In the twelfth chapter of The Hunger Games, WHAT IS PEETA DOING JESUS CHRIST and then OH MY GOD MASSIVE DEHYDRATION and then WHY IS THERE FIRE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Hunger Games.
WHAT THE SHIT IS GOING ON AND WHY IS THIS ALL LIKE THIS. Oh, that’s right, because the people of the Capitol are THE VERY WORST BIGOTS OF EVERYTHING EVER.
“Go on, then, Lover Boy,†says the boy from District 2. “See for yourself.â€
I just get a glimpse of Peeta lit by a torch, heading back to the girl by the fire. His face is swollen with bruises, there’s a bloody bandage on one arm, and from the sound of his gait he’s limping somewhat. I remember him shaking his head, telling me not to go into into the fight for the supplies, when all along, all along he’d planned to throw himself into the thick of things. Just the opposite of what Haymitch had told him to do.
Maybe so, but there’s still a part of me that thinks this might be some sort of ploy to protect Katniss. Though, I must admit, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT PLOY COULD POSSIBLY BE. I mean…yeah, I can’t think of one scenario where this helps Katniss at all.
The Career tributes are silent until he gets out of earshot, then use hushed voices.
“Why don’t we just kill him now and get it over with?â€
“Let him tag along. What’s the harm? And he’s handy with that knife.â€
SERIOUSLY??? Ok, nevermind, PEETA IS GOING TO DIE. I’m calling it. I imagine it won’t happen until the end of the book, but Peeta is with dangerous company. And look, I didn’t expect this to be so messed up so quickly, so now I believe that Collins isn’t going to “save†characters just to appease people. UGH.
“Besides, he’s our best chance of finding her.â€
JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST. Well, Peeta, if you decided to shack up with these brutes in order to save Katniss, YOU ARE MAKING A POOR DECISION.
“Was she dead?†asks the boy from District 2
“No. But she is now,†says Peeta. Just then, the cannon fires. “Ready to move on.â€
PEETA KILLED THAT GIRL. What the flying fuck, this is not what I expected.
Suddenly, the birds fall silent. Then one gives a high-pitched warning call. A single note. Just like the one Gale and I heard when the redheaded Avox girl was caught. High above the dying campfire a hovercraft materializes. A set of large metal teeth drops down. Slowly, gently, the dead tribute girl is lifted into the hovercraft. Then it vanishes. The birds resume their song.
Just allow me to let you into my head for a second: I read this passage and thought, THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM. Why am I allowed to release words to the general public.
The audience will have been beside themselves, knowing I was in the tree, that I overheard the Careers talking, that I discovered Peeta was with them. Until I work out exactly how I want to play that, I’d better at least act on top of things. Not perplexed. Certainly not confused or frightened.
OH THAT’S RIGHT. All of this is televised. Nearly every moment. I completely forgot about that. How much more worse does this make the Games? JESUS, this is absurd.
Katniss is still in a good zone for the competition though, managing to catch a rabbit in the snare. She guts it and cleans it, cooks it in the dead tribute’s fire, and eats half as she heads in the opposite direction as the Careers in search of water.
The next section is surprisingly long, considering that Collins’s style rarely allows her to linger in prolonged moments. The narration of this book is planted so firmly in the present that sometimes it feels a bit list-like in its descriptions. But Katniss’s quest to find water actually works well as a longer moment because the desperation she feels to stay hydrated becomes nearly unbearable. Her mouth is drying up. The headache is setting in. Everything feels hotter than it actually is. Her urine is dark brown. (And as someone who hikes a lot and still does long distance running, I love that this detail is included. I learned a long time ago that urine color is a great indicator of hydration. Dark brown is REALLY, REALLY BAD.)
She doesn’t find water that entire day. THE ENTIRE DAY. She goes to sleep in a tree again, dying of thirst, watching the Capitol updates in the sky: only the tribute that Peeta killed died that day.
She awakes in a worse condition than before, as the fatigue sets in, slurring her thoughts and actions, putting her at risk for being killed. I honestly thought we’d see this further along in the games; so much has already happened that I’m now wondering where Collins is going to go in the next 200 pages.
We do find out how the sponsors work: When the tribute needs something, they speak it aloud. If they’ve obtained sponsors, it will descend on a silver parachute in minutes. If not? Well, then either they don’t have sponsors OR the mentor has refused to give their tribute their request.
The water Katniss asks for never comes.
Her thought process races out of control and for once, her hatred and her accusatory nature no longer seems so foreign. She’s going to die, and soon, and people are watching her all over the country as this happens, doing nothing.
There’s only one good reason Haymitch could be withholding water from me. Because he knows I’ve almost found it.
The realization gives Katniss a momentary feeling of hope; to her, it’s the only reason that could possibly exist. Despite that she is completely vulnerable to attack, she presses on. Water is all that matters at this moment because even if she manages to hide or fend off an attack, she’s going to die anyway.
But by afternoon, I know the end is coming. My legs are shaking and my heart is too quick. I keep forgetting exactly what I’m doing. I’ve stumbled repeatedly and managed to regain my feet, but when the stick slides out from under me, I finally tumble to the ground unable to get up. I let my eyes close.
I have misjudged Haymitch. He has no intention of helping me at all.
Fuck. Just…fuck. I don’t know what to say. I guess now I finally feel angry at these Games and how they dehumanize people for entertainment. Everything before this that we had learned about the Hunger Games was anecdotal and distant and now it’s personal and happening right before our eyes.
Just god damn it.
But Katniss realizes that she is laying on mud. MUD!!! And she crawls to a GODDAMN POND. SHIT YEAH. WATER. WATER. SHIT YEAH.
She stays near the pond, exhausted by the exertion of the past two days, and the next day ends. No one has died. She mentally makes plans about what she’ll do the next day and nods off.
A few hours later, the stampede of feet shakes me from slumber. I look around in bewilderment. It’s not yet dawn, but my stinging eyes can see it.
It would be hard to miss the wall of fire descending on me.
REALLY, COLLINS. Like…WHERE DOES THIS EVEN COME FROM and DOES EVERY CHAPTER END WITH A RIDICULOUS CLIFFHANGER and WHY DON’T PEOPLE WRITE BOOKS THAT ARE EASY TO REVIEW A CHAPTER AT A TIME.
Siriusly, guys.
i knowwww why must the chapter end this way????? i dont believe for a second that peeta is actually evil- he may not be protecting katniss, but there is no way that he's some cold-blooded killer, and i think he has another motive or plan. also i was so scared the water was going to be like, poisoned or something! idk, i guess it still could be…
I really really don't want Peeta to be some cold-blooded killer, but the way it implies he murdered that girl (slit her throat?!?! :O ) really worries me. I guess it'll get to a point where he'll have to fight Katniss and what will he do then? Act as heartless as during this chapter? :''''''( I'm like Mark, I just can't see how his actions tie into some 'greater plan'.
