Here is our first attempt at a joint blog discussion on a book. Since it's a discussion about the book we do talk about what happens, so if you haven't read the book and don't want to be spoiled come back and read this post once you've finished the book. I'm looking forward to trying this again. :)
C
atching Fire – intellectually deep thoughts by Jen & Chris
Chris: Let’s do our checklist for YA novels!
Checklist:Is the main character any of the following: shy, mousy, and practically friendless?Jen: She starts out kind of friendless in Hunger Games. She just has Gale. I guess by Catching Fire she has more of a group of friends.
Chris: Not shy, not mousy, and sort of friendless. But that’s not really her fault. The district is pretty sparse with ‘children’ who can play.
Is the main character an only child?Chris: No. Kat has a sister, Prim.
Is the main character’s best friend a total idiot?Jen: Nope, Gale has a good head on his shoulders.
Chris: He’s not an idiot.
Does the best friend meet a bad ending?Jen: I’m hoping he makes it out of Mocking Jay alive!
Chris: Well he’s still alive in the 2nd book. Hurrah for that!
Does the main character confide in his/her best friend?Chris: Yes, Katniss does.
Jen: Yep.
Is the love interest a very old man disguised as a supernatural being? <snark>Chris: Not in this universe! See, here, Edward Cullen, there are people who fall in love with a person as old as they are.
Jen: It’s refreshing to have the love interests be of the same age and same species.
Does the love interest stalk the main character?Jen: Not in the creepy “I’ll hang out in your room at night while you sleep” kind of way.
Chris: ROFL!! Peeta also doesn’t turn into a dog or werewolf or fairy and hangs out in the dark corner of your bedroom. Cheers to decency.
Jen: Cheers!
Do the two main characters fall in love immediately, with zero provocation?Chris: No.
Jen: They actually know each other and have reasons to fall for each other… SHOCKER!!!!!
Does the story occur in a small podunk town in a state I wouldn’t want to live in?Chris: Yes. From what I’ve gathered, she’s in Virginia. And Districts 1 and 2 might be NYC and LA – because we’re so shallow.
Jen: but rich!
Chris: Well duh! California Cows are happy and we have oranges! NYC has delicious hot dogs!
Is there any parental involvement in the lives of the main characters?Chris: Not really. The mother is pretty useless in the first book (well it’s not about her in the first book), but in Catching Fire, Mom is useful as a herbalist/nurse.
Jen: We learn more about her in Catching Fire and her behavior in Hunger Games makes a bit more sense… kind of.
Jen: Now that we’ve covered the checklist we’ll get into the questions.What were your first impressions of the two books?Chris: I enjoyed the first book, The Hunger Games, but it reminded me of a very simple Battle Royale. I felt it was written very simply, even for a YA novel.
In the second book, Catching Fire, I went through more emotions because I was now attached to the characters. Spoiler: When she’s called back the Games, I practically had a heart attack. I thought, Man, I can’t take another round of Katniss going into a stressful, violent situation. It was like deja vu. CF definitely punched up the levels of excitement and stress for me. Well done.
Jen: I agree completely. The Hunger Games was good, but Catching Fire didn’t lose my interest at all. SPOILER: I felt physically ill when Katniss was called back to the games. I couldn’t figure out exactly how the story was going to go, but I never expected that. I remember, Chris, when you got ahead of me in the reading you tweeted about something that made you really mad… as soon as I heard the rules for the Quell I knew that’s what you were referring to.
What did you think of this love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?Chris: Yet another stress-inducing situation for Katniss to be in. I’m very interested in how the author is going to play this out. Is Peeta going to die for Katniss so Katniss is going to stick with Gale? Is Gale going to meet a crap end, and will Katniss realize Peeta’s a good guy?
Jen: I think at this point Katniss already realizes Peeta’s a good guy and she could be happy with him. I don’t know if she is in love with him, but I think she thinks she could be happy with him (if that’s the way it has to be). I’m just hoping that both Peeta and Gale make it to the end of Mocking Jay (the last book in the series). I don’t want Katniss’ choice of guy to be the one who happens to be alive at the end of the series.
