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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2015 14:03:00 GMT
In preparation for the upcoming Mockingjay Part II film I have began re-reading the Hunger Games series. It's been a while since I've read the books, so I thought I'd brush up on the material. I originally read the books back in 2011 and devoured all three of them in 4 days. My first impression, after not having read the books in fours years, was that the writing was very basic. Short sentences, easy structure not very complicated which of course makes sense being as this is a series for teenagers/young adults. Although, I was a bit taken by the writing, it took me no time to get sucked into the story once again. I've grown fond of Katniss throughout the years but I'd forgotten how unlikable she is at the beginning of the series. Distrustful, bitter, calculating and slightly paranoid. The girl has some serious trust issues, it's not completely out of the blue, but still. Her attitude towards Peeta is a bit strange in that he is probably one of the few people who showed her kindness when she was at her lowest point, you would think that would mean something more than her feeling guilty about owning him. Of course I do understand that Katniss' behavior is meant to showcase a girl who has been living, for quite some time, on survival mode. She was forced at 11 to become the head of her household and since then her life has revolved around taking care of her family. She can't just turn that off, however, her distrustfulness seems a bit much, I think. Peeta on the other hand, is pretty much as I remember him. Good-natured but also smart and calculating though not in the way Katniss suspects. The other characters are pretty much like I remember them as well, however, Effie seems to be a bit harsher then I remember, not quite as bubbly. I think the movies have distorted my memory in that respect. I just finished Part I - The Tributes and I'm getting started on Part II - The Game.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2015 14:44:46 GMT
Oh shit, I realized I left my books at my room back home during the summer. :/ I'll see, I'm not sure if I'll be there to pick them until the movie release. Your Katniss observation is interesting, I'll respong when I'm home, it's such a pain to write long paragraphs on mobile.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2015 14:58:39 GMT
If you want to read the books you can online. I found this site but I know there are others. |
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Post by day dreamer on Oct 21, 2015 3:09:36 GMT
@moiaf That's one of the things I liked about the Hunger Games books, they were simple and quick to read. I'm looking forward to Mockingjay Part II because that's the interesting part of the novel. (Seriously, the first 1/3 of that book is SO boring) I thought that was when Katniss was the most unlikable, she felt like a completely different character in Mockingjay.
Katniss should've chosen Gale though, not gonna lie.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2015 12:07:21 GMT
@moiaf That's one of the things I liked about the Hunger Games books, they were simple and quick to read. I'm looking forward to Mockingjay Part II because that's the interesting part of the novel. (Seriously, the first 1/3 of that book is SO boring) I thought that was when Katniss was the most unlikable, she felt like a completely different character in Mockingjay. Katniss should've chosen Gale though, not gonna lie. While at first it's kind of jarring how simple they're written, you get use to it very quickly and the story just flies by. I actually find the books very entertaining, I wasn't bored the first time I read them and I'm not bored now. I'm actually excited to get home and read. I was always a team Peeta girl. I'm a sucker for a nice guy. Anyhow, I've read Part II: The Game and part of Part II: The Victor Once again Katniss makes me scratch my head. When she sees Peeta with the Careers she looses her shit and gets completely angry at him. She doesn't consider for a moment that this might be part of his plan, he has shown her on multiple occasions that he wants to help her, but her distrust is just too strong. This behavior seems at odds with her more calculating behavior throughout the games. How she's aware of the cameras and strategically plays to that, but can't seem to formulate a more complex understanding of who Peeta is and his own complex strategy for the game. Thankfully enough, we have little Rue setting her straight. This is one of my favorite parts of the books, her time with Rue. Here we really see a really human and vulnerable Katniss. We know about her love and devotion to Prim but their interaction is very little, it's mostly through Katniss' memories. However, here we see her iterating with Rue and can see her love and caring for Prim. I have to say that yet again, I cried like a little baby when Rue died. Breaks my heart every time in the books and the movie. At the end of Part II we get the announcement that two tributes from the same District could win The Hunger Games. I'm going to mentioned this again because I'm always going to be bitter about it. At the end of the chapter when this is announce Katniss is so filled with emotion that she shouts Peeta's name, this is an important moment because here we have Katniss just reacting. No calculation, nor overthinking, just a genuine reaction. In the movie they have Katniss meekly whisper Peeta's name, which is complete bullshit. Grrrr.... In Part III although Katniss is playing the game, we also see her genuinely happy to have Peeta's company and have the possibility of them both being Victors. There is calculation on her part but once again, like with Rue, we see caring Katniss, which I think is very important for her and her character development. |
