10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY
- Spoilers for all three books.
- I apologize for the lack of photographic elements in this post.
01. The Premise
I've never read/watched Battle Royale so I don't know how similar The Hunger Games is to that, I just know that they've been compared before. With that said, I love the premise of these books. A post-apocalyptic world in which the order of things has changed, so much so that children are being thrown into a war for the amusement of the privileged in charge. It's terrible, just thinking about it, and we get to see it all: the nominations, the preparations, the tasks, the aftermath. It's thrilling, scary and impossible to put down.
02. Katniss
The protagonist of the story is a 16 year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen and she kicks ass. She can hunt, so she uses that skill to support her family. In a way, it also prepared her to go into the arena and hunt the other victors. In this stressful scenario, Katniss tries to maintain her sanity and her life, knowing that there are 11 other people trying to kill her. It's not an easy thing to do. This is not a girl upset because her boyfriend won't sleep with her (I'm looking at you, Bella), she doesn't have time for that. She goes for it, keeping her integrity in the complete weirdness that the people at the Capitol demand. She becomes the symbol of the rebellion, willing to give her life for the sake of the world. She's the hero, thrown into her fate like Harry Potter, and I think that's pretty kick ass.
03 the trio
I remember reading the first book and going back and forth between Katniss and Gale, and Katniss and Peeta. They're both amazing guys! And they both can be stupid and childish and selfish and real and yet fantastic at the same time, by themselves and in relation with Katniss. The tension is well-written, and you can't really choose. At one point, you can't believe Katniss is paying attention to the baker boy, and the next you don't want her to go back to Gale. At one point, it got really insane in my head, but then the choice was made and I was happy about it. Team Peeta.
04 Trilogy
I like reading book series but it's so hard to find one where you really want to go forward and keep going, you know? An excellent example of this is, of course, Harry Potter, where the second book was bleh compared to the first, but then you keep going and OMG BEST BOOK EVER. Because Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite in the series and it will always be my favorite. In here, I didn't even get to feel like I had to work through the second book. Catching Fire is just as good, though a bit slower. Extreme, incredible, WTFy and more. By the end, you really cannot wait to see where the hell things are going, what could possibly happen next, and getting your hands on Mockingjay as soon as possible.
05 Haymitch
I think Haymitch may very well be my favorite character in the books. He's Katniss' mentor, an old victor and a drunk. Katniss doesn't get much help from him at first but she soon understands how Haymitch works. Then, she feels betrayed by his decisions but, very much like Snape in the Potter books, I always had that feeling that he was good, that he was just trying to keep Katniss alive even if that meant lying and making alliances with the enemy. He's a complex character, he doesn't talk much, he has a temper and he's drunk 80% of the time, but he comes through. He does.
06 politics: not so fiction after all
Although the book takes place in a futuristic/apocalyptic world, it does deal with present problems, especially when it comes to politics. President Snow is the perfect example of a fearless leader who goes to whatever length necessary to keep his people under his fist, completely clueless as to what really goes on in the world. It's creepy, dangerous and intensely scary; not just Snow himself but what he's kept from the people at the Capitol, and in the Districts. His condoning of the Hunger Games is brutal and how he goes after Katniss as well. Politics, not so fiction after all.
07 Finnick/Mags/Annie
The victors from District 4 are kind of awesome. Ok, they're pretty awesome. The first one we meet is Finnick Odair, and with a name like that you know he's a star. He's flirty, he's handsome, he's the most desirable; and later on we get to see what an amazing man he really is. Really, Finnick for President (paraphrasing Mark from markreads). Then we meet Mags, who's this old crazy lady who willingly goes into the Quarter Quell and discovers the secret of the arena, saving the lives of her allies. Mags is amazing in the arena, and it breaks my heart to remember her. Finally, we have Annie, who's the one person Finnick loves, and I can just imagine what an amazing girl she was to make the most desirable man in all the districts fall for her, fight for her and join a rebellion to save her. These people are one of the most amazing thing in these books, and if you haven't read them I can tell you they're worth reading just for them.
08 Cinna
Ok, I lied. The books are good because of Cinna too. He's the head of Katniss' prep team at the Capitol, and he's an artist. Using his designing skills, he manages to put Katniss on the map, he puts the spotlight right on her, making her the Mockinjay and the heart of the rebellion. Cinna is the one person from the Capitol who Katniss trusts and he deserves it. His faith in her, his advices and his selflessness help her become the symbol of the fight, and she does it beautifully by Cinna's hand.
09 so unprepared
Whenever someone starts reading the book now, I always tell them: you are so unprepared. This surprise element is what I love the most about the books, even though I put it on number 9. How incredible it is that it keeps punching you in the face, over and over and over again, in the most surprising way; and just when you think the worse has passed, nope, it comes back and kicks you in the shins. I recommend, if you haven't, to read markreads.net. Mark started reading the books and then posted reviews after each chapter. His reaction posts are so, so funny. He coined the term 'unprepared' for the books and I thank him for making my re-read of the series unbelievably funny.
10 physical reaction
This is how I know I really, really like something. When I get that pang in my chest, it's good. I hadn't had a physical reaction with a book since I read Harry Potter. I was anxious and I laughed really loud at parts (the twins!) and when I read Deathly Hallows for the first time, I had to stop twice because I just couldn't take it. While reading The Hunger Games, especially the first book, I got so scared at one part, I had to close the book and take a walk. In another part, in Mockingjay, my hands were shaking, I was sweating but I couldn't stop reading. It's so rare that this happens, and it happened with two of these books, so yeah, read them. Read them before the movie comes out.
