In the twenty-sixth chapter of The Hunger Games, Katniss learns the horrifying consequences of her actions at the end of the Games. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Hunger Games.
Well, I can certainly say I predicted approximately zero percent of this. I spent so much time saying that so many of the foreshadowed plots seemed super obvious that I never really gave the idea that that wasn’t the case a chance.
I was so, so, so wrong. And I need to say that.
As I said in the last review, there’s no joy to be had at the closing of the Games. I do not feel exhilarated or victorious in the slightest for Katniss. Instead, I feel tricked. I feel like I’ve been complicit in cheering along the suffering as my own form of entertainment.
Shit is fucked up.
The hovercraft materializes overhead and two ladders drop, only there’s no way I’m letting go of Peeta. I keep one arm around him as I help him up, and we each place a foot on the first rung of the ladder. The electric current freezes us in place, and this time I’m glad because I’m not really sure Peeta can hang on for the whole ride. And since my eyes were looking down, I can see that while our muscles are immobile, nothing is preventing the blood from draining out of Peeta’s leg. Sure enough, the minute the door closes behind us and the current stops, he slumps to the floor unconscious.
A terrible, evil thought popped in my head when I read this: What if Collins keeps Peeta alive through all this BUT THEN KILLS HIM FROM BLOOD LOSS AFTER THE GAMES ARE OVER. This is certainly fucked up enough, though, so I didn’t think it was a possibility. Well, at least a realistic one.
Doctors in sterile white, masked and gloved, already prepped to operate, go into action. Peeta’s so pale and still on a silver table, tubes and wires springing out of him every which way, and for a moment I forget we’re out of the Games and I see the doctors as just one more threat, one more pack of mutts designed to kill him. Petrified, I lunge for him, but I’m caught and thrust back into another room, and a glass door seals between us. I pound on the glass, screaming my head off. Everyone ignores me except for some Capitol attendant who appears behind me and offers me a beverage.
Guess what just happened? Suddenly, over the course of a paragraph, I believe Katniss. I feel like her characterization here, while dramatic, is very real. I’ve complained (probably a bit too much) that I can’t believe her interactions with Peeta, but now they seem so clearly genuine. I’m not sure what took me so long to come around, but she has real feelings for this boy, despite them being shrouded in a lot of confusing circumstances.
This is going to get interesting.
Now is the time to run away to the woods, to hide in the trees until the patient is long gone and in another part of the Seam the hammers make the coffin. But I’m held here both by the hovercraft walls and the same force that holds the loved ones of the dying. How often I’ve seen them, ringed around our kitchen table and I thought, Why don’t they leave? Why do they stay to watch?
And now I know. It’s because you have no choice.
I really adore this passage because, again, it’s a further development in Katniss’s realization that Peeta means something more to her than someone who helped her escape the Games.
I startle when I catch someone staring at me from only a few inches away and then realize it’s my own face reflecting back in the glass. Wild eyes, hollow cheeks, my hair tangled mat. Rabid. Feral. Mad. No wonder everyone is keeping a safe distance.
Collins isn’t subtle. We all know that. But she ties the themes of identity into this scene well, as Katniss is revolted by her physical appearance. So much of this book is all about what’s in her mind that we forget the physicality of it all. I think this would be an awesome thing to see in the film version of the novel.
As the hovercraft lands on the Training Center, Katniss is injected with something and quickly slips into unconsciousness. We learn just how terrifying the Gamemakers are when she awakes to discover that they’ve literally erased the evidence that she was in the Games.
I tentatively lift my left hand above the cover. Not only has it been scrubbed clean, the nails are filed in perfect ovals, the scars from the burns are less prominent. I touch my cheek, my lips, the puckered scar above my eyebrow, and am just running my fingers through my silken hair when I freeze. Apprehensively I ruffle the hair by my left ear. No, it wasn’t an illusion. I can hear again.
Like the moment when Katniss wins the Games, this is not an ecstatic opportunity. Instead, we’re reminded how much this is all controlled, ruthlessly so. The redheaded Avox comes in to feed her (and also communicates that Peeta has survived), and the tiny amount of food is a struggle for Katniss to consume. When she tries to get out of her bed, she’s drugged back to sleep. This happens so many times that we don’t even know how much time passes when she finally wakes up, unrestrained and free of the drugs keeping her asleep.
After dressing in the same outfit that she wore in the arena (THANKS FOR THE REMINDER, GAMEMAKERS), she walks out in a long, deserted hallway—no Peeta anywhere. But before she can see them, some familiar figures are at the end of the hall.
I turn and see them all waiting in a big chamber at the end of the hall—Effie, Haymitch, and Cinna. My feet take off without hesitation. Maybe a victor should show more restraint, more superiority, especially when she knows this will be on tape, but I don’t care. I run for them and surprise even myself when I launch into Haymitch’s arms first. When he whispers in my ear, “Nice job, sweetheart,†it doesn’t sound sarcastic. Effie’s somewhat teary and keeps patting my hair and talking about how she told everyone we were pearls. Cinna just hugs me tight and doesn’t say anything. Then I notice Portia is absent and get a bad feeling.
Before we move on to the Portia detail, I have to say that this is the first time since the Games ended that I don’t feel terrible. I kind of like this trio of characters in a strange way, especially Cinna. I feel like I have a better understanding of precisely why Haymitch ended up as who he is now. And Effie’s tearful greetings seem so genuine. Funny that I didn’t really care for Effie or Haymitch that much at the beginning.
On to Portia. Portia turns out to be with Peeta, who is fine, but the Gamemakers don’t want them to see each other until the ceremony.
The ceremony? Yeah, turns out they have to have MULTIPLE MOMENTS ON LIVE TELEVISION. Oh god. It only gets worse, but Katniss’s reunion with the trio of artists is pretty nice. I love this set of lines:
They are truly thrilled to see me and I’m happy to see them, too, although not like I was to see Cinna. It’s more in the way one might be glad to see an affectionate trio of pets at the end of a particularly difficult day.
Kind of adorable, right? Though not for long, unfortunately.
It’s funny, because even though they’re rattling on about the Games, it’s all about where they were or what they were doing or how they felt when a specific event occurred. “I was still in bed!†“I had just had my eyebrows died!†“I swear I nearly fainted!†Everything is about them, not the dying boys and girls in the arena.
