Yup. They're hugely popular, and there's a movie coming out.

Yeah, I heard of the movie before the book.

I tried to look it up in the GA pines library system once. Of the over 100 copies in all of GA a very small amount were actually available (I don't remember, but I think it was only a single digit number).

Probably.

I read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire with mixed emotions, and, so far, haven't made it to Mockingjay. I thought the romantic content was rather unsuitable for me personally, and the violence and hopelessness of the situation seemed very unnerving. That said, I loved Hunger Games on the whole. It was gripping, with a fast paced plot and well-drawn characters all inhabiting a vivid world with many striking parallels and lessons for our own.

As for the movie, I'd like to see it, yet I'm also afraid that there will be inordinate violence and romance. After all, a bunch of kids killing each other is not something I would want to choose for entertainment. Any other thoughts on this?

I had kind of mixed emotions as well. I'd never read anything like it before. It was very gruesome and depressing at times. I can't even say how much I really liked it. But, like you said, it was gripping, and the characters really drew me in. I guess I read it more out of fascination for such a different kind of story than I did for enjoyment. I think it's the same for my mom. I don't know, maybe I'm not making much sense. Hopefully someone will understand what I'm trying to say. It was a well-written story that could drag you right into the emotion more than most books I've read, and for that reason, I liked it.

And I agree with what Varon said.

Just finished the first book.

I really, really enjoyed it. The characterization and the world building are superb. Mrs. Collins does a beautiful job of portraying the emotion and the sticky ethical issues you would expect to find in a book with such a plot.

There was one thing that bothered some of my friends. And that is this. Katniss is the provider, the protector, the survivor. Always. She takes care of her family, she takes care of herself, and she takes care of Peeta, and so she's had to become very tough and cynical. And that is not the way a woman should be.

While I think it's an extraordinary circumstance, I can understand how some people might say that it was a feminist-ish story.

Oh...and the violence wasn't actually that bad except for one spot where one of the teenagers in the Hunger Games is eaten alive. It's not described in extreme graphic detail, but it was enough to make my iron stomach do a little flippy thing.

I just finished the first two books.

I loved the first one. Mrs. Collins is an amazing writer, and I love how she developed Katniss and Peeta. Katniss is a very realistic character, and I liked the perspective I got from being in her head the whole time.

The second book I didn't like as much. The first half was good; I like how it dwelled on Katniss' life post-Hunger Games for a while. But throughout the second half of the book, I was nothing but irritated with Katniss. By the end, I was convinced that she is on the brink of losing her mind. Did she annoy anyone else?

On the plot side of things, I'm still really enjoying the books. *can't wait to see how things play out*

An absolutely incredible read!! Definitely one of my favorite books of all time! The second one is my fav of all three but all together they are wonderful!!

I've bought all of them! Advice for people who haven't read it!! Read the books before you watch the movie! The movie will ruin the magic!

Katniss is on the brink of going insane.

Just started reading the first book. Its pretty good so far.

I figured.

It's probably because of too much stress and the PTSD.

I'm glad you like, Bard.

Finished it!

I was pretty good, though it went into too much detail sometimes and I think the game should have played out differently.
Plus the ending was not really an ending because there are two more books.

* pokes thread *

Okay, admittedly, this thread got me intrigued on these books so I put them on my "to read first chapter next time I can drag mum to a bookstore" list. So mum went a bookstore and I read the first chapter and was pleasantly surprised with how it kept my attention. I don't typically read books written in first person or present tense, but it actually didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

So after having bought and read the first book (didn't have enough money for the trilogy ) I think I'd recommend it as a good read to keep you interested.

However, the entire concept of 'The Hunger Games' isn't very hopeful or uplifting when it comes down to it. I kept waiting for the 'light at the end of the tunnel' but it never quite came, unless you count both of them living as light (but when you account for the fact that they hate each other by the end of the book, it's not really very cheerful anyways) Of course, that could just me.

I did like how much depth the author gave to the characters though. The fact that it was written in Katniss's POV helped a lot with getting to understand that character, I think, more than if it hadn't been written like that. She did a good job making me like Peeta as much as I did Katniss though, which I found gave great conflict throughout the entire book, because you wanted them both to live.

The only downside was that the end of the first book left me torn between being too mad at Katniss to read the next books, or being interested in seeing what would happen and wanting to read the others.

Anyways, it was a good distraction book (didn't distract me for that long though, seeing as I read it in two days ) and I actually liked it, for the most part. There were some things in the book which I didn't agree with as far as morals go, but nothing bad enough to make me put down the book in fury.

And that would be my two cents.