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Don't hotlink or re-post as your own
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- I apologize for the lack of photographic elements in this post.
01. The Premise
I've never read/watched Battle Royale so I don't know how similar The Hunger Games is to that, I just know that they've been compared before. With that said, I love the premise of these books. A post-apocalyptic world in which the order of things has changed, so much so that children are being thrown into a war for the amusement of the privileged in charge. It's terrible, just thinking about it, and we get to see it all: the nominations, the preparations, the tasks, the aftermath. It's thrilling, scary and impossible to put down.
02. Katniss
The protagonist of the story is a 16 year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen and she kicks ass. She can hunt, so she uses that skill to support her family. In a way, it also prepared her to go into the arena and hunt the other victors. In this stressful scenario, Katniss tries to maintain her sanity and her life, knowing that there are 11 other people trying to kill her. It's not an easy thing to do. This is not a girl upset because her boyfriend won't sleep with her (I'm looking at you, Bella), she doesn't have time for that. She goes for it, keeping her integrity in the complete weirdness that the people at the Capitol demand. She becomes the symbol of the rebellion, willing to give her life for the sake of the world. She's the hero, thrown into her fate like Harry Potter, and I think that's pretty kick ass.
03 the trio
I remember reading the first book and going back and forth between Katniss and Gale, and Katniss and Peeta. They're both amazing guys! And they both can be stupid and childish and selfish and real and yet fantastic at the same time, by themselves and in relation with Katniss. The tension is well-written, and you can't really choose. At one point, you can't believe Katniss is paying attention to the baker boy, and the next you don't want her to go back to Gale. At one point, it got really insane in my head, but then the choice was made and I was happy about it. Team Peeta.
04 Trilogy
I like reading book series but it's so hard to find one where you really want to go forward and keep going, you know? An excellent example of this is, of course, Harry Potter, where the second book was bleh compared to the first, but then you keep going and OMG BEST BOOK EVER. Because Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite in the series and it will always be my favorite. In here, I didn't even get to feel like I had to work through the second book. Catching Fire is just as good, though a bit slower. Extreme, incredible, WTFy and more. By the end, you really cannot wait to see where the hell things are going, what could possibly happen next, and getting your hands on Mockingjay as soon as possible.
05 Haymitch
I think Haymitch may very well be my favorite character in the books. He's Katniss' mentor, an old victor and a drunk. Katniss doesn't get much help from him at first but she soon understands how Haymitch works. Then, she feels betrayed by his decisions but, very much like Snape in the Potter books, I always had that feeling that he was good, that he was just trying to keep Katniss alive even if that meant lying and making alliances with the enemy. He's a complex character, he doesn't talk much, he has a temper and he's drunk 80% of the time, but he comes through. He does.
06 politics: not so fiction after all
Although the book takes place in a futuristic/apocalyptic world, it does deal with present problems, especially when it comes to politics. President Snow is the perfect example of a fearless leader who goes to whatever length necessary to keep his people under his fist, completely clueless as to what really goes on in the world. It's creepy, dangerous and intensely scary; not just Snow himself but what he's kept from the people at the Capitol, and in the Districts. His condoning of the Hunger Games is brutal and how he goes after Katniss as well. Politics, not so fiction after all.
07 Finnick/Mags/Annie
The victors from District 4 are kind of awesome. Ok, they're pretty awesome. The first one we meet is Finnick Odair, and with a name like that you know he's a star. He's flirty, he's handsome, he's the most desirable; and later on we get to see what an amazing man he really is. Really, Finnick for President (paraphrasing Mark from markreads). Then we meet Mags, who's this old crazy lady who willingly goes into the Quarter Quell and discovers the secret of the arena, saving the lives of her allies. Mags is amazing in the arena, and it breaks my heart to remember her. Finally, we have Annie, who's the one person Finnick loves, and I can just imagine what an amazing girl she was to make the most desirable man in all the districts fall for her, fight for her and join a rebellion to save her. These people are one of the most amazing thing in these books, and if you haven't read them I can tell you they're worth reading just for them.
08 Cinna
Ok, I lied. The books are good because of Cinna too. He's the head of Katniss' prep team at the Capitol, and he's an artist. Using his designing skills, he manages to put Katniss on the map, he puts the spotlight right on her, making her the Mockinjay and the heart of the rebellion. Cinna is the one person from the Capitol who Katniss trusts and he deserves it. His faith in her, his advices and his selflessness help her become the symbol of the fight, and she does it beautifully by Cinna's hand.
09 so unprepared
Whenever someone starts reading the book now, I always tell them: you are so unprepared. This surprise element is what I love the most about the books, even though I put it on number 9. How incredible it is that it keeps punching you in the face, over and over and over again, in the most surprising way; and just when you think the worse has passed, nope, it comes back and kicks you in the shins. I recommend, if you haven't, to read markreads.net. Mark started reading the books and then posted reviews after each chapter. His reaction posts are so, so funny. He coined the term 'unprepared' for the books and I thank him for making my re-read of the series unbelievably funny.
10 physical reaction
This is how I know I really, really like something. When I get that pang in my chest, it's good. I hadn't had a physical reaction with a book since I read Harry Potter. I was anxious and I laughed really loud at parts (the twins!) and when I read Deathly Hallows for the first time, I had to stop twice because I just couldn't take it. While reading The Hunger Games, especially the first book, I got so scared at one part, I had to close the book and take a walk. In another part, in Mockingjay, my hands were shaking, I was sweating but I couldn't stop reading. It's so rare that this happens, and it happened with two of these books, so yeah, read them. Read them before the movie comes out.
Comments are ♥
Don't hotlink or re-post as your own
Watch petitinstant for updates