I got the impression that the girl was half-dead already and he was probably putting her out of her misery.
Yeah, true, but at the same time, he killed a person. I think it was a super bold move on Collins' part to have the most likable character in the story murder someone, regardless of the reasoning. Especially when Peeta was the one who wanted to make sure that the Games did not change him, as a person.
Also, we have no idea what Peeta did to even join the team. WTF does "handy with a knife" mean in this context?
Well, we also can't dismiss the possibility that he just waited her out.
But if she had been far off, they would have noticed if he was gone for like 30 minutes, just hanging out with the almost dead girl and he volunteered. I hope that openattheclose is right and it was a mercy killing because otherwise I just can't see how it could be construed as anything else but Peeta killed a girl even if he did just wait her out.
I think we're meant to assume it's as "poisonous" as any outdoor water source can be…most contain bacteria that will make you very sick. Luckily Katniss has the knowledge to know this, and to know how to use iodine to sterilize the water, and the luck to have gotten the iodine. This is totally cool with me. The main character can have a little luck.
When I first started reading this book the narration threw me off and it was a bit hard to follow, however, I think the style works great for these chapters. I found myself holding my breath when she was looking for water and practically dying from thirst. I started hating Haymitch for not helping her out … it was a roller coaster ride.
I sorta wish that I knew what the other people — who didn't hook up with the careers — were doing right now.
One of the feelings I have to balance is my want to find out what everyone else is doing versus the guilt of feeling like a member of the Capitol who is watching this game for entertainment.
on one hand I'm experiencing as a participant, and on the other hand I'm just like the capitol folks … oh my, I never thought of it that way!
And that voyeuristic need is one of the reasons that this book almost HAD to be written as a first-person narrative. Because if you are sitting on a comfy couch reading about how all these kids are dying, you are no better than the Capitol.
I hope that Collins realized that as she was writing it, because it is a much more complex statement that way. As opposed to a choppy first person narrative for no particularly good reason.
Yeah, it would be interesting to see if there are any interviews where she explained why she chose to write in this tense/person.
And that voyeuristic need is one of the reasons that this book almost HAD to be written as a first-person narrative. Because if you are sitting on a comfy couch reading about how all these kids are dying, you are no better than the Capitol.
THIS IS A GOOD COMMENT. I hadn't thought about that before, but yeah. The fact that the book is written in the first person puts the reader in the role of Audience of the Games. Huh. I like that.
RAR, CLIFFHANGER CHAPTERS. How many days have I spent at work in a total snoozeblur because the night before at 11pm I go, "Ah, I'll just get to the end of this chapter and then sleep. WAIT, WHAT?! WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHO DAT? AND HE… AND THEY… BUT THAT MEANS… OH GOD."
I recall finishing THG at, like, 3am on a Tuesday. Mark, you have amazing willpower to go chapter-by-chapter. Keep it up – Collins loooooves her some cliffhangers.
I did that too… wouldn't have been so bad, if I hadn't then devoured the next two books into the wee hours of the following two weeknights. Was a total zombie for the rest of the week. I blame Collins.
I read the Hunger Games from 3-9pm, went to Walmart and bought Catching Fire which I finished at 3am. Mockingjay came out one week later and I got it at midnight and finished at 6am. The next day was my first day of class!
Ohgosh… I'd forgotten how much happens in this book…
You should put foxface as the name for the one girl she keeps calling that on the chart.
You made it through Harry Potter without cheating though, so I'm sure you can do it! <333 (though I doubt anyone would complain about extra chapters a day!!)
Aww, how naive, a person who thinks Mark didn't ever cheat with HP 😉
I promise I would not object to extra chapter reviews :3
WHY DON’T PEOPLE WRITE BOOKS THAT ARE EASY TO REVIEW A CHAPTER AT A TIME.
Dammit, Mark, I'm in class! You can't make me giggle in class.
Okay, on-topic: I LOVED that Peeta fell in with the Careers. He's not the survivalist Katniss is, he needs help to live, so of course he's going to try and ingratiate himself with the people who can keep him alive, at least temporarily. He's not stupid, after all. And I love Katniss growing less and less coherent as her dehydration gets worse — it's so realistic and terrifying. When I read these the first time, I was convinced that she'd get attacked in her dehydrated state; I was on pins and needles until she figured out the mud.
Forming a team is the most stupid thing I can imagine. It is SO dangerous. Who says that my "teammate" doesn't stab me at night? I wouldn't want to be close to anyone, if I had to be a contestant in the Hunger Games. Especially not, if I'm sleeping and vulnerable.
Bad decision, Peeta. Really, really bad decision.
(Maybe his plan IS to kill the Careers at night. If so, that would be awesome.)
Six girls are dead. I think the girl who lit the fire was from district 8?
The anthem says she is from District 9. I just checked.
In my book (page 167) it says "… and high in the sky I see the picture of the girl, who was apparently from District 8. The one Peeta went back to finish off." The girl from District 9 was killed at the Cornucopia, you just forgot her on your chart.
That's what mine says, too. On page 157 it says "Both from 9" were killed the first day. You actually quoted this on your Chapter 11 review, Mark. You just didn't cross off the girl from District 9. So now there should be 12 people crossed off – Girl from District 3, Boy from 4, Boy from 5, both from 6, both from 7, both from 8, both from 9, girl from 10. (All this info taken from pages 157 and 167.) Got to make sure your chart's right! 😉
That's not exactly how the sponsoring thing works – she doesn't necessarily have to say what she wants aloud. They're watching, remember. Also, I think the style is more maddening to you because you're reading this a chapter at a time. When I first read it, I ate it up in a few hours, and I think it worked pretty well that way. The choppiness slows down a story that actually moves pretty fast.
I really admire Katniss' willpower to use the iodine drops on the water and wait to drink it. I think most people that dehydrated would just start chugging water.
I didn't understand wtf the iodine was doing there >_> Obviously, I would have drank that water without a second thought. And I would not have made it past the first day. x)
I really wanted to read along… but arrived at this point I just kept reading.
So I read the whole book.
And the second one.
An now I'm reading the third.
OOOOOPS ^^'
Hahahaha I've managed to keep myself from going past the first book, but I was also way too impatient to wait for Mark.
"NOM NOM NOM NOM"
Oh my. I'll never be able to read that passage again without this in my head. xD
"THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM"
I wish I had a hovercraft so I could put this on a bumper sticker. But sadly I am not that cool.
I just wish I had a hovercraft. Preferably one that didn't eat people.
It doesn't have to eat people–just nom on them a bit.
That makes me think of 'the wheels on the bus go round and round' >_>
ALL TOGETHER NOW!