That sort of casual fuckery is so damaging, too. Katniss manages to block them out while they continue to work on her. When Cinna brings her the simple dress she’ll be wearing that night, we learn yet another fucked up result of the Games.
I immediately notice the padding over my breasts, adding curves that hunger has stolen from my body. My hands go to my chest and I frown.
“I know,†says Cinna before I can object. “But the Gamemakers wanted to alter you surgically. Haymitch had a huge fight with them over it. This was the compromise.â€
LITERALLY SO FUCKED UP. Holy shit, could you imagine going through all this and waking up to find out that the Gamemakers surgically altered your body to match their idea of beauty? FUCKED. UP.
Cinna’s dress for her is so simple, as well as the makeup, that it actually makes Katniss look far below her actual age. She knows this is intentional, but can’t figure out why he’d want her to look younger.
“I thought Peeta would like this better,†he answers carefully.
Peeta? No, it’s not about Peeta. It’s about the Capitol and the Gamemakers and the audience. Although I do not yet understand Cinna’s design, it’s a reminder the Games are not quite finished. And beneath his benign reply, I sense a warning. Of something he can’t even mention in front of his own team.
Oh. Oh great. GREAT. She’s not even out of the clear yet. UGH CAN THIS JUST END SOON.
She heads to where she’ll be raised up onto the stage and before she is, Haymitch comes up beside her, leaning in to whisper.
“Listen up. You’re in trouble. Word is the Capitol’s furious about you showing them up in the arena. The one thing they can’t stand is being laughed at and they’re the joke of Panem,†says Haymitch.
HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT. Katniss single act of rebellion, that act to reclaim and define her identity, actually worked.
“Your only defense can be you were so madly in love you weren’t responsible for your actions.†Haymitch pulls back and adjusts my hairband. “Got it, sweetheart?†He could be talking about anything now.
This is somehow even worse to me than the Games. At least she could exercise some control. She has no power left in this situation.
“Got it,†I say. “Did you tell Peeta this?â€
“Don’t have to,†says Haymitch. “He’s already there.â€
Well, holy shit. Peeta’s plan to announce that he had a crush on Katniss was based entirely in truth. I mean, we knew that, but now, it’s impossible for Katniss to ignore this anymore.
It’s so much worse than being hunted in the arena. There, I could only die. End of story. But out here Prim, my mother, Gale, the people of District 12, everyone I care about back home could be punished if I can’t pull off the girl-driven-crazy-by-love scenario Haymitch has suggested.
Yeah, so now Katniss’s actions will outright effect people who weren’t ever in the Games. I gotta say the Gamemakers sure know how to make things truly terrible for people in order to keep them in line.
“Don’t have to. He’s already there.â€
Already thinking ahead of me in the Games again and well aware of the danger we’re in? Or…already desperately in love? I don’t know. I haven’t even begun to separate out my feelings about Peeta. It’s too complicated. What I did as part of the Games. As opposed to what I did out of anger at the Capitol. Or because of how it would be viewed back in District 12. Or simply because it was the only decent thing to do. Or what I did because I cared about him.
You know, I do feel for Katniss. (Finally.) This is a terribly complicated situation that she now has to figure out (partially) while in public. Is it also weird that it’s only now that I am beginning to understand the entire Katpee drama at all? Now it seems like it has a point, and a very important one at that.
And right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin.
UGH. AWFUL. NO THANKS YOU.
I love those ladies-in-waiting or whatever the hell they are. They make me think of like rabbits and mice and stuff in Disney fairytales who won't STFU and you kind of love them even though they're annoying as hell.
LOL, you're comparing Disney to The Hunger Games. ROFL
The Capitol fucks all kinds of shit up and that's pretty much all there is to say.
"We're going to completely erase all traces of anything that shows you were in the games and attempt to alter your body so you look like our version of ~beautiful~. Don't like it? Here, how about you wear clothes like those you did in the arena and go talk about your experience in front of EVERYONE. Yeah, that's what we thought. Have fun! :D"
FUCK YOU.
Also, Cinna, I love you!
(Edited to add in obligatory smiley face after anything the Capitol says)
Like, literally, I can't say anything either intelligent or non-spoilery, so I will stick to my reactions whilst reading this chapter.
HEAD. EXPLODED. PLEASE COLLINS MAKE IT STOP I WANT A FREAKING HAPPY ENDING.
And I will stick to my usual response:
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT DEAR, GOOD LUCK. I can literally FEEL the tragedy coming, I haven't read any one the other books yet (I'm waiting for Mark) and I can totally see shit happening and being totally horrible. Heart= crushed to pieces. D: D: D: D:
Listen to the voice of experience. Actually no, don't do that, my experience could burst through my strongly built spolier barrier and that WOULD NOT BE GOOD. Just say that yeah, shit is NOT real yet, not by a long shot.
I'm not going to come out sane out of this series, am I????? Sigh.
God, I suck at tragic endings. I just don't take them well. Heart is breaking dude, For realz. D: D: D:
Yeah… sane and this series do not play nicely together. AT ALL.
I've offered this to others and I'll offer it to you: I'll hold your hand on the ~astral plane~ because you are NOT PREPARED.
Just remember this about The Hunger Games trilogy: as soon as you think you're prepared, realize that you're totally UNprepared and be afraid. o__O
I know, everything is so awfully FUCKED UP. Just. URGH.
But I think you misunderstood. They didn't actually surgically alter her in the end, even though they wanted to. The compromise was extra padding in the dress, so she wouldn't have to go through that, thanks to Haymitch. Still, sex appeal, and all that, so she had to have curves somehow, according to the Capitol. Still fucked up.
But it's extra weird because they're making her look so damn young on purpose. That's the worst part for me.
Well, Cinna is making her look extra young. The Gamemakers had nothing to do with her look, besides insisting on her having curves again (apparently).
Also: Is it also weird that it’s only now that I am beginning to understand the entire Katpee drama at all?
Nope. During the Games, you had no idea how they would end/if the rules would be changed/what significance the romance served at all. It's only at this point when we learn the Capitol is pissed the fuck off that you truly see what consequences the Katpee angle has and how that's going to affect them even after the Games.
Isn't it just awful? And you finally understnad Katniss, yay! This is just all so messed up and I hate the Capitol so much! Although I do particularly love the moment when she runs and hugs Haymitch, Awww ^_^
Here's some (mildly) cheerful fanart.
