Thoughts on Catching Fire

So I was lazing around wondering what I should do today when I realized that I haven’t even written a feelings blog on Catching Fire.

I didn’t even announce that I was going.

And I’ve seen it twice, now.

This is just horrific. I can’t believe it. I feel as though I’ve betrayed Suzanne Collins by going to see Catching Fire and then fangirling about it and not allowing the whole world to see how excited I was about it so that they can laugh at me because when it comes to The Hunger Games I am just that ridiculous.

I’m not even joking. I bought the special edition DVD of the first movie, and it came with a mockingjay pin and I freaked out right there in Musica about it and everybody thought I was crazy, and I’ve had the pin stuck onto my handbag ever since. It’s that bad.

But back to Catching Fire…

There are not enough words to express my feelings throughout that movie. It was just epic. I mean, I had high expectations already because the first movie was so good, but I was still shocked at just how good the acting, editing and directing was. It was just… beautiful.

They managed to stick to the book as much as possible. As a person who (almost) always reads the book before the movie, I do not tolerate directors who cut out huge chunks of the novel just to make the movie “better.”

The only problems that have arisen in The Hunger Games related to this is the fact that they cut out the mayor’s daughter and how she gave Katniss the mockingjay pin (although it was really sweet and meaningful how Prim gave it back to her etc. in the movie) and how Peeta didn’t have his leg amputated in the film, therefore he could actually swim. But that was it, I think.

Also, let me just add that whoever was in charge of casting for the two films is literally one of the most talented person on the face of this earth. Obviously the characters were not who I’d imagined them as in my head, but they were so close that it actually scared me. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth were incredible. And Finnick… He was almost exactly like how I imagined him. Everybody was cast so well and I think that really helped to make the movies ten times better than they already were.

Think about it. If Kristen Stewart had been cast as Katniss, I would’ve sued. I literally would’ve sued the casting crew. I loved the Twilight books, but then the movies were… so ridiculous in comparison. They played a large part in ruining the entire series for me (the whole “team Jacob”/”team Edward” thing also made my blood sizzle… I mean seriously can you just calm down she ends up with the vampire so stop complaining the book has already been published.)

I can’t believe I just brought up Twilight in this review. Forgive me for my sins.

Oh, and I'm going to be a total teenage girl here and say that HOLY HELL KATNISS' WEDDING DRESS WAS SOOO BEAUTIFUL ASDFGHJKL CAN YOU NOT AND THE WAY IT LIT ON FIRE WAS EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE CAN I PLEASE JUST HAVE THAT DRESS FOR MY WEDDING AT THE SAME TIME MARRY JOSH HUTCHERSON IN THAT WHITE SUIT GOD BLESS.

Anyway, Catching Fire was absolutely fantastic, and it just… it made me so happy. I absolutely loved it. And to those of you who have not read the books, and are currently complaining that it ends on a cliffhanger, suck it up, make yourself some tea and get ready to sit in a chair for about 4 days while you read the entire series start to finish with no breaks in between.

And to those of you who think that The Hunger Games is about teenagers with eating disorders, you are dead to me.

That also goes for the people who call the Catching Fire “The Hunger Games 2.” That’s not what it’s called. Do you call New Moon “Twilight 2”? Didn’t think so. Get your act together.

And if you haven’t seen the movie OR read the books… I just can’t be with you. I’m sorry. Go live on… Mars or something. You are a disgrace to the human race.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Date Finished

Series: The Hunger Games (Series Review: #1, #2, #3)

Rating: 5*

I think it's appropriate that my first review on my blog is of a book I am still thinking about, and re-reading, over a year after I finished it.

I love Suzanne Collins, and I love her writing style. It still ceases to amaze me how she managed to write about such a gruesome, terrifying topic, while still managing to make it popular all over the world. It has been impossible for me to read a book since this one without comparing it to The Hunger Games,  and without thinking, "I would give this five stars, but I gave The Hunger Games five, and this one was NOT The Hunger Games." My friends and I actually STILL argue over Peeta and Gale, and who Katniss should have chosen (btw I am team Peeta ALL the way... He gave her bread... still brings me to tears...)

If you haven't read The Hunger Games yet, read it now. If you are not reading it because you think it's too gruesome and disgusting a concept, shame. Deal with it. You are seriously missing out if you don't read this in your lifetime. For those of you who don't even know what it's about, you should feel ashamed. There's even a movie, for goodness sake. But, for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past two years or so... Basically The Hunger Games is about a teenage girl, Katniss, who lives in Panem, a country made up of twelve districts. She lives with her mother and sister, Prim, in District Twelve, which is responsible for the mining of coal. Every year, the Capitol (the Government, basically) holds a public reaping in which one girl and one boy from each district are chosen to go and fight in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants fight to the death in an arena in order to remind the public not to rebel against the government. Katniss' sister gets chosen, and in order to save her sister's life, Katniss volunteers in her place. The book follows Katniss as she fights for her life in the arena, and it even has a love triangle for all you romantics out there.

Panem is so real to me. Throughout the series I felt as though I was right beside Katniss, experiencing everything just as she did. The characters are so real and believable; Suzanne Collins never lets you forget that the participants of the Hunger Games are only children, fighting to the death in some sick custom created by the leaders of a country devastated by poverty, in order to get revenge on its people for a rebellion that occurred 74 years earlier.

Seriously, READ THIS SERIES. Now. No matter your age, interests, favourite genre... even if you don't read. Even if you've read it. Read it again. It's amazing.

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when it's morning again they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you."