is mostly set in a boarding school, which bodes well to start with, and it has the word 'princess' in the title, and yet it is so much more than a heart-warming children's tale. But warm the heart, it certainly does.

Sara is a little girl, left in a boarding school under the tutelage of strict Miss Minchin, after her rich upbringing in India. Things naturally turn for the worst, but even in the most tragic of circumstances, Sara shows an immense resolve to be optimistic. It is her beautiful imagination that saves her.

This is a novel that I grew up with and it inspired me to not become dragged down by circumstances; things could always be worse. This book is powerful. Burnett's characters are charming and their sparkling interactions leap from the page like confetti. Sara's stories, in particular, bring light.

If anybody has dampened spirits, let them read this book, for they will be cheered.

Rating: 9/10