Chapter 26
We Got a lot of Work to Do by Muchacha10
<img src=http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/248/6/d/we_got_a_lot_of_work_to_do_by_muchacha10-d2y3260.jpg>
Effie by palnk
<img src=http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/122/2/8/Effie_by_palnk.jpg>
I like the image of Effie at the bottom … not at all what I imagined!
Effie = Jem: the solo career
Wow those are really good. ive had a hard time imagining them because they are so different than what people normally look like (especially the green skin) but those are really great!
That picture may replace my previous mental image of Effie.
Agreed.
Aw, those are adorable!!
Damn, Effie.
I'm having an oddly hard time trying to tear my eyes off the ~bedazzlement~ that is (and is behind) Katniss' prep team…
*cringe* When I read this chapter, thinking that the whole games is FINALLY over and I can FINALLY breathe, Collins threw another wrench in the system.
Not. Prepared. At. All!
The most important thing that I took from this chapter is that Katniss notices her straw has a collar. The girl is so poor she doesn't know what an umbrella is. Keeping yourself dry is a luxury. Madness.
I understand being upset that the Gamemakers would alter your body, but not terribly shocked since they've already shown they don't give a fuck about consent or the bodies of dead tributes. They're toys.
JSYK I've been sitting at work pretending to put invoices into the computer. However, I've been doing NOTHING but pressing the refresh button every minute for the last 30 minutes. I LOVE THIS! Mark, reading your reviews of these books and seeing your reactions make these books about 13,265,798,732,498,168,735 times better. Thank you for sharing this AMAZING experience with us. It makes me happy. 😀 Keep on keeping on!
That is not a small number…..that is a big number.
Instead, I feel tricked. I feel like I’ve been complicit in cheering along the suffering as my own form of entertainment.
RIGHT? Ugh. I hate and love how Collins almost makes the reader implicit in this stuff. I mean, obviously these characters are fictional, so we're not rooting for the suffering of real people. But she has gotten us to the point where we're enjoying reading about this horrible things for our own amusement.
I’m not sure what took me so long to come around, but she has real feelings for this boy, despite them being shrouded in a lot of confusing circumstances.
I think that maybe it took you a while to come around because it took Katniss a while to come around. I don't think that she's even aware that she has some kind of real feelings for Peeta. But I think she definitely does. He's come to mean something to her. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she let him die for her in the last chapter.
I startle when I catch someone staring at me from only a few inches away and then realize it’s my own face reflecting back in the glass. Wild eyes, hollow cheeks, my hair tangled mat. Rabid. Feral. Mad. No wonder everyone is keeping a safe distance.
I like that you pointed out the stuff about identity and physicality of it all. Appearance has been so central to the books with the hyperawareness of actions and other people's perceptions (from the stylists and the opening ceremonies to how Katniss was so aware of how she acted in the arena).
“But the Gamemakers wanted to alter you surgically. Haymitch had a huge fight with them over it. This was the compromise.”
See? Haymitch has always had Katniss's best interests at heart. The whole romance strategy with Peeta wasn't some pervy thing, IMO.
Katniss single act of rebellion, that act to reclaim and define her identity, actually worked.
BUT THE CAPITOL IS EVIL, YO. They won't stand for being so publicly defied like that.
I think the reason you can finally wrap your mind about how Katniss feels is that this is the first time we get to see her acting as herself since her alliance with Rue. For the last third of the book and in much of the time she was in training, she always had a mask on. She's finally allowing herself to just act without thinking about how it will play out on screen and to the sponsors. She's just reacting and letting her feelings show.
I think this is the moment when my opinion about Haymitch took a turn for the better. I love how Katniss runs to Haymitch first. It's adorable and so believable. And THANK YOU, Haymitch, for refusing to allow the Capitol to surgically enhance our heroine. So screwed up.
The Capitol, the Gamemakers, why don't they all just do us a favour and go die in a fire already!
The ending of this chapter just made me very nervous!
And yes, I also adore Cinna.
I think that the reason it took you so long to understand the point of KatPee is because romance bores you and until now, that’s all it was. Now it’s more. Now it means something and adds a very real danger and drama to the story. Now it’s political and I think maybe that’s helping you come around to it.
A+ This!
but now, it’s impossible for Katniss to ignore this anymore.
You would think, but then she goes on to wonder if it means that he's already thinking ahead of her. Blaargh. I get what you're saying about how she's only now becoming a truly sympathetic character, but her thick-headedness still annoys the crap out of me.
"As I said in the last review, there’s no joy to be had at the closing of the Games. I do not feel exhilarated or victorious in the slightest for Katniss. Instead, I feel tricked. I feel like I’ve been complicit in cheering along the suffering as my own form of entertainment."
yes. exactly. collins is brilliant.
"I kind of like this trio of characters in a strange way, especially Cinna. I feel like I have a better understanding of precisely why Haymitch ended up as who he is now. And Effie’s tearful greetings seem so genuine. Funny that I didn’t really care for Effie or Haymitch that much at the beginning."
i love how collins leads the audience to experience everything through katniss' eyes. we don't understand or like effie or haymitch until katniss begins to. (well, i kind of began to like haymitch earlier, but this definitely goes for effie).
plus, it's a lot easier to like someone when they aren't excitedly prepping you for an experience in which you will probably die. once you've survived the experience, everything tends to look just a bit warmer and fuzzier. (but just a bit. because collins is a genius sadist and katniss is still in terrible danger of dying. lovely.)
So many levels of horror. The continuing "games." The threat to her friends and family. The erasing of her history. That part is actually frightening to me because scars are a part of who you are. I don't know how it is for everyone else, but each one of my scars has a story attached to it and are a part of who I am. To have that erased with no input from me while I was sleeping…. just awful.
I love that trio too. It's funny because at the beginning of the book Effie is a joke and someone to be mocked, but by the end of the book, I've come to love her in her own special way. And Haymitch and Cinna are wonderful people with a special place in my heart.
I loved the passage in this chapter when Katniss vaguely remembers a man yelling "in the rougher cadences of District 12" at one of the Capitol people while she was semi-conscious. That man was Haymitch, and he definitely wasn't going to let those bastards surgically alter her. Haymitch for the win!
d'aww Katpee
<img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Ryya-Chan/2v1q9uwgif.gif" border="0">
AND HAYMITCH MAH DRINKIN BUDDY!!!! FOUR FOR YOU!
