I don't know. I like Peeta. A lot. And Gale didn't fit right with me. Dunno what it was. We'll have to disagree.
Cinna ♥ times ten.
Agreed on Katniss voting for more Hunger Games. That made no sense to me.
Haymitch. ♥
How Katniss seemed like a Mary Sue for so much of Book 1? Ugh. She didn't really kill anyone except in revenge of Rue. She seemed too perfect to me. I don't know. Did you get that vibe at all?
I was honestly pretty indifferent to Peeta. I felt he had a great way with words and that that was his true talent. I think I could have really liked a Peeta and Katniss friendship. But they were in a fake relationship from the very beginning, so you didn't really get to see them as just friends. That, and I hated the star-crossed lovers bit. But Peeta as a character wasn't too bad. It was just what Collins did with him. That, and the way Katniss was fixating on him in book three in between her bouts of angst and rage. I just didn't care much about him.
You know, I never really got a Mary Sue vibe from Katniss in book one. But I can see where you're coming from looking back. And I can sorta not blame her for not wanting to kill people, but then again, it was lame that she only killed when it was justified. Mostly, my issues with Katniss begin in Book 3.
I agreed on more than just Cinna!!! Lots of the points that you made I hadn't really thought about. Really, all I disagree with you on is Peeta v Gale.
Apparently, you aren't the only one to disagree with all of my points. I'm quickly finding out that I hold all the unpopular opinions about this series as a look at other posts and forums. But hey, at least everyone seems to love Cinna
( ... )
THANK YOU. Someone who feels about The Hunger Games like I do. I totally agree - it DID fall apart in the end. That entire last book had so much potential, but the pacing was so off and there were so many things that happened that felt like cop outs... It was like she hadn't planned that entire book at all. I like Mockingjay for some brilliant scenes, but as a book, I really think it's the worst one in the trilogy
( ... )
That entire last book had so much potential, but the pacing was so off and there were so many things that happened that felt like cop outs... It was like she hadn't planned that entire book at all.
THIS! So hard! I don't know how many times throughout the final book I had to reread something, hoping for clarification and not getting any, or just wondering what the hell was going on. The pacing was terrible, on the whole. Was it just me, or did it feel like it came from a completely different author. Like Collins gave up and had a mediocre fanfic writer write the last book for her? There were a lot of brilliant scenes, but the whole think felt very lackluster, especially for the final book.
It just felt like she didn't know what to do with Gale so she just... got rid of him. She never had Katniss thoroughly choose, and honestly, in a book like this, it seems like it was better off never having a love triangle.Again, you have hit the nail on the head. I don't live for shipping, though I do tend to gravitate towards couples as I read
( ... )
Was it just me, or did it feel like it came from a completely different author. Like Collins gave up and had a mediocre fanfic writer write the last book for her? There were a lot of brilliant scenes, but the whole think felt very lackluster, especially for the final book.
YES. That's the exact feeling I got from it too.
And yeah, Gale's ending was all wrong, and completely against the kind of person he was. *sigh* This book really made me question if Collins knew her characters at all.
I do like the series as well, but I definitely don't like it so much that I am blinded by its flaws (which are many and quite large come the end).
And THIS exactly. I enjoyed reading the series and I know what she was trying to do with it, but there are just so many things in Mockingjay that make it impossible for me to love it like that.
LATE TO THE PARTY BUT HEREEEEcelestineangelSeptember 24 2011, 00:06:26 UTC
I knew what was up with the Mockingjay watch as soon as it was flashed, as I think most readers do. Having it take so long for Katniss to figure out was frustrating.
I agree with you on this. What makes it even worse, to me, than if Katniss were too stupid to figure it out is that she's not stupid, not at all--Katniss just doesn't give enough of a fuck about what's going on around her to spend more than three seconds on the matter. For me, Katniss was just... a really freaking frustrating narrator for so, so many reasons, the others of which you know because you read my review. ^_^
I agree with you on most points, and on the ones I don't, I am pretty ambivalent about them, so... ^_^
Re: LATE TO THE PARTY BUT HEREEEEmuseme87September 26 2011, 16:09:37 UTC
Yeah, Katniss was a frustrating narrator, especially in books 2 and 3. I didn't so much mind her in one, but as the books started to lose their footing, so did Katniss.
I just finished all three books yesterday, and I actually agree with quite a few of your points.
I would've rather Katniss ended up alone or just friends with both of the guys than being with Peeta in the end. Especially after all that happened in Book 3. It just seemed too much like a pity relationship to me. I also hate that he pretty much convinced her to have kids, when she was so dead set against having them in the beginning. I know her main reason not to have them was because of the Hunger Games, but still, I was like, "Who are you?" I really liked her in the first and second books and then in the third she changed so much, way too fast.
