Hunger Games?

[Nikki]

Did anyone finish the book? I'm in the middle of it, but wondering if anyone wants to start a discussion.

[Kashi]

i already read it aways back, so i'm through it :) what do you think so far? i spent the beginning of the book being annoyed by katniss' mom for not being able to handle what life threw at her and putting the burden on her daughter.

[Margot (~Tuck~)]

I loved this book! I thought it was very moving, and definitely an emotional ride - I went from sad to angry to hopeful and everything in between! Apparently, a movie is being made (which I always get irritated when a movie is made from a book that I enjoy - it always gets messed up!). I too, was angry at Katniss' mother for leaving the girls to fend for themselves. I know she was heartbroken, but it's not fair to place that kind of responsibility on a child. However, because Katniss was the one who took care of the family, the skills she learned served her well.

[Kashi]

yeah, it definitely worked out well for her... but also caused her to develop a pretty tough personality - again, served her well for the tasks, but not the easiest way to live a happy, satisfied life. i guess, though, coming from her district, not too many people were living satisfied lives.
at first, i found the idea of children killing each other to almost be physically nauseous. it got easier for me to stomach as time went on, but i bet i'll have a pretty visceral reaction to the movie.

i don't mind books being made into movies - i like to see how someone else's vision compares to the world i created in my mind for them. the thing i hate is when i see the movie first (like i did with dragon tat) or if there are many movies (like with harry p) b/c then my mind just uses those images instead of creating its own!

which district ploy do you think is better - leave the kids to have a noram childhood and then try to prepare them for the horror of war (as it were) OR groom them from the get-go so they don't know any different?

[Becky]

I really enjoyed the book. At first I wasn't sucked in as much as I thought I was but by the time I figured out what the Hunger Games were all about I couldn't put the book down. The flashbacks of what Katniss's dad taught her about hunting/life really helped develop her.

The connection that she had with Ruth?(the girl from district 11) was very important to Katniss's character and how much the Hunger Games changed her.

It is sad to think that people live in such a war ruled society, but it's not that far from the truth.

I already stated the second book and am half way through it:)

[Margot (~Tuck~)]

I really do like reading post-apocalyptic type books, and this one was no exception! I too, am already reading the second one!

Chris, that is a very good question. My initial response would be to groom them, but those who have everything handed to them don't have that extra edge. Yes, the kids in the book had been trained to fight, but not necessarily to survive (the blowing up of the food really hurt those who had been groomed). I think that survival skills are far more important then just being the biggest and the baddest.

Please fogive any spelling errors, I have no idea how to spell-check here.

[Wyodawn]

This isn't the kind of book I would normally read, but I loved it! I guess that's one good thing about book clubs :) Next it's being passed to my fiance & then my daughter. I really wanted to start the next book, but it's only out hardbound & I didn't want to take it to the lake so I started something else.

I think Katniss had the edge because no one specifically taught her "this, this & this is what you need to survive." Instead, she took a bit of knowledge of her mother's herbs, with a bit of advice from her dad, and her experiences with Gale, and her observations in the woods and then recalled them all to her benefit. I think this taught her more strategic reasoning than some others had.