<img src="http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll120/nextbestsuperstar_2008/GIFs/tumblr_lbzm3nC4kI1qzllsr.gif" border="0">
oh, and this pretty much sums up the entirety of the games to the Capitol:
<img src="http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/matrevir/00041ref.gif" border="0">
what can I say, I was in a Glee (pre-crazy ass preaching where everything turned to shit) mood.
<img src="http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae17/mackgreene/drizz.gif" border="0">
Glee FTW!
Drizzle XD Oh Finn, you own my heart. Well, until Darren, I mean Blaine, came and stole it.
Hahahahaha that Rachel gif is amazing XD
Also – FINN: Drizzle! 😀 QUINN: wtf >:(
IKR? I keep watching it and watching it because it's so perfect: "Oh, that's the Capitol when Katniss pulled out the berries… ah, there they are trying to act like it didn't happen, okay, it's over… oh, and there's the BITCH YOU THINK YOU FOOLED US? WE TOTALLY OWN YOU! :D"
GLEE!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
I love Finn. Period. He's awesome,"Drizzle! *shiny eyes*" and I love How Quinn is all "WTF!?!?!?!?!". I APPROVE OF THIS COMMENT A WHOLE LOT 😀
Oh Glee.
I keep hoping you will return to campy fun, but it just doesn't seem to be happening.
*goes to cry in a corner*
'ear 'ear. It jumped the shark big time
Effie is so interesting to me, because she's basically an illustration of how difficult it is to get past your own privilege. Like, she would be a totally excellent person if it ever occured to her to not be an asshole–but it doesn't. That's privilege.
Fantastic comment!
I think the Hunger Games series is a lot like the movie Funny Games. You expect to be entertained by violence, and then the movie itself is just one long "FUCK YOU" for wanting to enjoy it in the first place.
Augh the stress and general mind games of this book are just amazing. Everytime you think something might work out, nope.. here have a spanner in the works.
I don't know if I feel worse for Katniss or Peeta regarding the "loving each other bit" I don't know that I want it to end well, but at the same time I'm cringing at all the possibilities of it going wrong.
It's heavy stuff.
What's interesting is how you can tell that Effie seriously believes herself to be kind and generous. She honestly thinks she's being nice to them, even though most of the time she's just being awful.
I do have an odd affection for her, as you said. It's weird how you can kind of appreciate her, even if you don't necessarily like her. I really love that Collins doesn't make clear-cut lines, saying to us how "All Capitol citizens are pure evil" – there's Cinna, who we all love, and then there are people like Effie and the prep team who, while they behave abominably most of the time, seem to actually have the potential to be decent, if only they could detach themselves from their demented culture and see their world from a different perspective. Truth be told, that really is a hard thing to do (or even realize you should do) without being taught. These people are actually taught the opposite all their lives, and since they live in their comfy little bubble, they're truly detached from reality.
It doesn't excuse them, but I like that Collins makes us understand them on some level – she doesn't leave it black and white; this whole book is one huge blend of grey and I love the psychological/mental/moral dilemmas and challenges it poses for the reader.
I understand you not "getting" Katniss and her feelings toward Peeta till now – this is the chapter where we really get to see some genuine emotion from Katniss, not just regarding Peeta, but this whole terrible situation she's in. She is a very real, relateable person right now, and she really wasn't allowed to be that way in the arena – it'd have gotten her killed.
Excellent review, as always 🙂 I can't wait for tomorrow!
Katniss doesn't even understand her feelings toward Peeta. That is one of my favorite things about her,
I do love that, because I feel like it's very realistic for a traumatized, damaged, and emotionally dense sixteen-year-old girl. Especially with all she's been through – I can't fathom how hard it would be to sort through all those confusing emotions in the aftermath of the games. Those kinds of feelings are confusing, even without the emotional turmoil brought on by watching 22 of your peers die horrible deaths and having the fate of everyone you know resting on your shoulders.
I appreciate that she's not bitchy about it (like Bella toward Jacob) – Katniss just honest to god doesn't get it. I can forgive a lack of understanding much more easily than I can forgive selfishness.
Thumbs up forever.
😀
This is a fantastic comment.
😀 thanks!
It doesn't excuse them, but I like that Collins makes us understand them on some level – she doesn't leave it black and white; this whole book is one huge blend of grey and I love the psychological/mental/moral dilemmas and challenges it poses for the reader.
IA. So hard.
Actually this whole comment is A+++
Thank you ^_^ I'm glad I communicated my thoughts well (sometimes I just don't say things right lol)
I don't really know that I care for Cinna more than Effie. I mean, they're both a product of their culture. The main difference (so far) that I see between them is that Cinna is much more charismatic. He's much better at making the people he talks to feel comfortable and respected. Charisma isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'd really like to know more about the histories and motivations of both characters. Effie and the prep team seem well-intentioned, but they're also both ignorant and painfully blunt.
I felt from the very beginning that Cinna was more…aware of what was going on. He certainly seems to at least be more intelligent and cultured than Effie (again, this isn't necessarily her fault, but that doesn't change the impact she has on Peeta and Katniss when she talks to them, or any past tributes). Cinna at least seems to treat them like human beings and seems genuinely upset that they're going into the arena.
Collins has me believing (even though it was never addressed and I'd have liked to have known more) that there must be people who find the games upsetting (though I'm betting they are not allowed to express these feelings, as that's probably akin to treason) and don't actually want to watch the slaughter, but have to because it's literally mandatory viewing.
You're right about histories and motivations – that kind of information would be really interesting. Then again, I'm just a sucker for character development in general 😀 They all interest me and I'd love to see more of the inner workings of the culture of the Capitol – it's kind of a sick curiosity that drives that interest, haha.
"You know, I do feel for Katniss. (Finally.)"
I was hoping you would get there in the end! I know you don't like "romance" but you have to appreciate the complex situation of a poor girl who has always kept her feelings inside to protect herself. Now she's even under more scrutiny. The Capital is fucking crazy. Everytime I thought we were nearing an end to the insanity- out came another gem. This mind fuckery rivals some of the best thrillers out there (in my opinion). This wrap up to this book had me hook, line and sinker!
"You say you want a revolution, well ya know, we all wanna change the world."