The hovercraft takes bodies and says NOM NOM NOM
NOM NOM NOM, NOM NOM NOM
The hovercraft takes bodies and says NOM NOM NOM
Alllllllllll through the gaaaaaaaaaames~
This is so wrong on so many levels, but I can't stop laughing! WTH is wrong with me!? D8
"THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM. Why am I allowed to release words to the general public."
Your words are the best words ever Mark, they bring all the funnys and all the wiseness depending on the situation *nods*
I think Katniss working out that Haymitch was telling her she's close to water by not sending her any was super clever, I really like that little nugget of plot. One thing I did think though, now I'm not an experienced hiker or ~wilderness expert~ or anything like that, but would there not be plant/animal type signs pointing her in the direction water is in? Seeing as Katniss is someone who is familiar with a forest I kind of expected her to try and find water that way. But hey, you know, falling in mud works too.
Oh Peeta, you are so devious, what are you playing at hmm? You are an enigma in a bakers apron <3
WALL OF FIRE OH SHI- girl I'd start running like nowww D:
Man, I'm starting to wonder how this even ends up being a trilogy at this rate. The wall of fire is one crazy cliffhanger.
Katniss dies and the next 2 1/2 books are just blank pages.
Suzanne Collins really knows how to cash in.
OMG if that were true I would die of smiles. I love stories that have blank pages after the narrator dies. Of course, I probably wouldn't have bought the other two books.
`I love stories that have blank pages after the narrator dies.`
This exists? I guess asking you about other stories like that would be spoilers… dammit
That would absolutely spoil the stories. The best part of those stories is how unexpectedly the story ends. I always wind up with two thoughts "Why would a publisher waste those pages?" and "Well played."
If you wanted to recommend some stories like that, maybe you could include them in a longer list of stories, so we can't tell which ones are the surprise ones.
The cliffhanger at the end of each chapter….yeah, this is why I read this is one sitting. This whole book from the minute the games start is like one giant roller coaster. There is no time to catch your breathe!
It it awesome to read this things as soon as I wake up. Thank you Mark, for making my mornings happy… now to the good stuff!
HOLY JESUS ON A CRACKER! When I first read the books and got the fire wall part I went nuts. No gonna tell you what happens next.
Can't wait to read what you write next 😉
I am SO ENGROSSED right naow that all I can think of for a comment this time around is:
Chatper 12: SHIT IS REAL (a visual recap)
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/mariegoos/katniss.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
That's fantastic. I, for one, would be perfectly thrilled if you decided to do more of these <3
Seconded!
This is amazing. At first I was like 'Why does she have a scorpion tail? That is badass but not canon!' and then I realised it was her hair and I facepalmed, and then I lol'd XD
AHAHAHA THAT IS AMAZING.
Thirded, please do these ALL OF THE TIMES. You are wonderful <3
Fourthed!
HAHAHA! Avatar braid. 😛
THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM. Why am I allowed to release words to the general public.
Just so you know, the reason you are allowed to release words to the public is so that I can take one look at them and SING THEM TO THE TUNE OF "THE WHEELS ON THE BUS"!!!
You are a genius.
Oh sweet Jesus that is perfection.
Oh my God, I love that.
oh my god stuck in my head now.
I can't get that out of my head now. +1million
I may be legally required to love you forever now.
THESE CLIFFHANGER CHAPTERS ALWAYS WANT YOU TO READ MORE!
Seriously, I think I read this book in nearly all one go, it's just so hard to resist not reading it.
Mark, you are not prepared.
Siriusly.
Okay, here's the notes I made after reading this chapter:
“I can imagine the things they’re saying about him back home now. And Peeta had the gall to talk to me about disgrace?”
My general feeling is still that Peeta is good. I can’t shake it. It’s totally plausible that Katniss’ reaction be what it is-anger, dismay, whatevs-but again, the fact that it’s this, makes me sure that the situation is really that. That seems to be the pattern in this book so far.
So here’s my prediction(s) (I haven’t read this book before, so honest to goodness prediction!):
a) I think that Peeta is totally and genuinely convinced that he won’t be the winner (as he said, previously, though I can’t remember quite when) and that this feeling is not part of an act.
b) I think that because he’s accepted he will die, or expects to die, he wants to “maintain his self”/”his honor” by dying in what he sees as a meaningful way. Using his death for good within the horror. THEREFORE:
c) I believe that he is playing the Hunger Games to help Katniss win. I believe that’s his aim.
And my final prediction is that at some point, he will die for her. But before he does, she’ll learn what he’s doing, she won't be ignorant of the sacrifice.
1. I think Peeta is genuinely in love with Katniss ;-; Maybe he didn't come to the HG in love with her, but I'm hoping he at least started too. This being said, he's totally going to be a Noble Nancy and sacrifice himself ._. Oh Peeta.
2. Is it weird that I don't want Rue, Katniss, or Peeta to die? Like, a three way tie? >_> PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN. PLEEEEEEEASE.
3. I don't think Katniss will directly kill anybody. That's just because I don't want her to x) I think everybody will kill off the others, and then she and Peeta will be the last ones, and he'll sacrifice himself.
3 b. Or, if they're the last two, the Capitol people will be so overcome by the 'star crossed lovers' from District 12, they'll let their be a tie ._. and then Rue can be their love child.
Peeta's lies…
my tongue is stinging
I found some mud
– Bradley Smith, "Hovercrafts in Spring: A Hunger Games Haiku Collection"
Sensational.
your haiku only does 3, 5, 4. isn't it supposed to be 5, 7, 5? or am i being nit-picky? either way i do think it's lovely.
Hey, you try counting syllables when you're dying of dehydration.
Ah, your comment brings me back to the days I spent at Haiku University in Japan.
"Bradley-Kun, what madness you write!" the others would shout. "This style of 'San-Go-Yon' is pure sacrilege!" I am glad to see that you, Zuzu, are not put off by my extreme haiku style. 😉
This isn't a haiku!
it's 5,7,5.
My haiku only fits that measure in the original japanese. 😉
You're amazing.
Thank you, chapter-a-day buddy.
Pfft, why do you think half of us read these in a day? I guess you could review older episodic novels, but I can't think of any pop fiction works that would be easy to read one chapter at a time. Maybe A Song of Ice and Fire, because it's broken up by different POVs?
Whatever, your anticipation is half the fun!
Yes, ASOIAF, but in general epic fantasy is not so cliffhangery, in my opinion. Also maybe The Wheel of Time?
Yeah, but maybe we shouldn't encourage Mark to read series that aren't finished yet. He needn't suffer the wait.
What really annoyed me about this chapter is that Katniss was hanging out by willow trees. Seriously, she knows about dehydration and urine, but she never noticed that willows grow near water? I'm a city girl, never been into the woods at all, and that's the one thing I know about willow trees. JFC.
Raise your hand if you learned that willow trees grow near water from Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid.
