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Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
message 101:
by
Diane
(new)
Mar 12, 2012 02:43PM
Well the part when Katniss was telling about the lynx that started following her when she out hunting. She said that she actually liked the companionship (my words not the books words) and felt bad when she had to kill it because it kept scaring her prey away. I think that says something about her character being a survivor and will kill when necessary even if she does not really want to. Also I had forgotten about her feelings toward her mother and the origins of the distrust she had. This also helped me understand her mistrust for Peeta which really annoyed me. Once somebody (especially so young) has been abandoned and neglected it is so hard to open up and trust anyone. This is another reason I loved her relationship with Gale.
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message 102:
by
Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder
(last edited Mar 12, 2012 03:36PM)
(new)
I feel like Gale doesn't get enough credit. He was there for her as a major support system. Peeta made his own sacrifices, but I think about some of the arena scenarios and imagine in my head how they would have played out had Gale been there instead of Peeta. I believe Gale would have constantly been a wall in front of Katniss, keeping her safe in a way Peeta never could. I'm not knocking Peeta because he's a different personality type, which is fine (my husband reminds me of Peeta in some ways). I just think that people focused so much on how Peeta tugged at the heartstrings and didn't really give Gale the credit he deserved. He was the solid rock who waited for his chance at happiness with Katniss. I admired that about him.
It's hard for me because I really didn't like Gale. So I tend to focus on the let downs. I think that he was there helping her before the games but once she volunteered he seemed to just, become so selfish I guess.
I don't get Gale either. Also when I re-read the books it felt like they had no chemistry. In the 3rd book Katniss said she was kissing him because there was no point. Worst reason EVER to kiss a boy.
I just finished Catching Fire and I have to say I am extremely pissed at how Katniss has been used. Does anyone else think that she was given the pin on purpose as a signal to get the ball rolling?
My copy of Catching Fire just came!! Now I can't wait to jump into it. >_<
LOL, you guys are zooming right along!!I never felt upset Lyzzi, I mean (view spoiler).
Please spoiler tag anything anything that might give away too much, please.
I do not think the pin was given with those intentions at all, especially when you read the origins of the pin.
Shera (Book Whispers) wrote: "My copy of Catching Fire just came!! Now I can't wait to jump into it. >_<"Refresh my memory...this is the first read for you?
Yep, this is a first read for me. I finished The Hunger Games last month.
I think Gale deserves a lot more credit than he gets, too. In rereading, you remember how much he was there for her before the whole series started, when her father died and her family was starving. He helped to teach her how to survive, and they had that pact, where he would look after Prim and her mom if she got chosen (which she did, and he did). He changes a lot later in the series, and that's the impression that everyone is left with - I don't think that should be the case.
I've never picked up the HG trilogy before but I've heard that the books are very good. I've also read online that a lot of people believe that Ms. Collins ripped of Battle Royale (A Japanese novel by Koushun Takami), but to each his/her own. It's hard to find a story that is truly, truly unique. At least in my opinion.
See, I can't help but focus on the fact that it said he did at first, but then something about how he wasn't able to continue doing much... I don't have the book in front of me to look it up. It made mention to how he didn't bring them much. Now he had his own family, so it's a bit understandable, but after the way he ignored her when she got back, I couldn't help but focus on that. If he hadn't been such a dick when she got back, I probably could have been more understanding.It felt like he was there for Katniss, provided she adore him. He was angry that Peeta and Katniss pretended to have feelings for each other, even though it's a big piece of why they both survived the way they did. Yes, there was a bit of truth to it, but mostly it was strategy. I just can't comprehend why he reacted the way he did. I think it showed his true colors, and this almost more than anything else is what turned me away from liking him.
message 114:
by
Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder
(last edited Mar 14, 2012 01:05PM)
(new)
Ternessa wrote: "I've never picked up the HG trilogy before but I've heard that the books are very good. I've also read online that a lot of people believe that Ms. Collins ripped of Battle Royale (A Japanese novel..."I had wondered that at first too, until I read Collins' own words on where she got the story from. It came from something she saw on the news, mixed with a story from Greek mythology.
I still haven't read Battle Royale but I have seen the movie. There are a lot of similarities in terms of the HG arena and the Battle. There are also similarities between the BR government and the HG government, but BR felt more urban and relatable with today's society. It starts out with kids hanging out at a school, showing them living a fairly normal life, not all that different from how we live today. In HG, life was completely different from what our standards would be. It was a new government controlling a new society after a cataclysmic type event.