* tiptoes out of thread *

I agree with you entirely, Bethany. The lack of a 'light at the end of the tunnel' disturbed me somewhat, too. I think the thing I liked about it was the plot concept, but I do think it could have been executed a lot better.

I agree the whole thing was much too dark for me, and the next two books get much worse.

I don't understand how these books could be too dark for you. The fact is that not all stories have happy endings. This series contains a lot of problems mirroring the problems that we have to day. Personally I think that they were excellently written. And the plot just thickens as the story continues. I for one will look forward to seeing more from Suzanne Collins in the future.
And btw is everyone planning on watching the movie?

Well, the books are rather dark... and I can definitely see how they might bother some people. I mean, how can the idea of kids killing each other for public enjoyment not bother you? I can handle stuff like that, but I know plenty of people who can't.

It really has nothing to do with how well the books were written. I agree with you that Mrs. Collins is an excellent writer, but sometimes the best-written books make your stomach churn the most.



Yes! I can't wait for it to come out!

I'm planning on seeing it, eventually.

Suzanne Collins does have another series out already, that was written first actually.

Has anyone read that one?

I have.

What was that series about? Did you enjoy it?

It was about a boy who found an underground world and he becomes a champion for the humans and their allies in the war between them and the giant rats. I enjoyed it, yeah.

The one Gregor book was pretty book, and I enjoyed reading it, but I do think the series was written for a younger audience. (My nine-year-old sister loves them )

I think the issue people have, Noah, is not that the book doesn't have a happy ending. It is the journey to the end. The journey is dark and the end doesn't have enough light to counteract that. That is what disturbs people, I think. When I read a book, I read it because I want to go through the hard things, but I want that hope at some point.

I can understand that. But I don't think that Suzanne Collins over did describing the book as hard...

I think this blog post on the Hunger Games is well worth the read, and very true. I thought I would share it here.

I read that article earlier today. It was well-written, but I didn't quite agree with everything. (Especially the confusion between true horror books and slashers. There's a huge difference.)

Yes, there was a bit there that I didn't entirely agree with as well. However overall, it had some very good points.

True.

Here's another good review of the series, but from a different view-point. (The part about dystopian fiction not being about the future, but who we already are struck me as especially true)

http://www.speculativefaith.com/feature ... s-on-fire/

I know I'm a bit late to join this discussion...

I didn't like the book very well, I like Katniss well enough, at first...and I suppose I can't quite blame her for her actions - though I think they were wrong. Oh, it was cool how she volunteered instead of her sister, but I felt like she...she gave in. And I'm not saying I know of a more plausible thing for someone that isn't a Christian to do, or that I hate the characters for doing it, but what I hated about the book was that it made me root for the MC (of course), which meant I had to hope that she would somehow kill all these other teens (and pre-teens) that were (in a sense) innocent...and that's just wrong. You guys have probably already covered this, sorry if you have.

P.S. I know I don't really know what I'm talking about, because I can't think of a better thing to do that isn't outright suicide, or still giving in in a way. At any rate, somehow I lost all respect for all the characters before the end of the first book and haven't really been tempted that much to pick up any of the others.

That part is in it.


I saw the movie today, and I really liked it. I'd definitely like to read the books now.

I'm not sure if the movie just covers the first book, or all three books; does anyone know?

Anyhow, I enjoyed it. We went with a few people and only one person (my older sister) said they thought it was too long, and I think they found it boring. They're not into fantasy, though, so I was kind of expecting that. Everyone else loved it.

It's getting good reviews anyway, apparently.

It just covers the first book, but you should have read the book before you watched it! So that you could have had your own veiw of it!

I'll be for the first book from a friend this Friday. (Supposed to have been last Friday, but she forgot! In her defense I forgot to remind her. XD) The library has at least ten requests on every single one of the books - and they have multiple copies of the entire trilogy. I didn't want to wait that long, so borrowing it is... and buying, if they're three-fourths as good as everyone says they are.

In the mean time, chatter about the movie will torture me. Sam posted something about watching movies before reading books, and I'm about to agree with him for the sole reason of relieving the tension I shall feel over this next week!

*is hopefully going to go see this with her cousin and some friends this Friday*

I enjoyed the movie, Ruby, so I'll probably get the book at some point.

This weekend while I was staying at my brother's, I found the book and read part 1. Then I had to leave. I am usually not very impressed with first person-present tense books, but I hardly noticed it in this one. Certainly very good writing.

At first, the setting turned me off, but I later got interested as it turned more modern. Collins created pretty deep characters, as I had heard. (I understand that the movie rather lacks this.)