*raises hand* >.>
I'm worse – Runescape. XD
Hahaha, I hadn't made that connection, I'm so thick sometimes. What about yew trees? Do they only grow miles away from each other in real life too? :p
*raises hand too*
"PEETA KILLED THAT GIRL. What the flying fuck, this is not what I expected."
According to the preceding discussion, whether the girl was dead or not, she had been in a quite bad shape already. So Peeta just accelerated her death. Let's face it: the winner has to kill at least one person. So I predict, that Katniss will kill someone sooner or later, too. Why should Collins be unrealistic by letting Peeta die (probably through the hands of Katniss?) at the end of the Games without killing anyone before?
I think it would be really cool if Katniss could make it through the games without directly killing anybody, though D: The thought of the protagonist killing somebody just bothers me. I got upset when the Trio started using Unforgivable Curses in Harry Potter x) Katniss just needs to get a bow and arrow and chill in a tree and let everybody else kill themselves.
I like Peeta too much not to hope it was a mercy killing….like the others had injured her so grievously that she was better being put out of her misery.
I'm really loving this whole Peeta 'is he, isn't he' thing. It's kinda like Snape all over again!
Oh Peeta, if you really are evil I will feel really bad for finding you so hot. But I agree with Mark, it has to be some kind of plan to protect Katniss, and I would like to add something to that: He's also protecting himself. I think running with the Careers is the smartest thing he could have done, because as shown in this chapter they think him to be a weak kind of guy with the only purpose to guide them to Katniss, which of course he is not. I think he, at some point, is going to jump on their backs and be all BAMF out of nowhere (which reminds me a lot of what Neville did. Neville <3<3<3<3) and the Careers won't even see it coming.
And I think Haymitch IS trying to help Kat, because IMHO I think he wants her to seem strong. The games are all about power, and I think by letting her try and find the water on her own is a way to show the Capitol,that she is string enough, that she can do it by herself and that she will fight her hardest to survive at any cost, which gives her a bigger chance to get more sponsors for when she REALLY does need them.
AND WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON WITH THAT FIRE?!?!?!?!? RUN FOREST, I MEAN KATNISS, RUN!!!!!!
I love your point about Haymitch's plan being good for her long-term aid and getting more sponsors when shit really hits the fan.
And it will hit the fan. I haven't read the whole book yet but I know it will happen.
*strong self strong *facepalm*
WTF Peeta?! Please don't be a cold-blooded killer!
Btw, is anyone else sick of people saying 'You are not prepared'? I mean, it's only been said, oh I dunno, a thousand times! Things are going to get epic, shit will get real. Yeah, thanks, got that. There is no need to repeat it over and over and over! We get it already!
It's a running gag at this point, so it doesn't bug me. 🙂
And well on it's way to being an overused running gag.
<img src="http://i54.tinypic.com/n5pt6o.jpg">
It's tradition!
You think you get it, but I don't think you CAN be prepared for how real shit gets in these books. Thus, why we keep saying it. Although admittedly, Mark is probably more prepared now than he was just a couple chapters ago.
*finding 'you are not prepared' annoying high five*
I upvoted your comment a bit, randomcheeses 🙂
Heh, thanks!
No, way. "You are not prepared" has been said a thousand times for two reasons.
One: No one is prepared.
Two: It's a catchphrase. Catchphrases have an annoying tendency of being repeated many times. It's not That 70's Show if Red doesn't call someone a dumbass, and it's not Mark Reads without unpreparedness and shit getting real.
So, to use another common phrase:
<img src="http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp346/crayolaskiies/yada%20gifs/2-1277407027.gif" border="0" alt="deal with it dill">
All I keep thinking about is, I WANT TO SEE THIS ON FILM!
RIGHT???
It's going to be a movie, you know. Set to open in 2013. Was supposed to be 2011 but then they moved it back. I just hope they do it justice.
When Katniss was so good about the iodine, I was so convinced that the water was going to be contaminated in some other way–that it tasted awful, or that the gamemakers dumped some ipecac upstream. How can the players trust *anything*?
They can't trust anything. IIRC, there's a reference in one of the books to a previous Games where anything edible that wasn't from the Cornucopia (all of the stream water, plants, even the animals) was poisonous. If these Games had been like that, Katniss wouldn't have even lived long enough to find water because of the rabbit she ate. :/
How can the players trust *anything*?
They can't. The Games do have greater entertainment value if the tributes kill each other rather than being poisoned by the water supply, but that's no guarantee that some of the water won't be poisoned. It's all so fucked up. No wonder Katniss is so cynical. Having to watch the Hunger Games year after year while hunting to support my family would make me way more embittered than she is.
I think that's the stuff that would really send me over the edge if I'd had to play the games–you can't trust anything, at any time; it's not just the other competitors.
I think that passage is kind of ambiguous, actually; it leaves the possibility open that Peeta hadn't actually killed that girl, but instead he happened to show up just before she died from the wounds she'd gotten during the fight. But I realize that this is total wishful thinking and it's entirely possible (maybe even probable, given that comment about how good he is with a knife) that Peeta wounded her during the fight. I guess I just want Peeta's hands to be clean and for him not to have become a stone-cold killer right away.
Hey Mark – I posted on your Chapter 11 review that you left off the girl from District 9 being dead. I think it was deleted for being a spoiler, but it clearly said it Chapter 11 when it's listing the dead tributes "Both from District 9." Now on this review you have the girl from 9 crossed off, but not the girl from District 8, which is the girl that Peeta kills in this chapter. In total, you have 11 crossed off, but at this point 12 are dead. Sorry if I'm being annoying, I just think when you get closer to the end you'll wonder why there's an extra tribute still alive on your chart!
Mark, your charts seem to be incorrect. The girl from district 9 was killes in the initial fight: "The boy from 8. Both from 9. " There should be a sixth dead girl now.
Okay, I have to admit, this book did not do what I expected it to.
That being said, I fully cheated and stayed up all night reading and am finished with this book and also the next one and am desperately trying to find my copy of the third one WHERE IS IT.
SHIT IS SO REAL MARK YOU HAVE NO IDEA. THIS BOOK IS INTENSE.
Also: Fire is like my #1 worst fear ever. WTF COLLINS.
Totes random thought…am I the only one who loves these strange names all the characters have? It makes the alternate universe that much more believable than say, if they had names like Jane or Mary or Tom or whatever.
I'm also deeply in love with the names! I think I'd actually be really disappointed if the names were 'normal' from our point of view. I don't know anyone under 50 with the name 'Edith', after all. Fashions change.
There's one specific thing about the names that's bothering me, but I don't think it really becomes obvious until the second book so I'll keep my mouth shut.
I haven't read the second book yet, so I'm gonna take a stab at it…
Is it the fact that a lot the men's names seem to end in 'a'? Or that a lot of them seem to refer to flowers or food? These are things I've noticed.