I love it when Beatles songs relate to books.
I vote that Mark is in charge of the cinematographic adaptation of this book! You have such great ideas!
"Well, I can certainly say I predicted approximately zero percent of this."
And that, my friend, is how you know you've just read an amazingly well-written piece of young adult literature. I work at a high school library and I was thrilled beyond all reason when the students started coming in and asking me for "The Hunger Games" series (especially after having to sit through all their puke-tastic obsessing over "Twilight"). I love and hate these books for so many different reasons – I love being sucked into the action, but like you Mark, I hate that I was actually cheering for Cato, Foxface and Peeta to die so Katniss could win (the first time I read this, I didn't connect with Peeta at all. I have reasons for this, but I'm afraid I might spoil you so I will save that for later). Collins is a WONDERFUL writer and I love her to pieces!
But my favorite line from this chapter – the one that sent me straight to Barnes and Noble to buy "Catching Fire" – was this one that you quoted: "And right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin."
But my favorite line from this chapter – the one that sent me straight to Barnes and Noble to buy "Catching Fire" – was this one that you quoted: "And right now, the most dangerous part of the Hunger Games is about to begin."
YES THIS.
I was kind of breathing a sigh of relief, the Games were over. I couldn't really be happy, but I was relieved that they were done and that Katniss had been smart enough to save them both.
And then we got this chapter, and the whole time I'm reading, I'm just going "oh no oh no oh no" in my head, as everything built up and up, and we realize, Katniss can never get out of these games, and like she says, she AND everyone she cares about is in even greater danger now. It's so sad and terrifying and rage-inducing and suspenseful.
I really do love Collins and this incredible story she's crafted. It's very raw and real and while some complain that she's blunt, I don't think this story would work as well if it were subtle and understated.
Great comment 😀
I love the fact that the doctors swarm around Peeta, and Katniss' first reaction is to fight them off, because she's become so paranoid and suspicious of everyone in the arena. Kind of like when Peeta picked up the knife to kill himself and Katniss automatically turns her bow on him. The Games fuck you up big time. 🙁
Seriously – the psychological damage done to these kids is no small thing…Katniss (and Peeta, too, though he seems to be expressing it differently) are permanently fucked up because there's just no way you could go into that arena and come out of it stable. No way.
Katniss is just so paranoid and terrified that she thinks she needs to protect Peeta from everyone, including the only people who can possibly hope to save him at that point. It's heart-wrenching 🙁
Yeah. As harsh as I am towards these books, I don't want to neglect crediting them for the things they do right, and that moment was a big one.
"It’s funny, because even though they’re rattling on about the Games, it’s all about where they were or what they were doing or how they felt when a specific event occurred. “I was still in bed!” “I had just had my eyebrows died!” “I swear I nearly fainted!” Everything is about them, not the dying boys and girls in the arena."
Haven't you noticed? It's exactly what most people are doing in the real world. It's sad and shocking at the same time.
After I read the book I actually paid some attention to what everyone was saying after another episode of their favorite casting show or when they heard some terrifying news on the TV. "Yeah, I was just about to go to bed when I heard that about that train accident…" or "I was so upset after they got voted off, I totally stopped watching the show."
It's exactly what Collins is doing here: drawing parallels between the real world and her book. You should pay some attention to what others are saying when some kind of accident or catastrophe happens somewhere. It is all about what they were doing, how they felt, what they thought. And oh, do you like their new hairstyle?
Exactly! My first thought when I read that passage of the book was about September 11th and how people always talk about it in terms of where they were or what they were doing. I actually never thought about how weird that was until I read this and was like …wait…
Well it's a very common conversation topic, the same happens with JFK's murder, people will always remember where they were or what they were doing when they heard. I remember exactly how I found out about the Twin Towers, and I was 11.
It's still deeply disturbing though.
Yeah, I can never forget that day either. I think us remembering where we were helps us personalize major, life-changing events like that. I need to understand it personally before I can talk about how it affected everybody else.
But I don't think that's exactly the case with the Games. I mean Collins exaggerates everything so we don't miss her social criticisms, but these Games are on every year for the past 74 years. It's not the same. It's kind of like saying where you were during the 6th inning of the 3rd game of the World Series. Or the Olympics. It's exciting, but ultimately, it means nothing to you personally. You can be excited because you had some sort of stake in it (emotional, monetary, etc.), but it's not going to change your outlook on life. Unless of course, you are one of the participants. Then my whole example goes to hell.
So irrelevant, but I'm a huge Giants fan and just seeing the words World Series still gets me exciting. Except I wish you hadn't said game 3, since that was the only one we lost 🙂
Although after waiting my whole life for them to win, I don't think I'll forget where I was when the Giants won the World Series anytime soon. But I do get your point, and think it's valid. I'm just an annoyingly obsessive baseball fangirl and will just be going now…
Haha Oh believe me, I understand. I'm a huge baseball fan, which is why I picked the World Series as an example. I know where I was, who I was with, nearly every playoff game of the 2009 season. (I still have memories of my first Yankees game. I was 7 or 8 and I'm now 22.) Which is why I mentioned the emotional stake. I get a lot of slack (EDIT: And by 'slack' of course I mean 'flack') for being a Yankees fan, especially since most of my closest friends are Red Sox fans, and one of my former roomies is a die-hard Phillies fan. However, as much joy and bragging rights as this brought me, it still didn't *change* my life.
But I understand 😉
Yeah, I meant to say something about that and totally forgot. Though I don't quite know what there IS to say in some ways, that they could actually be "used to" watching kids murder each other…
It also might make us look at how news is presented these days – more and more it is entertainment, not information, and news programmes are looking at ways of stopping a viewer turning over, not of informing them. The point of many (most? all?) of the Gamemakers actions during the Games are to make them more entertaining… to make the murder of children by other children entertaining… the parallels Collins draws are not subtle but they are certainly frightening.
It's a deeply disturbing trend all round.
We do it every day – and it's partly because it's happening to "other people". September 11th is a great example but to me it's even more shocking if you compare the several thousand deaths of that day with the fact that it's estimated some 100,000 people die every day either directly or indirectly of hunger. And because it's happening out of our sight most of the time, to people we don't know and people we aren't connected to, we don't even think about it. That, to me, is even more disturbing.
