Yup, you read it right. I'm going to be talking about The Hunger Games today. Over the past few months I have become completely OBSESSED with THG. Today I wanted to talk about each book (and film) and give you my thoughts and just have a, one-sided, chat!
P.S: This post will contain MAJOR spoilers so if you haven't read/watched ALL of them, just read the sections that you already know and skip out on the rest or don't read at all (although that makes me sad.) Enjoy!:-)
The Hunger Games:
Firstly, The Hunger Games. THG has to be my favourite book in the trilogy, however they all have their own special perks. THG is the best in terms of description and sets the whole scene to the other books really nicely. It introduces the characters well and makes them memorable. Catching Fire has the best storyline and Mockingjay is the best paced (more on those points soon,) but THG comes out on top for me. I love how you can get a feel of Katniss' emotions throughout the book and the ending is very good. I love how each chapter ends on a cliff-hanger of some sort. The first film is a different director to the other 3 films (2 of which aren't out yet.) I think they did an excellent job at the reaping scene, especially with Effie's character. I love seeing how she develops throughout the film. I actually read an article yesterday and Elizabeth Banks (the actress who plays Effie) improvises most of Effie's lines which I think is awesome! You get to see how Katniss and Peeta's relationship develops and that they have to act for the cameras. You see the frustration of the Capitol when they pull out the berries, making you want to see how that affects Katniss in the second film. I think they stuck to the book fairly well, but some things are missed which are quite important such as: Katniss' hearing loss, Peeta's leg amputation, the fact that Katniss tricks Peeta with the sleep medicine, Katniss' dehydration, the length of time in which it takes Cato to die etc.
Catching Fire:
Now, Catching Fire. CF was probably my least favourite book, but, between the two films that are out now, it is my favourite film. As I said above, it has the best storyline. It's very interesting how all of the tributes go back into the arena and I love all of the new characters. I like these tributes better than the tributes in the previous book/film, as I think they were cast very well. I'm completely obsessed with the arena in this one, It's just incredible! I love that it's a clock and the threats are interesting to see (the fog, the monkeys, the jabberjays etc.) There's a lot of emotional scenes in CF like when the man from District 11 is shot, the beach scene and the ending is SO powerful. It's such a cliff-hanger ending and I was so sad at how upset Katniss was. I love the interviews in this film. You get to see the emotions of the tributes and how much they want to stop the games. Joanna Mason's interview stands out to me. Most people see it as aggressive, but I also think it's emotional and upsetting. The negatives about the book are that it takes a long time until the games start. Most of the book is the victory tour and a build-up. I didn't like the part where Katniss enters the woods and finds the two people from District 8, because I got slightly bored and I'm glad that it wasn't included in the film. I think they stuck to the book better in this film, only missing out a few details like: The district 8 tributes (as I mentioned,) a few mentions of Katniss being pregnant in the arena, Plutarch's pocketwatch etc. I feel like I kind of rushed the second book, therefore I don't remember much of it, but I'll be reading the trilogy again in the future. I was so shocked at one of the scenes. It was when Finnick and Katniss were talking. Finnick has a sugar cube and is talking to Katniss and in the film, they copy the book by the letter. I found it awesome to see that they didn't stray from the book whatsoever. One of the parts I find sad, is when Cinna dies. Cinna was one of my favourite characters and it was sad to see him go.
Mockingjay:
Finally, Mockingjay. I finished this book a couple of days ago and it is so close to overtaking as my favourite book. Sometimes I'm certain that this is my favourite and other times it leans towards the first one. Either way, It's an incredible book. I read that Suzanne Collins was not planning on writing a forth book. I saw this before reading Mockingjay and was slightly disappointed, but after reading Mockingjay, I feel like a sequel could ruin it. It would be nice to see what happens and how it all plays out, but I'm pleased with how Mockingjay ends. It is probably the saddest book I have ever read. At first, I thought that I wasn't going to enjoy it as much, because it is mainly focused around war, but it was well balanced and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It starts where they arrive at District 13 and immediately it begins to strike you. When Katniss' prep team were being tortured I was so upset. It's nice to see how Prim has matured and that she trains to be a doctor. When they finally get Peeta back, I was in shock when he strangled her. It was after midnight and I wanted to sleep but the book was so intense I just HAD to keep reading! It's quite sad to see how cold and mean Peeta is after the tracker jacker venom distorted his memory, because you associate him with being kind and helpful. I also got quite sad when Boggs died, as it is unexpected. The war is very emotional and you can see just how evil the Capitol is. It's upsetting when you see how much Peeta wants to die, but when they play the 'Real or not real' game and Katniss and Peeta's relationship starts to mend, it shows that they both care about each other. When Finnick and the others sacrificed themselves I was also really upset, because in the third book, Finnick seemed so fragile and sad. The last few chapters of the book are so, so, so sad! You can't read Mockingjay without crying. When Prim died I was so annoyed at Gale, because it was likely to be his bomb. Prim was starting to become a mature, lovely teenager and knowing that she died is awful. When Katniss goes back to District 13, it really starts to get emotional. When she killed President Coin, it was very sudden. It was something I didn't predict. After Peeta stopped Katniss from taking the nightlock pill, she tries to starve herself. It was awful to see how depressed she had become and that she had just given up, because she thought they would execute her. Eventually, she lets them do whatever they want and she heads back to District 12. To see how 12 has changed from book 1 to book 3 is incredible. Hardly anyone remains and even Katniss' Mum and Gale are no longer there. It's as if the whole world had just gone. It's awful how Katniss sits in the same place for ages, until Buttercup turns up and I could imagine in my head what the scene with Buttercup would be like. When she finally see's Peeta after months and things start to get back on track with her health, I still felt sad about the situation, but things were getting better. The last page is so sad and when you look back at how things have changed between Katniss and Peeta it's so (insert describing word that I can't think of.) In the epilogue, you can see that Katniss and Peeta have children and that, even though they both get nightmares, they are happy. The last line of the epilogue made me flashback to the whole series and it is an excellent line to seal the whole story. I really hope that the epilogue is included with a voiceover of Katniss' thoughts that are shown in the book and especially the last line. The ending of Mockingjay gives me this feeling, but I can't describe or express what it is. I am unbelievably excited for the next 2 films, but I can't figure out where they will split the book. Either way, I think the actors/actresses will really be able to get emotions across in the film. Anyway, whilst I explode in a mountain of feels, let's talk about the characters!