HG also had a lot more backstory about the characters lives. In Battle Royale, we sort of caught glimpses of who a couple of the main characters were as they fought for their lives. It had more of a flashback feel in a sense.
Either way, I enjoyed both. Battle Royale was a trippy movie. It made me cringe a LOT though. Everything was pretty gory and that's why it was rated R. From what we've been told about HG, the gore will be toned down a bit.
At some point, I really should read BR though.
Honestly I don't like to "find the source" of the story. If you think about it pretty much every romance can tip it's hat to Shakespere, who has to tip his hate to many Greek myths. As long as they're not copying the story and changing the character names I'm happy. I enjoy reading different version of the same idea. For instance
could be a copy of Richelle Mead's VA series. I love both.OK I'll stop with my tangent.
I really liked reading Half Blood because it was worth the read for the enjoyment factor alone. A lot of action was packed into the book. Yet, I had such a hard time rating the book because almost every character and race detail was a ripoff of VA. As in, there's no way she didn't get the idea from VA. As in, just about everyone who's reviewed the book bitched about this. I had a lot of guilt for even giving the book 3 stars when it probably didn't even deserve that much credit. For me, it was a 4 star read for enjoyment but I couldn't rate that high due to the blatant copying.Sigh...sorry about getting back into that discussion. I know it was already hashed over in the currently reading topic a few months back.
That's OK. I think it was my fault. I had teh same problem rating it. It was a 5 for me purely on enjoyment, and I know it is a total rip off of VA.But I enjoyed it sooooooooo much. The author has room to seperate the series from VA.
All right I'm dropping it.
Haha. It's okay. I like discussions. Better than a quiet forum, right?I've heard that book 2 does separate off a bit more, so we'll see.
I went back and looked up the inspiration for the books in
It all started when author Suzanne Collins was up way too late one night, sitting on her couch and watching TV. She was flipping channels, switching between a reality show and news coverage of the Iraq war, when suddenly the images began to blur in her mind.
On one channel, young people were testing their limits and going to extremes to entertain an audience. On another channel, young people were fighting for their country and risking their lives.
An idea began to form.
What if a group of kids was required to fight — and risk their lives — as entertainment? Who would be watching? What would this show look like? Could anybody win these games? And what would happen if they did? Suzanne Collins was in the middle of writing a different book, but these questions lingered in her imagination.
Collins found inspiration in several places beyond her TV set. First, in her childhood love of Greek mythology, particularly the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. As part of the surrender terms of a war, King Minos of Crete required that the city of Athens send tribute to him in the form of seven youths and seven maidens. These tributes went into a labyrinth to face the Minotaur — half man and half monster — who would then destroy them all. This savagery continued until the Athenian prince, Theseus, went as tribute to Crete, and killed the Minotaur instead.
As a child, Suzanne Collins was struck by the cruelty of the Cretan king, and it stayed in the back of her mind as she began to construct the country of Panem, the setting for The Hunger Games. Like King Minos, Panem’s cold and calculating President Snow sends a clear message to his people. As Collins puts it: “Mess with us and we’ll do something worse than kill you. We’ll kill your children.”
One of Collins’s favorite movies is the classic Spartacus, based on the true story of a Roman slave. While being trained in a gladiator school, Spartacus and his mates overthrew their guards and escaped to freedom. Led by Spartacus, they were joined by other slaves, and the rebellion built to the Third Servile War with the Roman Empire. Like Katniss, Spartacus followed a path from slave to gladiator, from gladiator to rebel, and from rebel to the face of a war.
Most important, all of Collins’s ideas for the trilogy were steeped in the war stories she heard as a child. Her father had spent his entire career in the Air Force, as a military specialist as well as a historian and a doctor of political science. He served in Vietnam when Collins was six, and moved the family between the US and Europe for his work after he returned. War was never far from his mind, and he had a unique gift for making the subject come alive for his four children.
I just had a thought. Christmas time is going to be a bit bizarre. You know the stores are going to have Hunger Games pillows, bedding, board games, posters, etc. etc. for sale just about everywhere. It's going to be a tween dream.Heck, there's already makeup...
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Oh wouldn't that be fun to dress up as Effie for Halloween :)
Wow!! I love the butterfly lashes.