I think it's a good touch as its in the future so the culture would change and so would the names. But they're not so removed from names we'd see that we'd be like, "You just slammed on a keyboard, didn't you?"
Even if I do still read Katpiss and Pita…>.>…..<.<
Urg, I hated that cliffhanger;however, thank goodness I could keep reading!
The Hovercraft goes NOM NOM NOM! hahaha
I have a couple of super serious questions about this chapter:
1) Why doesn't Katniss ask her sponsors for a bow and arrows? Maybe that would be expensive and use up her sponsor's willingness to help, but that won't really matter if she dies from not having her special weapon.
2) How do the Hunger Games work, as media? Are all the districters required to watch them 24/7? It seems like they might take a week or so. If, say, Prim and her mom have to stay in their house for a solid week watching TV, then they're going to be pretty close to starving. Not to mention, that would probably be really boring. My guess was that they edit it into a 2 hour program for each evening. What do you suppose?
On other notes, Katniss vs. water was a very close battle. Glad Katniss won in the end.
And here is my reconstructed story about Peeta. This is totally not a spoiler, because I'm making it up and its probably wrong. Katniss mentioned that none of the Careers usually die on the first day. I'm guessing that when Peeta charged the Cornucopia, he ended up stabbing one (or two) Careers to death. The Careers, irritated that their gang was already smaller than they planned, gave him the option of joining them instead of being killed. They assumed that they'd just kill him after cleaning up the other 5 'weaklings', since he was already injured. Peeta was faced with the options of joining the Careers or being immediately killed. I daresay I'd choose not-being-killed as well. As for killing the girl, what else could he have done? His only real options right now are killing or dying.
1. She doesn't have any sponsors beside Haymitch, does she? And he probably can't afford it or wouldn't do it because of whatever.
2. I've never thought about that. I guess I assumed they do a sort of highlight reel in the evenings, when they fire the cannons, or something.
Why doesn't Katniss ask her sponsors for a bow and arrows?
Huh. That is a very good question. Maybe weapons are so ridiculously expensive that it doesn't even occur to her that her sponsors would be able to afford it? I mean, it's pretty clear that the Careers get the best sponsors every year, and mentors are supposed to set up sponsorship. Even if she did get the highest score this year, she obviously doesn't have a lot of faith in Haymitch's willingness or ability to persuade people to sponsor her.
It doesn't make a lot of sense for Haymitch to allocate sponsor funds to a bow when there's already one in the arena. Katniss as a weapon already which isn't her strong suit, but she can use it to fend off attackers if she needs to, not to mention how she has her traps for food. He's hoping she'll get her hands on the one already there, and then he can give her gifts that she needs more desperately. I mean, who knows what she'll need later on.
"THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM" … LOL REALLY .. maybe you should let us in your mind more often 😉
I was waiting all day for this!
Don't do a chapter a day then! Do two a day! Do three! We'd all be plenty happy.
Collins is amazing at ending on cliff-hangers. Seriously. It's a gift (a horrible, horrible gift!).
Mark, your NOM NOM NOM made me snort my Coke through my nose, I just missed my netbook by inches. 😀 YOU RULE SUPREME.
Ok, my thoughts on this chapter. The way Collins described dehydration made me go drink some water and feel grateful for it (YES BOOKS TEND TO HAVE THAT EFFECT ON ME). It was perfectly realistic and well executed. I LOVE that she mentions urine, I DON'T KNOW WHY.
This is when I actually started to like Katniss. We get to see her in action, she’s in her element now. She’s careful, she’s practical and she attempts to play the game when she smiles up at the cameras. We don’t know if this will do any good, but at least she had the sense not to look confused or upset.
Peeta remains a mystery. I want to think that he's got some sort of plan, that he hasn't become a cold-hearted killer or something. I try to think that he went to finish the girl as an act of mercy. But as to what he's doing, no clue at all.
And the cliffhangers are getting ridiculous. One sentence is all it takes to reduce my will power (and my poor braincells) to dust.
I wonder if you've read The Road. NO CHAPTERS AT ALL. Impossible to know when to stop.
Also, HOLY SHIT FIRE! WHYYYYY?
Who thinks they could make it out of the games alive?
Certainly not me
That's not actually how the sponsering works. Since the mentors are watching the games, if they feel that there's something that could give their tribute a clue, or something that they really need, they will send it to them. The fact that Katniss actually says "water" is just because she's really, really desperate, and thinks that her mentor, Haymitch, hasn't realized that.
REALLY, COLLINS. Like…WHERE DOES THIS EVEN COME FROM and DOES EVERY CHAPTER END WITH A RIDICULOUS CLIFFHANGER and WHY DON’T PEOPLE WRITE BOOKS THAT ARE EASY TO REVIEW A CHAPTER AT A TIME.
Clearly we are dealing with a reincarnation of Scheherazade.
CLEARLY.
Look, all I know is that I read about the wall of fire and started looking for Crabbe's name or "diadem" and then I realized there are no more Harry Potter books ever and then I was sad.
I know how you feel!
I really hope Collins has the guts to make Peeta a bad guy. If it all turns out be an act I’m going to be very annoyed.
Katniss’s logic regarding Haymitch in this chapter strikes me as a little skew whiff. I’m going to put it down the fact that she’s dehydrated, scared and unable to think clearly.
I’m unsure why the Capitol set up the games so that so many contestants die during the first hour. From what I understand the games go on for some time, surely it would make more sense to hold off on the bloodbath until a bit later on when viewers are getting a bit restless.
The early bloodbath does for the viewers what Collins' refusal to characterize most of the Tributes does for the audience: Narrows the focus. The showrunners can make it more "fun" if they can focus more intently on the personal journies of a few players.
Mark, your lack of preparedness is exponential with time.
I was ridiculously happy when I read that Katniss fell into mud. I was like: OMG WATER!!! DRINK, KATNISS, DRINK, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DRINK!!!
Yes, I do get far too involved in my books.
I can't wait for you to review the next chapter, it's gonna be good. And by good I mean excrutiatingly suspenseful for the readers and excrutiatingly painful for Katniss. Hurry up Time.
Peeta, Peeta, Peeta. I really like that we're getting into the thick of it. This is the part of the book that excites me- being in the game, all the suspense of possibly being murdered. It's weird to see Katniss brought down so low- I'm used to her being defiant and willing to go on, but the dehydration is finally what gets her. and then… FIRE?!?!?!?!?!?! Poor Katniss, can't even get 1 good night's rest. I hope she filled that water bottle before she went to bed. Also- she has a lot more strength than I do because I would have been drowning myself in that water when I found it, not making sure to check it first or anything.
I love the ridiculous cliffhangers. Whenever I reach the last page of a chapter for these books I cover up the last line until I've finished the page, because they're always SO FREAKING INTENSE AND WEIRDLY MYSTERIOUS.