Chris: Oh good point! She doesn’t have to choose either if she doesn’t want to.
Chris:
I had an extreme allergic reaction to the twist in CF (ie. spoiler: when Katniss has to go back into the ring and compete again).
How did you feel?Chris: Ok we’re going to assume that the 5 people who are reading our blogs: 1. have already read the books or 2. don’t mind the spoilers. Even so, we’ll try to color the text in grey if there is a major spoiler. Like this one. I had a very very very tough time with this twist. I so wanted to call you, Jen, and tell you what happens because I didn’t want you to get ambushed like I did!! I was reading the book in bed before I turned out the lights. The moment we all find out she goes back… it was like a punch in the gut.
Jen: Like I said before, as soon as I read that I knew that’s what you were shocked about. I was flabbergasted by that twist. I NEVER saw it coming. I had a hard enough time with the games in The Hunger Games. It made me furious that kids would have to go through that. It was interesting to see how Katniss approached the situation the second time around. In HG she was so focused on herself. I thought it showed how much she changed since she was so focused on Peeta making it through the games in CF.
Sidenote: I think there will be 3 people who read this since we are 2 of the 5 who read our blogs. Ha!Chris: *high five*
We have to remember that the characters, while “the breadwinners of their respective families,” are essentially teenagers. What did you think about the fact that The Hunger Games require the children of the country’s citizens to compete to the death?Chris: It’s the world that Suzanne Collins created. We just “live in it” through her characters. It’s very smart for the Capitol to take a few children per year from each district to remind everyone what they can do to anyone at anytime. It’s a perfect way to keep people in fear. I found Districts 1 and 2’s enthusiasm to shove 4 kids into the fighting ring to be strange. On the other hand, I guess that’s what happens when you buy into the glory and fame of killing your fellow citizens. It’s a little Stokholm Syndrome-y, no?
Jen: I guess it’s kind of Stockholm Syndrome-y. It’s the world they have always know and so far no one has questioned it. Well I guess those who have questioned it were “taken care of”, but at any rate they are no longer there.
I found the whole idea of the games sickening and grotesque. I did find it interesting how the “higher class districts” trained their kids for the games. I don’t understand how they could accept the games as a way of life and basically sacrifice thier kids in the interest of having a winner. I would hope that in that situation I would have the same mindset as Katniss. I couldn’t imagine watching my child compete in the games.
Chris: At the same time, perhaps they have been numbed by the violence and cruelty of sending “their” children to battle. One one hand, you don’t want to watch it because it means you’re condoning this. On the other hand, you’re watching because you’re rooting for your kid(s) to make it home alive.
Who would you want to play Katniss, Gale, and Peeta? (Hollywood is all about copying and translating novels into movies. Lazy bastards. I’m surprised we haven’t heard about a studio optioning these novels.)
Chris: I don’t know. I can’t see any Hollywood starlet want to be all blistery and bloody for a role like this. Here are some possibilities:
Katniss: If they were younger, I would have liked to see Emily Blunt, Michelle Krusiec, Katee Sackhoff, or Sarah Michele Gellar.
Peeta and Gale: Er, who do you think, Jen? Gale’s got to be scruffy and Peeta should look sort of clean. Both should be somewhat built. Ryan Reynolds would have been a great Peeta but I can’t see him as a baker’s son. Zachary Levi? I can see Chuck in Peeta.
It doesn’t matter what I think. Hollywood casting directors will just pick a Bieber-esque wussy for each guy anyway.
Jen: Well obviously I think Kristen Stewart should be cast as Katniss. JUST KIDDING!
I read on the interwebs that Lionsgate did option it… so maybe the studios will ruin the series for us. I have trouble with casting because I can’t think of actors who are the right age range or aren’t Miley Cyrus. The only younger girl I would think of was Abigal Breslin. I really like her, but I don’t know if she is right as Katniss. Chris, I agree with you about SMG or Katee Sackhoff if they were younger. I think someone like a Zachary Levi would be a good Peeta. I don’t know about Ryan Reynolds. I would see him more of a Gale than a Peeta, but really neither.
