Top Ten Tuesday (July 17) – Top Ten Books For People Who Like The Hunger Games

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you by the masterminds over at The Broke and the Bookish!

This week, we’re picking book recommendations for people who liked a certain book, and while I’m sure my choice is going to be popular, I’m doing it anyway because when I finished this book, I could have used a list like this. Don’t get me wrong — this list exists, all over the Internet, and I’m sure many more versions are going to pop up today. But the ones I found led me wrong. They suggested books I didn’t like. So I’m making my own.

Warning: I’m going to genre-hop a bit.

Top Ten Books for People Who Like The Hunger Games Series…

…for the Action

The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

…for the Dystopian Setting

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

…for the Action AND the Dystopian Setting

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

…for the Strong Heroine

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

…for the Plot

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

[Disclaimer: I have not read this book, but I hear the plot is very similar to Hunger Games. I’ve also read interviews with Suzanne Collins where she said she didn’t know this book existed prior to her writing HG, and I believe her. Sometimes people just have similar ideas. It’s happened to me. It could happen to you. But I also think this list would be incomplete if it didn’t include the book that Hunger Games is most often compared to.]

Happy reading everyone!

Top Ten Tuesday (May 1): Books I’d Like to See Made Into a Movie

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the folks over at The Broke and the Bookish, so that we can all make and read lists to our hearts’ content.

Ahhh, lists. Why are you so much fun?

This week’s top 10 is a topic near and dear to my heart, because I spend way more time than is (probably) healthy thinking about this very subject. And the topic is:

Top Ten Books You’d Like To See Made Into A Movie

[Disclaimer: I know several of these have already been optioned for movies. However, until I see that casting is occurring and a production schedule is out and a release date is set, I don’t see any of them as sure things. Hollywood is a fickle mistress.]


Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. This would either have to be a heavily edited version to fit into a movie, or a show on cable. I’d prefer a show on cable (as long as it’s a channel I get!), so we could really explore the developing relationship between Claire and Jamie, as well as all the incredibly intricate plot surrounding the clans and the war.

 

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Actually, the entire Farseer series, followed by the Tawny Man series (throwing Liveships in the middle would probably just be too confusing). But this one would have to be a cable series. It is way, way too complex for a movie. Even with a Peter Jackson 3.5 hour Lord of the Rings treatment. It would be an amazing series, though.

 


Hourglass by Myra McEntire. This one would be a really fun movie, appealing to both the teen crowd (because of the teenage protagonists and the love story) and the sci-fi crowd (because of the time travel and powers). It’s got a good amount of action, but also really interesting story. I picture some pretty nifty special effects too.

 

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. If they could somehow get around the difficulties in casting, especially for Tally and Shay, this would be a really exciting movie. Lots of running and flying and explosions and craziness. Plus, it would surely draw big crowds, what with all the pretty (or Pretty) people in it. And, as a bonus, it has sequels and even a spin-off ready to go.

 

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I know this would be tricky, watching Sam relive the same day seven times, but I really enjoyed Groundhog Day, so I think it can be done. Plus, I just saw this one as a movie in my head while I was reading. I want to see Sam transform. I want to fall in love with Kent. I want my heart to break for Juliet. This is one that I know has been optioned for film, and I really, really hope it happens.

 

Delirium by Lauren Oliver. (Yes, I do love me some Lauren Oliver books. Why do you ask?) I am fascinated by this world where love is a disease. I want to see how it works, how these families function. And of course I want to see Alex, and watch him break through Lena’s defenses. Movies about a sweet love story with some action and sci-fi thrown in are my cup of tea.

 

Glitch by Heather Anastasiu. This one takes inspiration from all sorts of things that did well at the box office — X-Men, Hunger Games, Twilight — as well as several books that I imagine would do well at the box office, like Delirium and Divergent. It is heavy on the sci-fi and action for the guys, and of also has the teen love triangle to draw in the girls (although, I’m a girl and I’d be drawn in by the sci-fi action).

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Talk about a book that was written to be turned into a movie! Everything about this book seemed cinematic to me, from the trains to the Dauntless compound, to the initiation challenges and the fear landscapes, to the behemoth finale. I’m pretty sure this one has also already been optioned, and I am really excited to see if it happens. It will be a pretty awesome action movie.