These books are like a fucking marathon. I finished Catching Fire in six hours on Sunday. I stayed up until 5 in the morning to finish it, because I was too afraid to put it down. It's like I thought the book was going to disappear.
I cover the last line as well!
Too. Much. Intensity.
"Go on, then, Lover Boy," says the boy from District 2.
Don't be a jackass, Mr. Burly Asshat, Esq.
Katniss and I can be pissed as hell at Peeta and call him whatever we want, but you can't!
Ugh. I don't think I can hate these tributes anymore than I do right now! (I mean, I'M SURE I WILL, but still.)
Look at Katniss playing at the audience! I still feel bad for her though. Fucking Peeta.
I must have sponsors, at least one or town who could afford a pinto of liquid for me. Yes, it's pricey, but these people, they're made of money.
The price of water skyrockets in the future? Well, I suppose that makes sense considering there was like a nuclear fallout or something when the war was going on.
I love that Katniss is trying to stay as strong as possible for Prim. That sister duo breaks my heart.
When she thinks, This is an okay place to die, I will admit my (not so) hardened heart cried a bit.
*absolute shock* It would be hard to miss the wall of fire descending on me.
*blinkblink blinkblink*
…
…
…There are no words left in me. How in the hell am I going to make it through 200 more pages?!?
Damn youse, Collins. Damn youse!
And then from nowhere…
FUCKINFIIIIIIREWTFOMG!!!!
Cliffhanger chapters — endlessly irritating yet SO GOOD OMG.
Wall of fire is SO SCARY.
Also, I just want to say that the Re-Reading HP posts are like reverse conditioning or something. It's so wonderful and freeing to be able to comment without worrying about spoilers — and then it's back to the Hunger Games, and suddenly I feel more comment-paralyzed than ever! Haha.
So I will leave it at this: aren't you glad to finally be reading about the Games? More exciting than trains and body-scrubbing, yes? Yaaaaaayyy!!! </vague, unproductive comment>
p.159: That sounds like a really uncomfortable position.
p.159: "Lover Boy?" You people suck at derisive nick-names. My middle school tormentors would be very disappointed.
p.160: Katniss is aware of my playing the game joke? zomg
p.160: Seriously, come up with better insults, or stop trying.
p.161: He hasn't told them about your skill because he secretly *~*wuvz*~* you, duh.
p.162: Oh. My. Gods. Now it's Katniss who is playing the game. I am so fucking proud of her.
p.162: "Rabbit Fever" what.
p.164: The Gamemakers are DIRTY DIRTY CHEATERS
p.166: Wait, silver parachute? Wouldn't that give away your position to the other tributes? This seems like a poor way to deliver gifts.
p.167: Or maybe the careers are nearby and he doesn't want all of them to know where you are? Seriously, this delivery system is so flawed, even the US Postal Service could spot the faults.
p.168: Well, this is sort of a short chapter, isn't it?
p.169: Wall of fire? That's a weird ass cliff hanger. Guess the viewers got bored with the lack of deaths.
Overall, this was an alright chapter. Not much I can say about Kat's experience that Mark didn't cover, though I still think the delivery system sort of sucks. Also, for some reason that last line got the tune of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash stuck in my head and I made a terrible HG version. "I went down in a burning wall of fire, the body count went up, and ratings flew higher" STOP JUDGING ME!
Grade: "B+"
I would love to hear the rest of that song.
even though i don't comment on here much i do skim/read comments and i totally thought of you at pg. 160 when katniss said peeta was ~playing the game~
also yeah "rabbit fever" wtf?
From Wikipedia: 'Tularemia (also known as Pahvant Valley plague, rabbit fever, deer fly fever, Ohara's fever) is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. A Gram-negative, nonmotile coccobacillus, the bacterium has several subspecies with varying degrees of virulence. The most important of those is F. tularensis tularensis (Type A), which is found in lagomorphs in North America and is highly virulent in humans and domestic rabbits.'
As far as I can tell, it's sort of like rabbit salmonella except with ulcers instead of vomiting/diarrhea.
To be honest, when I first read "rabbit fever" I thought it was the same thing as "rabbit starvation syndrome" and was facepalming because cooking the rabbit wouldn't solve the nutritional deficiency problem. I kinda felt like Stephen Fry trying to explain to the contestants to QI:
[youtube XC2RYiaM6WU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2RYiaM6WU youtube]
But then I looked it up to make sure and found out it was a bacterial infection. Though, interestingly, it's a lot more common to get it from tick bites than from infected rabbits, and you'd think Katniss would have had a lot more of the former than the latter.
The silver parachutes are up there with the hovercrafts and invisible cameras on my list of things that just make me go "OH COME ON NOW."
Oh, I'm sure the item APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE two feet away before the parachute opens. 😉
Yeah, the cliff hanger endings is why I ended up reading this book in two days (and the 2nd book in one day, and the 3rd book in less than a day!). I'm really enjoying your review, thank you!
You know, since they thought she was dead, this girl must be very severely wounded, possibly dying, almost definitely in great pain, so I guess killing her could seem like a merciful act – putting her out of her misery.
If it weren't for him running with the Careers in the first place, I'd probably view this as another example of his kindness – that he can't bear to think of this girl lying there suffering. I'm still sort of tempted to, but him running with the Careers is much more troublesome to me, so I don't even know.
Honestly, with all the suspense and cliffhangers and the fact that you KNOW Collins is a character-killing machine, this is what it feels like to read the Hunger Games.
<img src=http://i55.tinypic.com/30vho9l.jpg>
Also, Mark, I'm on the other side of the world and I read your new reviews at like 6 AM every morning. Thank you for always starting my day with a little adrenaline.
WTF.
What a bizarre image. And perfectly suited to this novel!
That is such an awesome picture.
I like the cats.
Before the whole games started I didn't think Peeta would kill anyone… (Don't know why. I just did)
But then he did =( One the very first night of the games.
SHIT IS INSANE!!
OMG, Peeta killed someone.
And Katniss started playing the game. Go Katniss.
Katniss's survival skills rock. DON'T EAT THE POISON BERRIES!!! I hope the poisonberries come back again. Her willpower is awesome too – iodine first, rehydrate later. And drink as slowly as possible so you don't put your system into shock. Good girl.
(I feel so ~late to the party~, but I was out ice skating and just got back.) The Careers are going to be gunning for Katniss. She got an eleven and they have no idea why. She's an enigma and the Gamesmakers put a target on her back with that eleven. So of course the Careers would want to take her out as soon as possible. She's a threat and an unknown.
Anyway, I think we do get one idea as to how Peeta could be protecting Katniss by being with the Careers. (No spoilers. I'm just using logic based on what is in this chapter.) As one of the Careers says, “Besides, he’s our best chance of finding her.” By that same logic, he could theortically protect her by throwing the Careers off or giving them bad info. Or even just not telling them that she's skilled with a bow. The fact that they don't know her skill is a disadvantage.