I've watched the film, but I've not yet read the book. Many people said that the film lacked quite a number of things that were better explained or described in the book, so now I really regret watching the film first. Oh well, hopefully I'll get to borrow the books from my cousin within the next couple of weeks or so.

I heard the same thing from my brother, sister, and mom who had all first read the books then went to the movie.

My dad wants to take me on a daddy/daughter date to see it (since my mom says seeing it would make her have nightmares). I'm really interested in seeing what those of you who've gone, or are going to see the movie, think of it though.

I'm hopefully going to see it this Friday.

The movie was good, IF you didn't read the book first. I absolutely LOVED the book (I actually gave up writing for a few days, which if you know me, is INSANE to think of), but when I saw the movie, I was very disappointed. Maybe it's just me, since I'm so picky about books' transformations into movies, but I think huge elements of the story, that wouldn't have been too hard to add, were missing.Like Peeta's fake leg. It affects him and the story in the 2nd and 3rd books too, but they just totally left it out. The mutts did not look like the dead tributes; therefore eliminating a huge terror factor and a part I was itching to see. Katniss didn't have enough time with Rue; I didn't feel as sad when watching the movie as I did when I read the book (I cried at that part in the book, but at the movie, my friends and I were laughing at all the people crying). Haymitch doesn't seem like the filthy drunk he is in the book. Instead of Katniss's friend Madge giving her the mockingjay pin (which is intertwined with characters and another part of the story revealed through the second book) but instead it's given to Katniss in the market, she gives it to Prim, and Prim gives it back. I know that Katniss wasn't supposed to be wearing a gown during prep, but how many of us want to see her naked while they wax her? Seriously? So I agree with that ONE difference.

A lot of the outfits are different than they were supposed to be, but after seeing the burning outfit during the chariot parade, I'm not upset about it at all because they were so much more awesome than I had imagined.
A lot of the characters look or act different: President Snow is tall and fat in the movie, rather than small and thin. Katniss's eyes are green/blue, not brown.

There's much more I could mention, but I'll stop myself. This is why I wish I could afford the 6-10k to publish my books through assisted publishing; so I can keep my rights to the story and everything they do to it in a movie has to go through me. But seeing as I can't, I just pray that they won't butcher my stories too badly.

I actually like the movie a lot. It has been a couple months since I read the books, so the details aren't fresh in my mind, but I felt they stayed true to the spirit of the stories, and only cut out what they needed to. The characters were spot on, despite a few physical differences. Katniss and Peeta, especially, were almost exactly how I imagined them. I wish Rue had gotten more time, but I understand the need to cut out what isn't absolutely necessary. (I didn't cry - I've actually never cried in a movie - but my mom and two of friends did. ) Haymitch was a tad off... he seemed more put together than in the books. But everyone else - Cinna, Prim, Gale, Seneca Crane, Caesar Flickerman - was great.

One thing I loved about the movie was how they put in scenes of the districts watching, and of the gamemakers. I thought those scenes conveyed the mood of the Games very well.

imnotthatshort mentioned the mutts... and I was a little sad they didn't get those right. But another part of me was glad they didn't portray them exactly like the books. I'm not sure I would want to see that...

Anyway, I thought the movie was handled very well. I'll definitely be buying it when it comes out on DVD.

Why wouldn't you want to see it? The scariness factor? Lol. I think that's probably the reason Suzanne wrote so much scary stuff, to scare people... They got the gory killings well though. And I liked the fight between Katniss and Clove.

In the book, it says she picks up the bow and shoots at the target, but she's not used to the Capitol's weapons, and she misses. Then she loses the attention she had from the Gamemakers, and they turn to their food, no longer caring about her. That's when she shoots the apple out of the pig's mouth.
Trust me, I've read the first book 4 times.

No, not the scariness factor... I think it's more the horror factor combined with the fact that 9 and 10 year olds were going to see it.

I thought they handled the killings well, too. They managed to show how awful and gory they were, without actually showing the gore... if that makes any sense.

Yeah. They did an amazing job making the movie. I just wish they had at least included a couple elements of the story that wouldn't have been to hard to throw in, especially the ones that really affect the story in the future, like Peeta's fake leg, and it affects him in the second book as well. It becomes a slightly larger plot twist. Not absolutely necessary, I guess, but it would have added a lot that was left out. The mutts get him on the same leg that Cato cut and Katniss has to use a tourniquet, which is dangerous because it can cause him to lose his leg, which it does, but it saves his life. the next time Katniss sees him, he's got a fake leg. And the mutts should have looked like the dead tributes, like they did in the book.