It's the same with the Capitol lot – they're not really aware of the tributes as people who have lives and personalities of their own. It's as if they are two different species. The tributes are just the entertainment. It doesn't occur to the majority of the watchers in the Capitol to see them any other way, and because they are there for entertainment, it doesn't occur to them to grieve a death – in fact, the bloodier the better.
Honestly, I really dislike most romance plots in books. But if I don't enjoy it in this book, I can at least appreciate it. I like how Collins didn't make Katniss and Peeta *OMG TOTES FALL IN LUV 4EVR* during the games (but then Katniss also fall in love with one of the Muttations and Peeta is still sparkling. There is an epic duel where no one dies and everything is shiny). Instead, it seems like a more realistic development, especially considering the insane conditions.
I also really appreciate that there were no speed-growth babies, no imprinting, and that at the epic showdowns in these books, shit actually happens.
Plus, notice the plural "showdowns." Not even in the series, just in the first book. It took us four books to get there with Meyer! *facepalm*
(Again, solid evidence towards the She Couldn't Have Actually Read "The Hunger Games" theory.)
I agree completely. Young Adult fiction has lost me in the last four years because of that very problem, but at least Collins isn't following that dastardly trope.
Why must we perpetuate Twilight by comparing everything on the damn planet to it?
Because it's fun?
Because it's just TOO easy. Personally, I'm hoping Smeyer will get the hint. (Also, I am stupidly entertained by the sound of 'Smeyer' It sounds like an unholy jam-dog)
Mark! Oh, how I felt my stomach climb into my throat while reading the review for this chapter, along with the one before it. I think what you’re finally getting at is the entire reason I love this series so much. It’s so far from being reality, and yet it feels so real. I read and read, knowing I missed details but just wanted to get to a point in which I didn’t feel my heart racing in anticipation!
And there’s never a true feeling of relief, just rest, because you know Collins won’t let you off that easy.
Also, dude…have you gotten my email(s) regarding a shirt? I still want to make one or two for you. I need specifics! 🙂
Also – beware the Capitol. They climbin' in yo window, they snatchin' yo people up, tryin' ta reap everyone, so hide yo kids, hide yo wives, and hide yo husbands, 'cause they reapin' everybody up in here.
she has real feelings for this boy, despite them being shrouded in a lot of confusing circumstances.
Yeah, she just doesn't realize it herself.
This is going to get interesting.
Oh, you have no idea.
We learn just how terrifying the Gamemakers are when she awakes to discover that they’ve literally erased the evidence that she was in the Games.
I was so, so mad about that. I can't believe Katniss wasn't more furious. It's not just that they took away all the damage from the Games, they just reset her to zero, flawless, removing even any scars she had BEFORE the Games, reminders of any life she ever had, all gone, without her consent. Motherfuckers.
Funny that I didn’t really care for Effie or Haymitch that much at the beginning.
I know! I hated Effie in the beginning, but I started to like her once I realized how genuine she actually was.
Holy shit, could you imagine going through all this and waking up to find out that the Gamemakers surgically altered your body to match their idea of beauty? FUCKED. UP.
RIGHT??? Thank God Cinna talked them out of that, but I'm still pissed about the skin cleansing.
Oh. Oh great. GREAT. She’s not even out of the clear yet. UGH CAN THIS JUST END SOON.
NO. NO. NO IT CAN'T. (And how awesome is this, right? You think the Games are over, it's over, whew, it's all over…and THEN IT'S NOT. Collins, you're a sadist.)
Is it also weird that it’s only now that I am beginning to understand the entire Katpee drama at all? Now it seems like it has a point, and a very important one at that.
This is what I was saying before about how the romance becomes integral to the plot, which makes it interesting. SO FUCKED UP AND AWESOME.
One chapter to go!
It's not just that they took away all the damage from the Games, they just reset her to zero, flawless, removing even any scars she had BEFORE the Games, reminders of any life she ever had, all gone, without her consent. Motherfuckers.
To be honest, my first reaction to this was a sarcastic "Oh, so there's no lasting consequences for anything. Nice." I followed this by wondering if all the psychological trauma was also going to magically heal. However, on reflection, I see how her magic buffing is a negative thing, particularly since it was done without her consent.
I feel tricked. I feel like I’ve been complicit in cheering along the suffering as my own form of entertainment.
This is, I am pretty sure, exactly what Collins was going for, and it's a line of thought that I really don't like. I refuse to feel guilty for being entertained by a violent piece of fiction. The implication that the readers are similar to those in the Capitol who are sending actual children off to die for the sake of entertainment is high-handed and ludicrous.
Interesting. Obviously no one knows exactly what Collins intended when she wrote this, but I never got the impression that the reader should feel guilty about anything in the novel. Perhaps the intention is not to cause guilt, but to create awareness. None of us would send children to their deaths, but many of us did want Katniss to kill Cato for our sense of justice. It may be that in the eyes of the Capitol, these people deserve to suffer for the district uprisings, and the entertainment is just a byproduct. Is it implausible that we wouldn't be just as bad, if put in similar circumstances? Again, though, I don't disagree with your point, I just saw it differently.
Katniss is revolted by her physical appearance. So much of this book is all about what’s in her mind that we forget the physicality of it all. I think this would be an awesome thing to see in the film version of the novel.
i'm wondering if the film could lose that moment a little bit. because the bit about being stuck in her head is you can't see her, so the contrast is really stark.
the writing sort of (SORT OF) redeems itself at moments like this where you realise that the clunky point she was making isn't actually the point at all, it's this OTHER thing that hits you like a tonne of bricks. those moments are pretty amazing and impactful.
Yay, the return of Cinna and Haymitch! <3 <3 And MORE drama! The Capitol is crazy, to make her wear the outfit from the arena and remind her. I'm sorry that after spending who-knows-how-long starving and fending for her life in an arena that she does not match your idea of beautiful! How dare she!
I can't wait to see your reaction to the party in CF (those who have read ahead will know what I'm talking about)!
Katniss almost won me over, too. But then she went and compared people to PETS. What in the world!? How can she say something like that!? I mean, it just happened FOR REAL in the previous chapter! The Capitol or Gamemakers or whoever the heck is doing all this had people––AS PETS––chasing her around! I am so glad that Haymitch is back; I love it when characters say what I'm thinking. "Give me something to work with, sweetheart!"