The audience will have been beside themselves, knowing I was in the tree, that I overheard the Careers talking, that I discovered Peeta was with them. Until I work out exactly how I want to play that, I’d better at least act on top of things. Not perplexed. Certainly not confused or frightened.
I LOVE THAT BIT. I just like the little reminders of the fact that all of Panem is watching. It goes back to one of the major themes of the novel that I quite enjoy which is the awareness of how one is presenting oneself to the world because that is one of the few modes of power that is left to these tributes. They can theoretically play the audience (and especially sponsors) by controlling how they are perceived.
I have to admit that the thought that nearly everything Katniss and the other tributes do is televised is kind of a shock that hits you every so often.
Yeah, I keep forgetting about that because I just want Katniss TO LIVE.
Not just televised, celebrated. The Capital is so freaking warped.
I'll correct the chart when I get home!
Upon reading this review, I had to read these books myself. The suspense was killing me. I'm reading it on onread.com. There are a few typos, and they don't put dialog in quotation marks or anything, but I've been reading for three hours and I'm on chapter seventeen now.
This book is so good. :3 I can't wait for you to continue reading. I don't know HOW you manage to put this book down. I'm absolutely in love.
Haha mark you inspired me. Now im only going to say siriusly instead of seriously!
btw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAGRID!
I read this passage and thought, THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM.
My thought was similar but you put it in MUCH better words than I did and I love you for it.
I think the constant cliff hanger chapter endings are what annoy me the most out of the book. It is so overused. Although it did make me read the book in one sitting so it does work. That may be why it annoyed me so much.
I must say, the ending of this chapter made it difficult not to skip to the next chapter, especially to stay on track with Mark's Reviews I'd need to not read for an entire day. Still, I managed to stay my hand and not read ahead.
Me too! Stay strong! 🙂
Hope you don't succumb like I did.
I'm not sure if this comment will be seen, but…
Is it possible to get nearly die of thirst in two days? I thought it was closer to a week? 0.o
it's roughly 3-5 days, but Kat has been sweating and running/jogging for nearly 2 full days, had very little liquid in what she ate, and was lugging the pack around. It's pretty believable that she'd be dehydrated after 48 hours, especially considering how stressful a situation she's been in.
No, thirst will get you pretty fast. They say the rule of thumb is that humans can only survive three days without water (and many of those days would be awful with horrible symptoms), while humans can survive about a week without food. Maybe that's what you were thinking of.
You can last longer without food . Depending upon your health and exertion. Most people could survive for 8 weeks or more. I have fasted from all food for 28 days and been completely fine. Check out this link if you want more info on surviving without food. http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditio…
Humans are made of 70-80% water, so yeah, three days is about the maximum. You can manage about a week without food, but especially since she's been running and moving constantly, she'd get very thirsty very fast. D:
Yes. I've suffered from severe dehydration with just half a day without water and heavy activity.
Thanks for the input! I only know rule of thumb for these things (three weeks without food, three days without water, three minutes without air is how it goes, I believe), so now I know more!
I've only been…. I guess moderately dehydrated before. Sorry you had to experience that, Mark. =C
Hehe!
I know I should have been feeling sorry for Katniss in the whole chapter, but The Hovercraft Nom comment broke any serious thoughts and I was giggling the whole time.
And also, thanks to this book, I know know when I'm going to die due to my pee's color!
I have no idea how you are doing this a chapter at a time. I read the entire trilogy in a day and a half because I COULD NOT STOP.
I did the same!
Same here. I didn't even attempt to stop myself. NO WILL POWER WHATSOEVER.
Katniss, the girl who was on fire will now be: Katniss, the girl who is on fire.
This chapter is really intense, but since I don't have my proper computer, I can't write the whole of my ideas since I don't have enough time (curse my mother's need to have a laptop for the weekend that was extended for 2 days after that too (the need, not the weekend))
That map someone posted the other day… it struck me as all kinds of wrong.
The Capital defeating all of those districts in war looks about like if in 1861 every state except Maryland and Delaware seceded and the Union won anyway. And the Capital didn't just nuke them all… the war dragged on long enough for them to come up with those spybirds and for their enemies to catch on to it. And if they conquered Districts piecemeal over a period of years, did they wait till they had all of them before they sprung these Games on them along with all the other crap? Or did they start up right away and broadcast what awaited holdout districts when they surrendered?
For that matter, what did the people of the Capital eat while the war was going on, especially the early stages? They weren't sitting on very good farmland. (Although mass starvation in the Capital might explain why the terms of peace were so fucked-up when they finally won…)
Yeah, those are all good questions. I DON'T KNOW.
I don't know about the food issue, but the Capital dominated and oppressed the Districts long before 13 ever revolted. So even though they were way smaller in number, they were still probably way more advanced technologically. The districts only had numbers on their side. Money won.
I wonder when they make this movie, how much of this kind of detail will be included, and how much will be left out. Because they're going to condense a book into a short movie, I'm so afraid of what details I deem important will be considered worthless to the director.
just reread the book, planning to stop at chapter 13 and there I go, reading all the way to the end again.
I just got this book on Friday, planning on reading just far enough to catch up with you, and then reading along.
Yeah, that did not work. With the cliff hanger ending to this chapter, i kept reading… and just started book 3 today. It sucked me in.
You are not prepared.
ps i would love to hear your reaction to the games on the Hunger Games Website.. Tribute Trials and Trial by Fire… they do not give spoilers to what happens in the books and AUGH I CANNOT WIN!
ME NEITHER! How do people win those games?
I DON'T KNOOOWWWW!! I have tried like, EVERYTHING! 🙁
I'm wondering if we ever get any idea of how big these arenas actually are, and how big the Capitol itself is in comparison. They keep all the previous arenas, but how do they have room for all of them? I'm kind of imagining them stacked on top of each other, like the wonky corkscrew staircase that leads to the dueling arena in Revolutionary Girl Utena.
And how absolutely loaded does the Capitol have to be in order to not only create a new arena every year for more than seventy years but to do upkeep on all the previous ones? Where are they getting the materials for them? It doesn't seem like the Capitol could grow and produce all the forests and other materials needed, but they couldn't have one of the Districts do it for them or they'd know what the Games would be like for that year.
I don't think the arenas are in the capitol necessarily, they had to travel there by hovercraft, which are presumably pretty quick.
These are all very good questions, I think that Collins's website should have a FAQ section like JKR's. 😉
North America is a BIG place, and Panem, even though it's implied to have lost some land due to catastrophe, apparently takes up not just the US but possibly some of Canada and Mexico as well. Considering that the people in the Districts are limited to very small, contained areas, I imagine there's enough land to spread out the arenas and still be okay. In my mind I'm picturing the arenas as probably no bigger than 5 miles in diameter, and maybe not even that. Enough space to roam around a bit, but not enough that they could avoid the other tributes entirely.