 

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I know that Ender’s Game is already well on its way to the big screen, but I hope they keep going and make this one too. Yeah, it will be even more challenging casting Bean on the streets of Rotterdam than Ender in Battle School, but Bean’s backstory is fascinating. Also, I think the rest of the Shadow series would translate better to film than the Ender sequels.

 

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis. I know that theoretically, this one is going to be the next Narnia movie, but I’m more than a bit skeptical that it will actually get made (the IMDB page is woefully blank right now). However, considering this is my favorite of the Narnia books, and also completely different from all the others, I really hope I’m wrong. I want to see the creation of Narnia and all the different worlds that can be accessed through the magic pools!

 

Of course, if I had my druthers, I’d probably see a movie made from every book I ever enjoyed, since I love movies and books so much. And then I’d probably complain that most of them didn’t do the book justice. Such is the nature of the beast.

Review: Pandemonium, by Lauren Oliver (@oliverbooks @harperteen)

WARNING: Spoilers for Delirium ahead.

Pandemonium is the second book in Lauren Oliver’s Delirium Trilogy. In the first book, Delirium, Lena lives in a future dystopian United States, where love has been designated a disease, and everyone is cured on their 18th birthday. Lena was eagerly anticipating her “cure” and her orderly, predictable life to follow, free from the “Deliria” that leads to mood swings, irrational behavior, violence, and death. That is, until she meets Alex, an “Invalid” from The Wilds – a boy who has never been cured and doesn’t believe that love is something that needs a cure. Alex teaches Lena about love, and they plan to escape Portland to live in The Wilds together. But in the end, Alex sacrifices himself to allow Lena to escape.

Pandemonium’s narrative alternates between two separate time lines. The first picks up right where Delirium ends. It follows Lena in the days, weeks, and months after she has escaped Portland, losing Alex in the process. Predictably, she meets up with other Invalids living in The Wilds, and slowly assimilates to life with them. Away from the familiar comforts of the city. Away from fear of the Deliria. Away from Alex.

The second takes place several months later. Lena is now an active part of the resistance, and is living undercover in New York City. Her cover is that she is part of a new political movement – the DFA or “Deliria-Free America.” The movement’s mission is for the cure to be administered to everyone in America before their 18th birthday. Lena’s mission is to keep an eye on the DFA, especially its leaders: Thomas Fineman and his son, Julian.

[Spoilers Ahead]

But everything turns to chaos when Scavengers – a violent extremist group of uncureds – attack a DFA rally, and Lena and Julian are kidnapped and held hostage together. Their captivity forces them to question their preconceived notions about each other and about who their enemies really are.

Pandemonium was an enjoyable, exciting, fast-paced book. I did find it a bit predictable – I wasn’t nearly as surprised as Lena at the twists and turns of the plot – but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of it at all. And as much as I loved Alex in Delirium and I wasn’t sure initially if I would be able to accept if Lena moved on, I found that I loved Julian just as much as Alex. I appreciated how the evolution of Lena and Julian’s relationship mirrored that of Lena and Alex – but with Lena’s role reversed.

Ultimately, I thought Pandemonium was a great set-up for the third book in the trilogy. I anticipate the conclusion to the Delirium Trilogy will contain lots of action, a likely love triangle (which is overdone in YA books, but in a world where the entire plot focuses around the benefits and drawbacks of falling in love, it probably can’t be avoided), and Lena’s deeper involvement with the resistance. It answered some questions set up in Delirium while asking several more. And it introduced us to some great new characters.

My frustrations with the book were minor. I missed the characters from Delirium (but I suspect some of them will pop up in the 3rd book). I couldn’t understand how just a couple days lost in the woods resulted in Lena needing weeks to recuperate, considering how physically fit she was at the end of Delirium. And several of Lena’s great plans just seemed far too simple (especially in the couple parts where she has to deal with key codes).

But overall, none of that was enough to take away from my enjoyment of the book. The storytelling was excellent, and I found myself completely immersed in the characters and world that Ms. Oliver created. I’m intrigued and excited to see how she wraps up Lena’s story in book 3.

Content guide: Contains scenes of violence and peril.