I googled Disney channel actors and searched IMDb to get an idea of people so this is random, but maybe a girl like Danielle Panabaker for Katniss. I liked her in Sky High (though that doesn’t tell me she can do Hunger Games type of acting). How about Sean Faris for Gale? Or bringing in some Veronica Mars peeps, (as you know I like to ) Kyle Gallner?
Chris: I don’t like Kyle Gallner, even if he is cast in a bunch of movies as of late. I’ve never heard of Sean Faris; I think Danielle Panabaker looks too weak to be Katniss (though I liked her in Sky High). Alas I have no other suggestions, so I don’t mean to crap on yours.
Jen: My suggestions were crap… so crap away. Maybe our “readers” will have suggestions.
What do you think will happen in the third novel?Chris: I hope all out civil war breaks out. I hope Katniss gets it through her thick skull that Peeta truly loves her. I think Gale is going to die. Either way, if either boy dies, it’ll be a shame but “no good deed goes unpunished,” right? So someone’s gotta die. I bet District 13 comes out with a giant robot named Optimus Prime, no wait. Wrong movie. I think D13 is going to bring some heavy artillery into the war on the Capitol, including scientists and military people who were originally thought to be dead.
Jen: Hahah, Optimus Prime! I think you’re right about Gale and that doesn’t make me happy. I agree about D13. They’ve had time to get organized and ready for the impending war that has to happen. Should we try to predict all of the deaths we think will happen in Mocking Jay? I think we will lose more than just Gale.
Chris: We talked a little bit about this last night (David Sedaris!), and it would be pretty dramatic if we lost Prim. I suspect Haymitch is going to eat it too. Spoiler: I was sad that the fashion designer Cinna took one for the team. Now that is putting your life on the line, to design something that would enrage a government. Cinna has balls. Unlike designers in real life.
Jen: I was going to add Haymitch to my above list of potential goners.
Side note referencing the spoiler above: Wouldn’t Cinna have been a great designer on Project Runway?Chris: LOL!! Yes!
Do you like reading about dystopian worlds?Chris: One of the reasons why I enjoy reading fiction, dystopic or not, is that the authors create their own world and rules within said society. It takes me to another place, even if it’s similar to the real world we live in. They build it and I wrap myself in the walls of their words, describing either a society I’d like to live in or a society I’m glad I’m not a part of IRL. I absolutely loved Katniss’s strong character. She’s got faults, but in the end, you want to stand by her and root for her. By rooting for her, you root for wrong thing being made right again. She encompasses the struggles of the “lesser” Districts.
I like dystopan fiction. Some of the first YA novels I read were the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. I LOVED how Westerfeld created this world where children are forced to get plastic surgery to be made pretty at age 16. Maybe it’s because authors are really injecting their social commentary into the stories, and I pretty much feel the same way.
Jen: I totally agree (and I’m not just kissing butt here). I love that the authors create their own rules. The world Suzanne Collins has created stretched me out of my comfort zone from the moment I knew about the games. I think that discomfort made me root for Katniss and Peeta even more. It’s also really great to see strong young women who challenge the system and government in their world.
Chris: I’ve recommended these books and a few others to my younger cousins, and they have loved reading them. I think these sorts of books offer a different take on how “boys and girls” should behave, ie. not to conform to present-day society’s rules and norms. I’m hoping that my cousins feel more empowered to stay themselves. Of course, I’m also glad they enjoyed them just as books, too.
What’s currently on your reading list? What’s next on our list?Chris: Next up in YA Novel-town: I’m waiting for the sequel to this –
Mocking Jay. I’m also waiting for Eoin Cowlfer’s next
Artemis Fowl book. And I’m waiting for read Maggie Steifvater’s sequel to Shiver –
Linger.
Currently on my reading list:
Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler;
Happy Birthday or Whatever by Annie Choi; and
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. Millar’s book has been a thorn on my side for about 4 weeks now… I’ve had a tough time getting into it and I’m already halfway through.
Jen: I’m currently reading a
Get Lucky by Katherine Center. After the emotional struggle of Catching Fire I needed some Chicklit. I think after that I’ll be on the second book in the Percy Jackson series,
Sea of Monsters. I’m really looking forward to
Mocking Jay, which comes out on my birthday!