Cinna!!! <333 I was sure he'd appear alive and well at some point, (I mean, they did it for Effie, but not him???) or at least someone would tell Katniss what exactly had happened to him, but no
( ... )
I feel like Mockingjay made the whole series fall apart. So many lists now have Katniss listed as some "strong female character", but I honestly can't agree with that since the final book. She just falls into the social expectations of women--marriage and family--when, like you said, I honestly don't believe that she ever wanted either. And I don't believe that she was in love with Peeta. The whole this just feels off to me.
I was expecting Cinna to come back too! I loved him so much, and I think it was a mistake for Collins to just leave his death the way she did.
I did enjoy the books, but I don't think I could really call myself a huge fan of them. There were just too many things that didn't jive for me to love them or overlook some criticisms. People kept hyping it as the next Harry Potter, but it's definitely not. Maybe it comes near it as a cultural phenomena, but definitely not in quality.
I would never describe The Hunger Games as the next Harry Potter. The only similarity is really as a cultural phenomena, as you said. (Whenever critics say stuff like that, it feels too much like a marketing ploy or something for me to take it seriously--after all, I remember when they were saying that about Twilight.)
It would be nice to experience another big, exciting series like HP was, but I'm not sure if we'll ever have anything quite like it again. Or if we, now older and less easily taken in, would get as emotionally invested in it. But I'll keep looking. ^_^
Comments 14
Cinna ♥ times ten.
Agreed on Katniss voting for more Hunger Games. That made no sense to me.
Haymitch. ♥
How Katniss seemed like a Mary Sue for so much of Book 1? Ugh. She didn't really kill anyone except in revenge of Rue. She seemed too perfect to me. I don't know. Did you get that vibe at all?
Reply
You know, I never really got a Mary Sue vibe from Katniss in book one. But I can see where you're coming from looking back. And I can sorta not blame her for not wanting to kill people, but then again, it was lame that she only killed when it was justified. Mostly, my issues with Katniss begin in Book 3.
Reply
♥ you > Cinna
Reply
And I'm not saying you disagreed with me. Just a lot of people on various posts/forums I've skimmed through since finishing.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Reply
THIS! So hard! I don't know how many times throughout the final book I had to reread something, hoping for clarification and not getting any, or just wondering what the hell was going on. The pacing was terrible, on the whole. Was it just me, or did it feel like it came from a completely different author. Like Collins gave up and had a mediocre fanfic writer write the last book for her? There were a lot of brilliant scenes, but the whole think felt very lackluster, especially for the final book.
It just felt like she didn't know what to do with Gale so she just... got rid of him. She never had Katniss thoroughly choose, and honestly, in a book like this, it seems like it was better off never having a love triangle.Again, you have hit the nail on the head. I don't live for shipping, though I do tend to gravitate towards couples as I read ( ... )
Reply
YES. That's the exact feeling I got from it too.
And yeah, Gale's ending was all wrong, and completely against the kind of person he was. *sigh* This book really made me question if Collins knew her characters at all.
I do like the series as well, but I definitely don't like it so much that I am blinded by its flaws (which are many and quite large come the end).
And THIS exactly. I enjoyed reading the series and I know what she was trying to do with it, but there are just so many things in Mockingjay that make it impossible for me to love it like that.
Reply
I agree with you on this. What makes it even worse, to me, than if Katniss were too stupid to figure it out is that she's not stupid, not at all--Katniss just doesn't give enough of a fuck about what's going on around her to spend more than three seconds on the matter. For me, Katniss was just... a really freaking frustrating narrator for so, so many reasons, the others of which you know because you read my review. ^_^
I agree with you on most points, and on the ones I don't, I am pretty ambivalent about them, so... ^_^
Reply
Reply
I would've rather Katniss ended up alone or just friends with both of the guys than being with Peeta in the end. Especially after all that happened in Book 3. It just seemed too much like a pity relationship to me. I also hate that he pretty much convinced her to have kids, when she was so dead set against having them in the beginning. I know her main reason not to have them was because of the Hunger Games, but still, I was like, "Who are you?" I really liked her in the first and second books and then in the third she changed so much, way too fast.
Cinna!!! <333 I was sure he'd appear alive and well at some point, (I mean, they did it for Effie, but not him???) or at least someone would tell Katniss what exactly had happened to him, but no ( ... )
Reply
I was expecting Cinna to come back too! I loved him so much, and I think it was a mistake for Collins to just leave his death the way she did.
I did enjoy the books, but I don't think I could really call myself a huge fan of them. There were just too many things that didn't jive for me to love them or overlook some criticisms. People kept hyping it as the next Harry Potter, but it's definitely not. Maybe it comes near it as a cultural phenomena, but definitely not in quality.
Reply
It would be nice to experience another big, exciting series like HP was, but I'm not sure if we'll ever have anything quite like it again. Or if we, now older and less easily taken in, would get as emotionally invested in it. But I'll keep looking. ^_^
Reply
Leave a comment