A Better List of Books to Read After Mockingjay

Leila at bookshelves of doom pointed readers toward the Huffington Post's list of 6 Flashlight Worthy Children's Books to Read After You Finish Mockingjay.  It's a bit of a ridiculous list if you're someone who really enjoyed Mockingjay.  I mean, Superfudge? Amelia Bedelia? Wha???  Those are great books, to be sure, but not at all something to read in follow-up to Mockingjay.  I'm guessing that the author's point was that there are LOTS of great children's books out there and they deserve some adult re-reads.  But he just totally missed the mark.

The success of the Hunger Games trilogy (much like the success of the Twilight and Harry Potter series' that came before it) should be seized upon as an opportunity to highlight NEW and UPCOMING books and series that feature engaging characters and plotlines that just don't quit.  So I'm working on a better list of books to read after Mockingjay.  YA books that grab you and pull you into the story from page one and don't let go until the last page (and for series, keep you anxiously waiting between books).

Here's what I've got so far:

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (and its upcoming sequel, Beautiful Darkness)

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness, featuring The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and the soon-to-be-released final installment, Monsters of Men

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (and its upcoming sequel, Sapphique)

Maze Runner by James Dashner (and its upcoming sequel The Scorch Trials)

I would also add Delirium by Lauren Oliver, but it doesn't come out until February, so that'll only work if you read Mockingjay at a snail's pace.  But man, when it does come out...READ IT!  I got an ARC at BEA, and devoured it.

My brain has stopped all recall of other books at this point, so I'm going to have to stop there.  But surely there are other "flashlight worthy" titles, right?  What are yours?


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More Mockingjay: The Hanging Tree

Ok, I admit it, I have way too much time on my hands lately.   I've got another week and a half before school begins, and nothing really to do, so I've been reading about a book per day, excessively checking my email, facebook and blog reader, and creating way too many posts about Mockingjay*.

As soon as I came across the first passage in Mockingjay where "The Hanging Tree" was mentioned, I naturally began to create a melody in my head.  I'm no musician, so it was this not-so-awesome combination of Scarborough Fair and Ring Around the Rosie.  Happily, others more musically inclined than myself did the same thing, with better results.  They're all over You Tube.  Like this one.  And they're all kinda alike (obvi the words, but also the tune), and not dissimilar to my own version.

* Apologies to those who have no interest in this book.  You see, I am slightly obsessed with all things Hunger Games. I wish I could help it, but until I find something else to devote my energies to, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer through this.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Awesome YA Quotes: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Warning: This awesome YA quote is spoilerish...

"Are you preparing for another war, Plutarch?" I ask.

"Oh not now. Now We're in that sweet period where everyone agrees that recent horrors should never be repeated," he says. "But the collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. Although who knows? Maybe this will be it, Katniss."

"What?" I ask.

"The time it sticks. Maybe we are witnessing the evolution of the human race. Think about that."


- p. 379


Have a favorite quote from Mockingjay that you'd like to share?  Leave it in the comments.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Today's the Day: Mockingjay!

While it's true this post isn't coming until 6:30pm - a full 18.5 *after* the book's release - I have good reason for the delay...I had to read the whole book before doing anything else!

And now that I have (and loved every minute of it!) I will provide some links to reviews and other fun articles.  Of course, I'm not one to spoil, so I've noted which ones are spoiler-laden, for those of you that didn't have the day set aside exclusively for reading Mockingjay.  Enjoy!

New York Times article (spoiler-free!)
Publisher's Weekly review (spoiler-free!)
USA Today review (spoiler-free!)
Entertainment Weekly review (which, despite the title is actually spoiler-free!)
LA Times review (spoiler alert!)

I have a favorite quote (something deep and meaningful in real-world applicability), but I'll save it until the weekend, when everyone who really cares has already had a chance to read the book.  It doesn't give anything away, but still.

The LibrariYAn is an Amazon Associate. If you click from links on this blog to Amazon and buy something (anything!), I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.