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Post by day dreamer on Oct 21, 2015 13:02:26 GMT
@moiaf That's one of the things I liked about the Hunger Games books, they were simple and quick to read. I'm looking forward to Mockingjay Part II because that's the interesting part of the novel. (Seriously, the first 1/3 of that book is SO boring) I thought that was when Katniss was the most unlikable, she felt like a completely different character in Mockingjay. Katniss should've chosen Gale though, not gonna lie. While at first it's kind of jarring how simple they're written, you get use to it very quickly and the story just flies by. I actually find the books very entertaining, I wasn't bored the first time I read them and I'm not bored now. I'm actually excited to get home and read. I was always a team Peeta girl. I'm a sucker for a nice guy. Anyhow, I've read Part II: The Game and part of Part II: The Victor Once again Katniss makes me scratch my head. When she sees Peeta with the Careers she looses her shit and gets completely angry at him. She doesn't consider for a moment that this might be part of his plan, he has shown her on multiple occasions that he wants to help her, but her distrust is just too strong. This behavior seems at odds with her more calculating behavior throughout the games. How she's aware of the cameras and strategically plays to that, but can't seem to formulate a more complex understanding of who Peeta is and his own complex strategy for the game. Thankfully enough, we have little Rue setting her straight. This is one of my favorite parts of the books, her time with Rue. Here we really see a really human and vulnerable Katniss. We know about her love and devotion to Prim but their interaction is very little, it's mostly through Katniss' memories. However, here we see her iterating with Rue and can see her love and caring for Prim. I have to say that yet again, I cried like a little baby when Rue died. Breaks my heart every time in the books and the movie. At the end of Part II we get the announcement that two tributes from the same District could win The Hunger Games. I'm going to mentioned this again because I'm always going to be bitter about it. At the end of the chapter when this is announce Katniss is so filled with emotion that she shouts Peeta's name, this is an important moment because here we have Katniss just reacting. No calculation, nor overthinking, just a genuine reaction. In the movie they have Katniss meekly whisper Peeta's name, which is complete bullshit. Grrrr.... In Part III although Katniss is playing the game, we also see her genuinely happy to have Peeta's company and have the possibility of them both being Victors. There is calculation on her part but once again, like with Rue, we see caring Katniss, which I think is very important for her and her character development. Well, teenage girls are all over the place. At least I was. I actually took Katniss being angry at Peeta as her looking down on him. Like she didn't think he was smart enough to formulate his own plan. She sees him as weak. I do think the whisper works better than her shouting, that was a bit over the top, and not the best strategy wise if she doesn't want someone to find her. I think after everything that happened with Rue, she's more than willing to look at Peeta in a different light, which she does. |
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serpounce
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Post by serpounce on Oct 24, 2015 0:06:12 GMT
Just found this thread and I enjoyed reading your thoughts. I really liked this series overall and really liked it's ease to read through. I totally understand how it became such a teen favorite. I really loved Katniss, even at the beginning of the series when she's so cautious and bitter. It really felt right for the character and was refreshing to me to see a girl allowed to be angry without being too angry. I admit to being Team Gale as well although I always had a soft spot for Peeta. I liked the fire of Gale and Kat but I get why the novel takes the path it takes. That said, I really hated the 3rd book. I didn't like PTSD Kat although I get what the author was going after. And I hated, hated, HATED 'I'll settle for you, Peeta and Kat'. That felt like such a sad, pathetic existence, imo. But I think that was the point the author wanted to make. Anyway, this series makes me afraid for what GRRM might do with his ending.  Very afraid. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2015 0:09:05 GMT
For a Battle Royale ripoff, the book series was insanely good. Not real complicated. Not deep. Just a fun romp. The last two books dragged terribly in places, but they weren't incredibly long so they were easy to soldier through.
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serpounce
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Post by serpounce on Oct 24, 2015 0:12:25 GMT
For a Battle Royale ripoff, the book series was insanely good. Not real complicated. Not deep. Just a fun romp. The last two books dragged terribly in places, but they weren't incredibly long so they were easy to soldier through. Battle Royale and The Lottery. Really drives home the old saying that there's nothing new anymore. Just recycled and modernized. But I did like the books and the movies. |
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Post by day dreamer on Oct 24, 2015 2:40:36 GMT
Battle Royale is fucking brutal. I'm glad I watched that film. The Hunger Games certainly took a lot of liberties from that.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't care for Mockingjay Katniss. I get the PTSD route, but she felt like a completely different character.
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Very afraid.