And is there only one chapter in the book left!? Is Collins going to leave me in this never-ending well of hopelessness and despair!? Dumbledore, please! Pop out and tell me everything's gonna be okay! :'(
I don't think it was intended to be insulting – I think Katniss just uses that explanation to show how, though she likes these people on some level, she can't really feel as attached to them because they're so oblivious to the suffering of others and it disgusts her (after what she just came out of, it's amazing she can find any affection for these people, even if it's a strange variety of it).
Haymitch is so awesome – he's kind of the voice of the audience XD I love how he just pops in and yells at Katniss for us, it's pretty hilarious 😀
Collins is evil like that. THERE IS NO HOPE. No hope for any of us o__O
*Spoiler alert*
Dumbledore's dead.
OMG NOOOOOOOO HOW COULD YOU? YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH! :p
Nuh-uh, Stephalopolis! Mark said he lived on in my heart so, Phbthhthhthbbbb! :p
"But Santa lives on!"
"In the hearts and minds of us all?"
"No! In space! Gathering power!"
…yeah…sorry…ever since you mentioned robot bees my head's been stuck on Invader Zim, lol.
"My bees…. 🙁 "
Yeah, that bothered me, too. Is she trying to tell us that it's okay to see people as less than human if you find them ignorant and offensive? Or, it's horrible to dehumanize the people from the Districts, but it would be totally okay to do the same thing to people from the Capitol…
You know she got to the beginning of the Games where they killed 13 people at the Cornucopia and immediately put the book down. She didn't even get to experience the horror that was the tracker jackers and then the tribute mutts!
Sad thing is, everything Collins has a commentary on would totally fly right over Meyer's head. And therefore the ENTIRE book is lost on her.
Good point. The entire reason I enjoyed this series is the layers of social commentary, which I think is more beneficial to YA readers than romance. They've got enough of that.
Oh absolutely. I love when books/movies (or anything, really) have a bigger, deeper message that transcends the setting and the characters – it brings a whole new dimension to what you're reading, and allows you to re-read countless times because there's always a new angle to see or a new detail to find.
Meyer's would've missed that entirely and thought the whole thing was just a violent bloodbath, when really it's so much more than that.
The fact that they were going to give her breast implants without her consent disturbed me SO MUCH. Even more than a lot of the other, more blatantly horrifying stuff. It just made it really hit home for me how the Capitol doesn't view any of the contestants as actual people, even after witnessing everything they've been through.
I loved how Collins criticized the media and our culture's obsession with appearances throughout the series. It was unexpected, but really enhanced the story for me.
I know, right? She'd have just woken up with implants, and I'm sure Katniss would've been ~thrilled~ about that (not that the Capitol gives a flying fuck how the tributes feel. I mean, they just slaughtered a bunch of kids so I'm sure surgery without consent is TOTES NO BIGGIE to them).
I really enjoy the way Collins basically goes "You guys think the Capitol is bad? They are basically us! BAM – think on that for a while." it really does add a whole new level of awe to the story.
So this is definitely an improvement to what we saw in the beginning. The stuff we see the capitol do to Kat? That's what I've been looking for to convince me that the leaders of the Capitol are evil. Before they'd been built up as evil, but not much is really shown besides the games themselves, and even those came off as more barbaric and uninterested than really vile, but the way they drug her into sleep, keep her sedated while they change her body and attempt to transform her into their idea of "beauty"? THAT is just fucking despicable.
It's the type of personal, invasive, irreversible type of action that gets my haunches up, and I'm glad Collins put it in. The rest of the chapter was alright, though I didn't find myself warming to Katniss as much as Mark. I definitely like her more now than I did in the introductory chapters, but I'm still finding myself enjoying the times with other characters more than when it's just her.
Grade: "A-"
"I tentatively lift my left hand above the cover. Not only has it been scrubbed clean, the nails are filed in perfect ovals, the scars from the burns are less prominent. I touch my cheek, my lips, the puckered scar above my eyebrow, and am just running my fingers through my silken hair…"
Every time I read about Katniss' makeovers I feel a compulsive need to get a manicure and blow-dry my hair. AS IF THE TRACKER JACKERS WEREN'T ENOUGH MINDFUCKERY GEE THANKS HUNGER GAMES.
I read this review while filing my nails (in perfect ovals, as my OCD condemns me), and I have over three hundred nail polish colors. It makes me feel so… like a Capitol citizen.
Soon we'll be wearing gold eyeliner and dyeing our skin green 🙁 🙁 🙁
FANART FLOOD (god, I always realise there's another review too late)
<img src="http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/248/2/9/cinna_by_ravengirl5111-d2y3m9q.jpg">
<img src="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/144/f/d/Hunger_Games___Cinna_by_brytning.jpg">
<img src="http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs47/f/2009/181/f/5/Katniss__s_candlelight_by_kittygirl778.jpg">
<img src="http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/038/6/b/Katniss___contest_entry_by_bananabunch.jpg">
<img src="http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/241/f/5/reunion_dress_by_hersb-d2xlh3k.png">
CINNA! Oh god I just adore that first pic – so awesome.
When Cinna tells Katniss that Haymitch had argued with the Capitol douches and made sure they didn't surgically alter her body was when I really started to love him as a character. It seems like he's all about the Games, the right presentation, willing to do anything to get these kids out of the arena, but that shows that he really does care about Katniss, and that there is a line for him.
To me, the surgical alterations are where the fucked up really hits you. As a reader, by this point, you've become accustomed to the idea of the Hunger Games and are kind of desensitized to how effed up that is. The mutts from the last chapter and the take back is awful, but realizing that the horror doesn't end there is so chilling. I am sure that Katniss would have appreciated having her hearing fixed, at least, but that they did it without asking, polished away all of the evidence that she was burned and cut and scarred, is just so repulsive. That they wanted to change her body without her consent is so disgusting.
I too think the surgical alteration part is where it really hits home, just because it shows you how nothing is sacred to these people. They'll kill you for their entertainment and fix you up so you're not an eye-sore and, clearly, they will do whatever they feel like doing if it means THEY get to feel more comfortable with YOU. It's really, really awful
I almost feel like smoothing away the battle scars is even more messed up than the fact that she has battle scars. I mean, I guess it's nice not to have scars, but it's like everything in the Capitol is so unnatural and staged and fake – it's creepy as hell.
