Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Hunger Games and Why I Don't Like It (Much)

SPOILER ALERT: If you actually want to read this book, don't read this, because it might give away some juicy details.

My little sister Mattie is Seriously Obsessed with The Hunger Games. She's read all the books, she's going to see the movie at midnight tomorrow, and she and her friends have long, in-depth conversations about the Peeta vs. Gale issue. Because I am a loving, caring sister, and because Mattie basically sat on me and held a water pistol to my head, I also decided to read the book.

Let me just say: Wow.

Okay, so by now, you probably know what this is about, but here's a recap anyway, because I feel like it. Katniss Everdeen is this really depressed, really tough hunter-girl who poaches in the woods illegally with her friend Gale, because otherwise she and her family would starve to death. She talks a lot about how unfair the capital is and all the tension between the rich villagers and the poor folks from the Seem. She also explains about the Hunger Games, which is when two kids from each district in Panam gets together and kills each other. Hurray! Not.

So, then, on the day of the Reaping, her little sister (who is still practically a drooling infant in Katniss' mind) is picked to be in the games, and Katniss is like, "NO!!! Pick me! Pick me! I'll do it!!!" thus martyring herself forever in the eyes of District 12. And then Peeta Mellark, who is basically the equivalent of the Pillsbury Dough Boy in my mind, gets picked. And Katniss is like, "Eww, gross, now we're definitely gonna die."

And then, well, you know the rest.

Let me just say, Suzanne Collins really needs to see a therapist if this book is any insight into the way she thinks. Katniss isn't my favorite character at all. She isn't believable. Granted, she isn't an ordinary sixteen-year-old, what with the dead father and the dirt-poor environment, but she still doesn't think the way other teenagers think. Doing this from her point of view is about as interesting as looking at a rainbow is to a colorblind person. This could have been a great story if Ms. Collins allowed her main character to have a little more emotion that pure fury and outrage.

The other part I didn't like was how much Ms. Collins dwelt on the deaths. It was almost like she relished the description, but she didn't really feel the need to go into much detail describing the Seem other than its dirtiness, or the Capital. I would have been interested to know how they got such a big city to fit in the Rockies.

There were parts of it that I liked. I liked Rue, of course-- how could anyone help liking Rue? The violence of Rue's death was jarring to me, but then again, I suppose that is the point. I also like Peeta, and personally, I think Katniss treated him like dirt. But my absolute favorite character is Haymitch Abernathy. He is AWESOME! I wish I'd thought of him first! (What does that say about me? My favorite character was rude and drunk half the time.) Honestly... he reminds me a little bit of Gibbs. *hides*

All in all, the whole book basically felt like it was being told in a very "No crap, this is what happened..." style, which works in textbooks and biographies, but not when your main character, who ought to be the most vivid, is doing the telling.

Don't hate on me, Hunger Games fans! I just tell it like it is.

I promise the YouTube videos will start soon! iMovie is down, so Mattie can't do the editing yet.

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor! :P

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