Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins reviewed by Tamalin Salisbury

What would you do if the world you knew ended? What would happen if you found out that your entire life up until this moment had been just a sick game where you were a pawn and the kings and queens manipulated you to your limits? What would you do? Where’s Peeta? All of these questions were running through Katniss’ mind when she woke up in a hospital bed in the secret District 13. With her home destroyed and her promises broken, all she can do is wander around the halls of the district and hide from the numerous guards in charge of keeping her together. But when the rebels decide to use her to strike at the Capitol, she decides to use every waking moment to find out the truth of what’s going on, and to finally stop the Capitol and all its tyranny.

            With friends revealed, plots uncovered, and secrets kept, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is sure to wow the audience with the insanely complex twists and turns that the main character is put through. Follow Katniss as she struggles both internally and externally with herself in order to find out the truth about her life and the lives of those around her. I’d recommend this book to anyone who has stuck with the story so far. As with the rest of the series,  Mockingjay is sure to catch your attention and keep you in suspense. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins reviewed by Tamalin Salisbury

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have just won the 75th Hunger Games, and for the first time in the history of the games, there are two winning tributes who also happen to be from the same district. Both Katniss and Peeta are allowed to go back home to District 12, where they will begin their new lives as Victors. Being a Victor has its perks, such as a new, very nice house, a place of honor in the history of the Capitol, and getting enough food to keep their families fed for the rest of their lives. However, there are also some downsides to being a Victor, one of them being the obligation of going around to the different Districts in what is known as the Victory Tour.

The Victory Tour isn't as happy and cheerful as the name suggests. While on their tour, Katniss and Peeta discover that the Victory Tour entails so much more than just waving and looking pretty for the crowd. These people are the families and friends of the other Tributes who died--no, were killed, in the Games, by Peeta and Katniss. How will these crowds react to the deaths of their loved ones by the Victors' hands? How will Peeta and Katniss react to the families of the friends, and enemies that were made during the Games? If you enjoy suspense, love triangles, and politicians being made absolute fools, read onward and find out what happens as these two Victors from District 12 embark on what is sure to be an interesting tour of the Capitol.

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis reviewed by Tamalin Salisbury

She isn't just your typical teenage girl. She doesn't wear polish or gloss. She doesn't read magazines or become an obsessed fan girl over the "hottie with a body" actors that seem to dominate Hollywood. She doesn't have a typical teenage girl family either: a supermodel mom, a movie director dad, and a treatment-writing little brother. She loves taking pictures of anything that interests her, and her crush next door is finally noticing her. Her world is perfect until the day her mother dies. Despite being only thirteen years old, Luna Clover takes the news of her mother's passing extremely well. A year later, however, she's still recovering. Father and daughter try to cope with the absence of the most amazing woman in their lives, each trying their best to lift the other up after the devastating blow. When Luna comes home from school one day, she has the urge to go to her mother's studio. She finds her mother's phone, fully charged with seven voicemail messages. Not knowing what else to do, she listens to the first message, and her whole world turns upside down.

Follow Luna on her quest to find out what really happened on the night of her mother's death, discovering a little more about that fateful night with every second. You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis depicts a side of life that many authors often overlook. We have all felt some form of the sorrow and heartbreak that follows the death of a loved one. Not many people like to talk about what happens after all of the tears have dried up and all of the cries have gone silent. This young-adults novel is sure to captivate you and your heart as you zoom in on the life of a distraught teenage girl trying to make sense of the world and understand why things happen the way they do. Luna will surely draw tears to your eyes as you experience what happens to those left behind after death from her point of view. 

Heaven Is For Real by Ted Burpo reviewed by Tamalin Salisbury

Heaven Is For Real by Ted Burpo is a riveting story about a little boy’s journey on a family trip to Greeley, Colorado. The Burpos are a small family in the little town of Imperial, Nebraska. Ted Burpo and his wife, Sonja, are living every day trying to make the best of what life gives them. Ted is a pastor at the local church while Sonja is a school teacher. They also run a garage door business which brings in most of their income. Cassie is their oldest daughter at the age of six. Colton is not even four years-old yet when he and his family travel to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte.

            It all started off with a stomachache. Ted had already had some intense medical history before when he broke his leg and his doctors found stones in his kidney. Having to send his toddler to the hospital because of a little stomachache did not seem like such a big problem in the beginning. The stomachache proved to be something even bigger, and while Colton is on the operating table, Ted questions his faith to God and Sonja nearly goes insane with worry and stress.

            Throughout the book, I found that my favorite parts all involve Colton talking to his dad. It is very amusing when a four year-old says something out loud with that childlike innocence only toddlers can have that completely baffles adults and leaves them speechless. It is also very cute when they have that look in their eyes that lets you know that they are “dead serious.”

            I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories that seem fictional and fantastical, but are actually very true. If you like stories where the role of adult and child are reversed, then you will love this book. Heaven is For Real has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things. Colton has touched my heart with his story, and I am sure that this toddler will touch yours as well.