I just signed up to say…
SHIT. IS. STILL. NOT. REAL. NOT YET.
kkbyeee 🙂
Ugh, I love and hate this chapter. I so wanted it to just be calm and over with, but no! Which is part of why I'm really enjoying the books. 🙂
I was so mad about the Capitol wanting to alter and basically sexualize Katniss. And even though they don't get her body, she's still stuck acting out being "madly in love" (which is not the case, no matter how her feelings for Peeta have changed) What does madly in love look like to the people in the Capitol? I can't imagine Katniss trying to act like Lavender Brown. I'm afraid they're going to end up sexualizing Peeniss to try to keep up the act, and I'd rather the book didn't go there.
So I know I've posted it before, but I keep imagining what Peeta's thinking this whole chapter, and this song pops into my head every time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYGfZ3ONmro&fe…
Funny that you comment about a song, because everytime I think about Katniss/Peeta I get this song stuck in my head:
[youtube wn87ZxKv4qg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn87ZxKv4qg youtube]
One last thing, and I swear I'll leave stop commenting rapidfire (Since I'm sure it's annoying) but I have a suggestion for your personal reading, Mark. "Anil's Ghost" by Michael Ondaatje. We read it for my english class this past month, and I really think you'd enjoy it.
Not read Anil's Ghost but I heart Ondaatje big time. He's written at least oneof my top five sentences in the English language EVER.
Care to quote it? 🙂
I read In the Skin of a Lion, and liked it a lot.
I love Haymitch 🙂
Wow, this is going to sound extreme, but this almost makes me despise my career choice (cosmetologist), when I see the Capitol's ideas of beauty. I always liked to showcase what was unique, special, or interesting about my clients instead of encouraging them to conform to some dumb societal ideal.
When Cinna talked them wanting to do surgery on her I nearly vomited… THEY make this girl malnourished, then want to hack into her to hide the fact that they did it?! They now get to die in ALL THE FIRES because I said so Mark-style!!!
I would like to thumbs-up this comment twice.
I'll do the second one for you. Because absolute WORD to the original comment.
I am still trying (and failing) to digest how fucked up the Capitol is. The have all these amazing mod cons, all this privelege, but even the people of the Capitol are living in constant fear of ruthless punishment, should they put a foot wrong. All this privelege, and no risk of having your children torn from you and murdered, but they don’t really have freedom.
Also, I have had to mentally block myself from thinking about some of the horror of the previous chapter. The idea that these dead kids, some horribly disfigured, were not respected, or allowed any dignity in death and were not sent back to their grieving
families, but used to genetically engineer wolves to
further the entertainment value is so repugnant. I
can’t imagine what this was like for their families to
experience. And now I’m even more certain that there is no way any parents could raise their children to volunteer for this.
I haven't read the books, and won't until I get to finish Mark's blog, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Capitol also doesn't allow for Birth Control, because that would ruin their little party. I'm dying to see the Capitol get their comeuppance.
Interesting thought! That seems like something they would do–incredibly messed up and controlling.
This is the worst part! After everything, it's not like Katniss can be like, "Oh hey, bee tee dubs, I was just acting back there? I'm not really in love." Instead she has to keep pretending. So even though she and Peeta fought so hard to maintain their identities in the arena, they don't really get to be themselves after, either.
This chapter gave me shivers down my back as I was reading.
I remember while reading I never considered Katniss to have any romantic feelings for Peeta. To me, the only thing she cared about was surviving and if that meant playing up a show-mance to get supplies then that's what she'd do. I'm not going to spoil but I think it's actually more the journey that Katniss makes that help her realize her feelings for anyone other than her family.
I don't know if it was romantic love, but she certainly had some strong feelings for Peeta, since she fed all of the broth to him, and since she risked getting killed just to get medicine for him, with no advantage to herself. She could have survived and won without him just fine if not better, but she risked her life in a very selfless way. Her actions display love, but the romatintic dialogue and awkward flirtation was for the supplies
I feel bad for the way I judged Effie. She originally came off to be an Umbridge/Skeeter hybrid, but turned out to be an interesting mix of Tonks and Hagrid.
Yeah, there's a definite….sweetness in there. She's just so completely clueless and has a tendency to say awful things because of her complete obliviousness. I really love that Collins can make us sympathetic to characters who, in the hands of most other authors, would simply be objects toward which we could direct our hatred.
How I would like to greet Effie Trinket:
-slap-
'I love your hair!' 😀
"that they don't actually internalise the fact that these are REAL CHILDREN in there"
aye.
Yeah I read the Meyer comments on THG having read some of her comments about action and violence and so forth and I thought "Yeah, who wrote those comments for you, Steph?"
Hahaha yeah that's basically what it comes down to. You know she had an assistant (who can probably appreciate decent fiction) read it and write up her comments and she just signed her name to them and called it a day.
What'd be really funny is if she didn't read them, has no idea what they're about, and just decides to go see the movie…XD
Really excited to see how this book ends up as a movie. But I am worried to see if the person cast as katniss will be able to suow the pain that the hunger games bring. Especially since there are dumped about casting Kristen Stewart. :/
I doubt they'd go with Stewart. She's definitely too old for the part, and from what I've seen, she probably wouldn't be into doing another YA book adaptation.
Mark: forever unprepared.
Confession; whenever I read about Cinna the only person I picture is Sutan Amrull. Yeah, the make-up artist from ANTM (recently working with Adam Lambert on tour and now in Ru-Paul's Drag Race – SHUSH – STOP JUDJING ME IMMEDIATELY) He seems to have that same kind of empathic rapport. I dunno, yeah.
Mark, I want to know what you thnk about your comparison to Battle Royale now?
YOU ARE STILL NOT PREPARED
Until you read the last sentence on the last page of the last book, everything can and will get more ****ed up.
And what about the victors who's mentors weren't as caring as Haymitch? Did they actually surgically alter them? I am going to be thinking about that every time I read about victors now, great. THANKS SC. I keep realizing how much more ****ed up this can be, and I have the bloody books memorized.
So I take it back. Even after you've read all three books, you're still not prepared
I just realized.
In the book, at first Katniss didn't like Effie so we didn't like her either. The in the end she sort of appreciates Effie and we also do the same.
We have been brainwashed with KATPEE!!!
OH and yeah Mark, shit gets so real the story has just begun!!
DUN DUN DUN!!!