I'm going to guess that the cost is partly defrayed by technology (maybe they have Star Trek-esque replicators) and partly taken up by the Districts, which may be another reason many of them have no resources.
But Katniss traveled in one direction for multiple days without reaching the end of the arena. Assuming that they all started in the center, that could make the arena have a radius of something like 60-90 miles, depending on how fast Katniss walks.
I love the chart. It's a shame we don't learn more of the names. Some of the tributes have sort of nicknames, though, like that "fox-faced girl" that showed up earlier. Maybe you could make note of those nicknames if Katniss calls them something repeatedly and call them by those names? I dunno, I figure it might be a bit easier for you and us to follow, given that there are so many characters in the book.
I read The Hunger Games about a year ago but by now I've forgotten pretty much everything. This blog has convinced me to reread it. And it's just as awesome as it was the first time I read it. 🙂 I love your reviews of each chapter, and I love seeing your reactions to what happens. The ending of the book is gonna surprise you so much, haha. I can't wait for the next chapter! (I'm gonna hold off on reading Chapter 13 until you review it. :D)
I was doing so well following along with you…and then I got to this chapter, and well, I finished the book at like 2 AM this morning. All the cliffhangers drive me crazy, too–which is why I kept going until I finished and now I really want to go buy the other two!
And I definitely was like OMG MUD whenever she was really dehydrated; I don't usually have strong reactions like that whenever I'm reading, hehe. People have said it before, that as much as this first person style is difficult to read at first, it really works for the events that are happening. We're living the story along with Katniss, not knowing what's going to happen next (which I think is why I tend to react to the events so much more than other books). And while I would love to know more about what's happening with the other tributes, being in Katniss' head makes everything–including the Games–seem so much more real.
Ok, I have to go buy Catching Fire now…:)
But what a good time Claudius Templesmith must be having with his guest commentators, dissecting Peeta’s behavior, my reaction.
New disturbing image everyone! They have commentators. Guest commentators! Like a football match? Do they have charts and statistics and a map which shows their positions and god knows what? I guess it was kind of stupid of me not realising that just watching wouldn't be so entertaining. WTF?
I'm imagining interactive screens, complete with freeze frames, and accidental penises getting drawn on telestrators, like so:
http://deadspin.com/5410219/telestrator-dong-an-a…
I don't know if this has been mentioned, but it has been bugging me since I read the first book two nights ago. Peeta is the son of a baker. Peeta -> Pita. Pita bread. Really?
Anyway, this chapter made me really thirsty. It's like that story about the dude who's water gets shut off and all he wants is a drink and he can't find one. And then the fire came out of nowhere and I actually had to reread a bit to make sure I was reading right.
I really did not expected Peta to kill anyone, especially not before Katniss.I guess it just shows that the games are serious.
These cliff hangers are brutal, and why I finished the book in a day, but on the bright side they give Mark the time to make awesome charts.
Off topic, but it tickles me that mud was important in this chapter and the episode of Firefly for today.
Oh man, your reactions are so entertaining 🙂 Its fun remembering the way I reacted reading this the first time around and they way you're reacting! 😀
Read faster, Mark!
This is my first comment on your blog, Mark, but I have been reading along for… a while. You read books I've read already, but part of the fun is watching you react to these new and surprising things afresh, because, you know, I've reread The Hunger Games like 3 times now and I expect everything.
As for what goes on in this chapter, I really admired Collins for having Katniss struggle with dehydration. That and making dehydration SUSPENSEFUL TO READ. Even though I went into these books thinking, "Katniss can't die. It's a trilogy. She's not going to die," by this point I was thinking, "OH GOD SHE'S GOING TO DIE OF THIRST HOW THE HECK DID TWO MORE BOOKS COME OF THIS!!!!!" I totally expected everything to be easy-ish for Katniss at first, and already she's missing one of the necessities of life.
Not necessarily! It could well surprisekill Katniss around the end and switch POV to Prim or Gale back in the capital. Or it could kill her off in the middle and swap over to Peeta. I've had books pull that on me before.
I'm guessing you probably don't watch SNL, but I would just like you to know that I read that last paragraph in fake Miley Cyrus voice from the Miley Cyrus Show Sketch. http://www.hulu.com/watch/182712/saturday-night-l… (Skip to 2:20 to see what I'm talking about.)
Anyway, I think that's pretty cool.
I'm guessing you probably don't watch SNL, but I would just like you to know that I read that last paragraph in fake Miley Cyrus voice from the Miley Cyrus Show Sketch. http://www.hulu.com/watch/182712/saturday-night-l… (Skip to 2:20 to see what I'm talking about.)
Anyway, I think that's pretty cool.
HOVERCRAFT NOM NOM NOM
<img src="http://mfi.re/imgbnc.php/4f664df26b34255c9ffdf16e4bdb9aa7a081354de2f491de20ba0db68120cbc14g.jpg" border="0">
NOM
<img src="http://mfi.re/imgbnc.php/c241afe0997a73999ff4b3635e09d264a2bf455436ad3d41d2382382a8f4cffa4g.jpg" border="0">
HOVERCRAFT NOM NOM NOM
<img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/2hdtemp.gif" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic">
Mark!
I have been following you since…maybe New Moon? Quite a while 🙂
So I picked up Hunger Games and Catching Fire from the library today (Mockingjay is still on hold), intending to just read what you have read so far, read your reviews and then read chapter by chapter.
And now it is four hours later and I've finished both books and all your reviews so far and I really really really need to read Mockingjay to find out what happens.
This is a longwinded way of saying that I don't know how you can read chapter by chapter (but I had no idea how you could do that with Harry Potter either :)).
Also, as others have said, her writing style is less noticeable/grating when you're reading the book all at once.
I just wanted to let you guys know that Matt from the Whomping Willows and Lauren from the Moaning Myrtles did a song about the Hunger Games together. I can't tell if it has spoilers or not, since I haven't read the series at all, so I won't link to it, but search for "The Hunger Games Song" on Youtube. The Youtube account that it's under is amouredbearcub. Listen to it and tell me if it's safe to link Mark to it.
" I read this passage and thought, THE HOVERCRAFT GOES NOM NOM NOM." – Has no one made a gif of this yet? Because while I didn't think that, when I read your comment all that I saw in my head was a damned macro. The internet has ruined me for life.
"Her urine is dark brown." – I love that she includes this because it irks me to no end that most writing and most productions (tv/movies) tend to avoid any possible mention of bodily functions. I'm always struck by how very inaccurate some scenes or situations are when you ignore them – and it makes me happy to see this type of detail included instead of shied away from and avoided.