Effie scares me! LOL But her lashes are rockin
LOL, she does look a bit washed out and scary. But it would make a super cool halloween costume.
I definitely agree, those eye lashes are bad ass!
Just saw this on Pintrest and I have to share.
I knew there was a reason I loved those two! haha, awesome.
Since I was sick this whole week, I fell infinitely behind on my reading schedule.I still wanna try and re-read The Hunger Games though. Its been a long while since I read it, and I want a fresh memory to compare the book and the movie
This is my favorite series to date, with the second being my favorite. Unlike most people I really enjoyed the third book. I just think some people had a hard time facing all the ugliness that war brings. Its never pretty and there's rarely a happy ending.
ah, I totally haven't been participating in this discussion. Sorry about that. I am going to re-read the book starting tonight though because my friends invited me to join them to see the midnight showing of the movie. just bought my ticket last night. I'm so excited! :D
yes!!! scored tickets for the 21st! My brother is most awesome! we're all going :)
^^ Woot woot! I wish I could go as soon as it is out, but I am sick all the time and I can't sit for long without hurting too much. I will be going for sure, but probably a matinee so I won't have to wait in line long. I am not reading the book again. I haven't read it in 3 years and I don't want to pick the movie apart like I know I will if it is fresh.
Carrie (Care) wrote: "I am not reading the book again. I haven't read it in 3 years and I don't want to pick the movie apart like I know I will if it is fresh"I re-read in the fall. I tried to talk myself out of it because I don't want to pick apart the movie. But I really wanted to re-read so I decided to anyways. I'm usually not that picky about movie adaptions really.
I haven't got my tickets to the movie. I thought about doing a midnight release then realized since I have work the next day and an event (work) on Saturday that maybe I should be a good grown-up and hold off till Sunday. Only if Kentucky's still in the NCAA tournament I'd have to wait to see that schedule.
I'm getting my tickets tomorrow for Thursday night. I'm really freaking excited.
Now I'm in love with Peeta more. Snapes has always been my fave.
My husband surprised me by purchasing the tickets for the 11pm show on Friday.
I think he's looking forward to it as much as I am, since it's one of the only books of mine he's read and he knows what's going to happen.
LOL!! Not so sweet anymore . . . ^_-
Awwww.. I still think its sweet Stacia. Even though it serves a purpose for him too.. It's kinda like when they buy you underwear, so they can see you in it! LMBO!
It is sweet, lol. My husband refuses to go to the midnight show with me. He says he doesn't want to sit elbow to elbow with people.
My husband's the same way, which might be another reason I was surprised. After the fiasco that was "I am Number Four" and him telling the kids behind us to shut the fuck up...yeah.
Hahaha, my hsband has done that before too. But I think the crowning moment was when the guy behind us started hacking and coughed up a piece of chewed popcorn that landed on my husband's arm. He said he was horrified and disgusted and froze, just staring at it shimmering to the lights from the screen. Ever since, he just won't do it. And that was back when King Kong was released.
LMBO!!!! I'm sorry *hides grin*
message 146:
by
Stacia (the 2010 club), groupaholic, YA-MA founder
(last edited Mar 19, 2012 02:19PM)
(new)
Oh man. I have stories about food spitting. When a few of us had flown down to Dallas for a Cowboys game, we got stuck in front of some game regulars who were screaming and spitting food the entire time. My dad actually walked out of the game with food all over his back and shoulders. My father in law was clutching his seat in an attempt not to turn around and start a fight.You haven't lived until you've heard a man scream, "Tony Romo you're drunk!!!" over and over for hours.
It was one of those situations that was awful as we were going through it, but made for a lot of laughs afterward. To this day, we still yell, "TONY ROMO YOU'RE DRUNK" when he's on television.
we're in line for the movie right now... been waiting ages but still stoked. in the mean time i've been making good headway with 1q84... i'd post pictures of myself sprawled (not really) just sitting pretty head in book and thick jacket (we came prepared and a good three hours early)who's excited? me!
Yay! Lucky you. :) I think we are going Sunday around 4pm. Less people and lines, and around that time I am not usually as sick. I am so excited!!!
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Hunger Games (other topics)The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion (other topics)
Half-Blood (other topics)
The Hunger Games: Official Illustrated Movie Companion (other topics)
Gone (other topics)
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