Greetings!
So, I just finished reading Catching Fire. I know, it took me long enough to start reading this series, but I had a little trouble getting started because I lacked something in the characters--emotional investment.
I'm on to Mockingjay now, and although I still feel the strong desire to kick Katniss in the face as I find her annoying, the emotional investment is there.
I can honestly say that I don't really feel a whole lot of love for Katniss. She's as selfish as the day is long and what annoys me even more is that she knows she's selfish because she constantly says things along the lines of "he was concerned about me, but I was only concerned for myself." And she feels bad every time she thinks about it but always fails to deviate from her usual pattern of behavior.
The other thing that bothers me about Katniss is that she doens't know what she wants. When she's with Gale it's all Gale all the time. But when she's with Peeta it's all about Peeta. I think her problem is that she can't seperate her romantic feelings from her "just friends" feelings which is why sometimes she makes out with Peeta on the beach or why sometimes she goes gallivanting off into the forest with Gale, which is pretty much the Katniss equivalent of making out.
Let's not talk about Katniss. Let's talk about why I actually like this book so much.
Despite the fact that pretty much everything Katniss thinks annoys me, I like the way she says it. I also like that she annoys me because it means she's being honest. It annoys me that she doesn't know what she wants but Collins makes a point to show that Katniss probably doesn't know what she wants either.
Also, the change in her personality is different from The Hunger Games to Catching Fire. She was pretty tough in the beginning--a loner, self reliant, content to be left alone. While usually a traumatic event like the Hunger Games would harden someone, I think it actually softened her. She was so suspicious and untrusting in book one, but this time round she expresses that she does trust people and how she doesn't want to kill to stay alive. She went into the games willing to sacrifice herself so Peeta get out. She still has to fight back her selfish tendencies and her suspicious tendencies first, she does eventually come around.
I like Katniss in those moments.
The other things I like about the books: The Hunger Games arena. As soon as I went to bed after reading Catching Fire, I dreamed about the Hunger Games with the ever present "tick-tock" of a clock going in the background the whole time. Not only that, but there are things in those arenas that never fail to make think that Suzanne Collins watched too much Indiana Jones and horror movies as a child. The things you find there are just horrifying.
The first thing that Suzanne Collins ever wrote that gave me nightmares were those wasps that stung that girl to death. Then they got attacked by those mutts. And I thought, no way that can get topped.
Well, color me wrong. Acid fog. Blood rain. Tidal waves. Electrocution. Killer monkeys. Insanity. Pandemonium.
Collins' mind must be a terrifying place to be.
Finally, the actual plot of the story is pretty damn good too. I mean, it's incredibly effed up obviously, still. Everything about it just keeps me thinking. For instance, is every district the size of a city? If so, how small is the population of humans left alive? Those are the two most daunting question I got from it. Trying to figure out why the Capitol is so oppressive and trying to figure out why some of the other districts are so impoverished would be like trying to figure why some countries here are so oppressive and why some countries are so impoverished. And it's THAT realization that made me feel connected with the actual story.
Thinking that things in America could really get so horrible that we could turn into that horrifies me. That's why Utopia/Dystopia stories are my favorite and this series is especially good.
The main character annoys me, yes, but the story and everything that Katniss is fighting for pulls me in. Plus it's exceptionally well written. There aren't any fancy words and it isn't overly detailed. It's simple, but it's got a lot of feeling to it. It's riveting.
I'm well on my way into Mockingjay and I've already face palmed myself and actually found people I dislike more than Katniss, but I won't get into that yet.
Hmm... I'm not sure how to end a review. Maybe a should do a little jig *does a jig*
I promise I'll do better next time. Practice makes perfect!
Fare thee well,
April
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