Katniss- Katniss is the main character and the books give you even more of an insight on her personality than the film does. She's quite stubborn, but she really does care. I think Jennifer Lawrence plays her really well, not that Jennifer is stubborn or anything! Jennifer seems lovely :)
Peeta- Peeta is the opposite of Katniss which helps, because they balance each other out. He is charismatic and also really kind and gentle. I feel like Peeta gives good advice too. Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta really well and is just how I would imagine Peeta to be.
Effie- Effie is one of my favourite characters. She's so funny and (I know I've said this a lot but) Elizabeth Banks plays her amazingly! I love the Capitol accent and you can see that Effie wants the games to stop too. She only makes a brief appearance in Mockingjay, but It's nice to see her.
Cinna- Unfortunately, Cinna dies in CF, but he was one of my favourite characters. I think he is probably one of the best cast characters in THG series. Lenny Kravitz plays Cinna so well and I think they did an excellent job at casting. Cinna plays a big role in how Katniss is portrayed to the rest of the districts and the Capitol and it's interesting to see how he does that.
Haymitch- The character of Haymitch is very interesting, because when he isn't drunk (AKA 5% of the time:P) he gives good advice and he gets to control who survives in the arena. Katniss often gets annoyed at him, but also goes to him if she needs a shoulder to cry on. Again, Woody Harrelson does a great job.
Plutarch- Firstly, I love Plutarch's name! Secondly, he plays a huge role in Mockingjay. He tries to keep the rebellion going and believes that Katniss is the Mockingjay. Unfortunately, the actor that played Plutarch, Philip Seymour Hoffman, died recently. Online it says that he won't be recast. Instead they will use CGI to film the scenes that he was unable to film. Plutarch is an interesting character and it will be good to see what is included in the film about him.
President Snow- Snow is especially cruel in Mockingjay and definitely likes to play 'mind games' with Katniss. He isn't initially killed by Katniss like he was supposed to be, but he does die. He is the main villain and seeing him being beaten is great!
Finnick, Beetee & Joanna- These were the tributes that made it out of the games, besides Enobaria, but we don't get to know much about her character. I really love the character of Beetee, because he is very intelligent and it's nice that he gets to design things like weapons for Katniss, Gale, Finnick etc. We definitely get to see another side of Finnick in Mockingjay, compared to how 'big-headed' he seems in CF. Joanna is one of those characters that acts tough and seems quite aggressive, but deep down, Joanna was very emotional. There was nobody left that she loved and when you find out that she was tortured by being soaked in water and electrocuted, meaning she was too scared to even shower, you feel very sad for her.
I know I've missed out a ton of characters but I've been writing this for over an hour now and I don't want it to be stupidly long (which it already is:/)
Lastly, I want to share some quotes from the books/films that I love. THG series has some very emotional/inspirational quotes and there will be some Effie (AKA funny) quotes thrown into the mix!
'Fire is catching and if we burn, you burn with us!' (Veryyy powerful)
'There are much worse games to play.' (This is the last line that will make you cry D:)
'I drag myself out of nightmares each morning and know there's no relief in waking.' (Another super sad one)
'Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.' (The song that has lots of meaning)
'They'll either want to kill you, kiss you or be you.'
'Stay with me. Always'
'We fight, we dare, we end our hunger for justice'
'If he wants me broken then I will have to be whole'
'Real'
'The odds are never in our favour'
'That is mahogany!'
'For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first'
'I'm more than just a piece in their games'
'Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear'
'It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together than it does to fall apart'
'Happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favour!'
All right! That's it. If you would like to see/hear more about mostly Mockingjay and also the quotes that I just shared and what I think of them, watch out on my second channel (youtube.com/moreshona) for a video!
Question of the blog: Have you read/watched THG series?
Quote: All of the above^
-Shona xo
