I tried sifting through and I just can't keep up with it! But I must say that if you feel like a wicked fast read for children that is a one-shot, beautifully written, and down right precious tale...you GOTTA try

Clive Barker's The Thief of Always

The Inner Flap:
It is a fable about a 10-year old boy named Harvey Swick who's just bored with his life in the month of February. A strange, smiling man named Rictus says he can take him to a fun place called Mr. Hood's Holiday House where nothing but happiness ensues. And thus an adventure begins!

Why I Enjoyed It:
"The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive."
That is the opening line to this beautifully written children's book. I first read this in 6th grade when I hated books and hated reading and it remains to be my favorite book of all time. Now, with a larger respect towards stories and books, this book just blows my mind with its imaginative tale of bravery. Plus, I'm an illustration nut. The illustrations (which Barker did HIMSELF) are creepy, beautiful, and a fabulous accent to the story he wants to tell.

Why You Should Read It/Why You Would Enjoy It:
-Even as a children's book, the story has elements that reach out to adults and has a good message
-Though it is a fantasy novel, it is LOGICAL fantasy, there are moments where everything comes together and make sense in Barker's universe.
-Contains a few lovely, well-done WTF moments.
-If you read/enjoyed Neil Gaiman's Coraline, this follows a similar plot structure. However, this came out exactly a decade before Coraline and, in my opinion, executes said structure in a MUCH MUCH better way.
-It's a read you could do in a single day if you wanted a break in between two longer series.

OH MY GOD I had NO idea you were doing this!! Fantastic.

That is real dedication I see coming from some of my favorite voice actors. Just wonderful!

I certainly see where you're coming from with the realism, and I respect your opinion. I did enjoy the fact that the friendship was degrading from such a strong bond throughout the story, but I just think from a literary point of view, Gale's departure in itself is bogus. Even something simple like a goodbye letter saying, "I'm sorry for everything." Gale's final word as a clarification. From the last two chapters, Gale was like, "All I had left was taking care of your family," and then poof? He loved Katniss and known her for so long, just poofing wouldn't settle right with Gale from the way he's developed through this story. It would be like Jacob focusing his attention on Renesmonster and just leaving his devotion of Bella in the dust a split second later.
Personally, I never feel right with myself until I settle a steady break with someone, you know? As a character, Gale should not just drop off the face of the earth; he needs some sort of closure. Maybe I'm just speaking as a Gale fan, but those are my thoughts.

I definitely agree. This was the fastest conclusion I have ever read, and I wasn't satisfied in the literary sense. For one thing, I adored Gale because he was like a sturdy wall for Katniss, having brutal honesty and all that. I loved it. However, watching him just disappear to District 2 where he WANTED TO KILL PEOPLE, I was like, "What. How the fuck does that make sense?" No. Closure. At all. Same thing I said with Finnick. Finnick just...died. No remembrance paragraph or anything, and now Gale is just...gone. "He's working for D2! LOL KAY!" NO THAT'S NOT LOL KAY, THAT IS NOT HOW YOU CLOSE OUT A CHARACTER. IUHDSLFKJBDLG
I was also really pissed that they didn't go more into detail with the trail. Collins, it's YOUR book, something as important as a TRIAL THAT DECIDES KATNISS'S LIFE can be put in without exploding everything you've built. No, really, it won't destroy the sadness.

Basically, Collins has got to do better on closure. I don't mind the tragedies being made here, but seriously, I wanna feel like the character's had a good departure. CARE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS EVEN THOUGH BAD STUFF KEEPS HAPPENING TO THEM. Gawd, I can't stress that enough.

Agreed, lossthief. I agree so hard.

UNPOPULAR OPINION IS UNPOPULAR.

What Coin's death tried to do:



My actual reaction:


Is it weird to say, that because of my rage fest about the previous chapter (that we all had that amazing discussion on <3 ), I called this completely? I was like, 'JUST WATCH, she'll end up killing Coin since Snow is already on his way to hell with his coughing fit.' I called every step of this while reading this on my own: Katniss's false approval and Coin's death. I didn't see this as a twist at all; I found it rather predictable. : Maybe it's just me, but I found this to be anticlimactic.
..........
*runs to hide*

Honestly I never sat down and thought about like the way you and a few others have described this chapter to me, Mel. I focused on it way too literally and with all this discussion, I can find that Fridge Brilliance/Logic (FUCKYEAHTVTROPES) in Mockingjay's final chapters.
And yes, Snow's magical health plummet is SOOO convenient because of spoiler spoiler! And you're absolutely right about him. He's walking symbolism. It definitely makes more sense on the deeper level, and again, I just swam around on the surface because I tend to do that. XD Thank you so much for your insight, it's really making me feel better about Mockingjay. :D

Great point! Why keep taking antidote when you're gonna be executed anyway?

Yes, I would've loved some more Prim/Katniss scenes in Catching Fire, since Hunger Games wasn't much of an option. I adored this story a lot and I hated that I didn't like the ending like I wanted to. I'm glad to say that I can start to like it (once all my opinions are out during the remainder of these chapters XD)

Thank you for bothering to give a response! I love these kinds of discussions because I can now broaden my knowledge and take what I learn into my own writing.