Returning to The Hunger Games: Rediscovering a Classic

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Hey guys, welcome back to Such a Fun Read.

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I am your host and resident reader Sheree, and here we will be diving in each week to

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chat about the books we love, the books people just can't stop talking about, and how we

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deal with being book obsessed.

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Today's episode is a bit of a throwback.

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I'm currently under the weather.

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Well I'm...why do we say under the weather?

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Maybe I'll look that up when I'm not sick.

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Yeah, I'm sick.

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And I'm also currently in bed recording this intro.

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I really didn't want to go a week without an episode, so I figured why don't I put my

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book talk on the Hunger Games that I did last November on the podcast.

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I reread the Hunger Games for the first time in years.

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Figured it was a good time since it was right before the prequel movie came out, and I can't

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think of the name of the prequel movie right now, or I guess the prequel book.

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Battle of the Songbirds and Snakes, that's it right?

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Yes, that's what it's called.

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I read that too, but that's not what this episode is about.

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Anyway, please enjoy this discussion of me rereading the Hunger Games.

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So I want to talk about the Hunger Games.

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The story focuses on Katniss Everdeen.

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She's a 16-year-old girl living in District 12 of Panem, which is a post-apocalyptic nation.

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On the day of the reaping, she ends up volunteering for her 12-year-old sister, Graham, whose

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name was called to participate in the Hunger Games.

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I volunteer!

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I volunteer as tribute!

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Now this is not a first-hand read for me, but it has been a while since I have read

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it.

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There are some things that I actually forgot that happened in this book.

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It is one of my favorite series, so I definitely want to have some discussions about the books

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in this series.

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I want to talk about some scenes I really enjoyed, moments in the book that I really

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enjoyed.

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I want to talk about some characters that I forgot about since they weren't in the movies,

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and I've seen the movies quite a few more times than I have read the books.

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And yes, we can talk about Teen Pita versus Teen Gale.

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I also want to do a quick summary of the world so that we can familiarize ourselves with

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where we are.

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Maybe you don't remember or you have not read the books in ages, and that is what I'm here

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for.

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So we are in the world of Panem, which is the United States of America in the future.

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And Panem pretty much has like a totalitarian dictatorship as well as a police state.

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And there are 12 districts, well, 13, but we'll get to that later.

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And each district has a purpose for the capital.

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I was going to say a purpose for the world, but let's be real.

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Their purpose is pretty much for the capital.

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Now, you don't really get a sense of what all the districts do in this book.

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They do mention a few of them, but they don't talk about all of them.

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But I did find some information online, and I pretty much source it from fan of dot com.

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So district one, they manufacture luxury items for the capital.

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It is one of the wealthiest districts as well as a career district and career districts

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are where they train their children to fight in the Hunger Games.

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We have district two and they manufacture weaponry as well as masonry.

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They also make the trains as well as supply the peacemakers to every district.

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And they are also a career district.

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District three, their industry is electronics and they also make automobiles and firearms.

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District four, their industry is fishing and they are also a career district.

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I do find it interesting that districts one, two and four are the career districts and

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not districts one and two or districts one, two and three.

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Like I feel like if they're going to do three districts, why not just do it one, two and

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three?

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Why skip three?

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District five, their industry is power production and they also have a hydroelectric dam.

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District six, their industry is transportation.

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District seven, their industry is lumber.

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District eight, their industry is producing textiles and they also have a factory for

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primarily producing peacekeeper uniforms.

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District nine, their industry is grain and they also have a bunch of large farmlands.

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District 10, their industry is livestock.

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District 11, their industry is agriculture and district 12 is coal.

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Their industry is coal and they are one of the poorest districts.

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And of course there was district 13.

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They were the military district and they are no longer around.

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Well at least for now.

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They were the district that would instigate the first rebellion against the capital and

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they led the other districts in this rebellion, which as you can see did not go well and hence

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forth we have the Hunger Games.

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The rules of the Hunger Games are simple.

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In punishment for the uprising, each of the 12 districts must provide one girl and one

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boy called tributes to participate.

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The 24 tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from

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a burning desert to a frozen wasteland.

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Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death.

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The last tribute standing wins.

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So the Hunger Games in Pan Am is pretty mystery like a sporting event or reality TV.

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Everyone in the districts watch them and there end up being prizes as well.

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Not just for the winner but also for their district.

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The district receives prizes such as large amounts of food and pretty much everyone outside

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the capital is kind of starving.

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Maybe some of the career districts are better off but mostly a lot of the districts are

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starving.

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So if you have someone in the Hunger Games and they win, your district is pretty much

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kind of better off for that year.

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I think that's one of the reasons why they have the careers because if district one,

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two or four wins, then they keep the food away from the really hungry people.

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So that's pretty much a quick background of the world.

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Now I want to talk about some of the things that I really enjoyed in this reread.

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And also yes, I am going to be getting into spoilers.

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So FYI.

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One Katniss.

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I really enjoy Katniss in this book.

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It is written in first person so we are in Katniss' head the entire time.

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And I have to say I was not annoyed by her.

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I understood her motivations for why she wanted to do certain things.

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I understood when she would be confused by her feelings and emotions.

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I know a lot of times she was in the arena, she felt alone and she would think of Gail.

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And then she would try to figure out what those feelings meant.

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And I understood that.

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Her time with Rue and how she wanted to protect her.

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Her time with PETA and how her feelings kept confusing her.

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All of this made sense to me.

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I really do like Katniss as a main character.

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And I'm very happy she did not annoy me.

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And I'm hoping that continues during my reread.

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Next, I want to talk about the fast paced nature of the story.

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This story moves and it moves quickly.

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Things are happening to these characters and these characters have to deal with what's

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happening.

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Things aren't drawn out.

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In the first chapter we learn who the character we are following is and we get a sense of

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the world.

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We know it is reaping day and know what is coming.

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And we don't have to wait long to know who is chosen because Pram is named as the first

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tribute at the end of chapter one.

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It also felt like there was a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter and I was here

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for it.

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Let's get to some scenes I really enjoyed.

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And I want to bring up Katniss and PETA in the cave.

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Their time in the cave wasn't really short.

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They were definitely in there for some days.

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They conversed a lot.

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They were able to get to know each other better.

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There are also some cute moments.

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Oh, and Katniss did put PETA to sleep against his will.

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That also happened.

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You know that part in the movie where Katniss leaves to go off to the feast, the one that

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has what every tribute remaining needs?

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Well, in the movie Katniss waits until PETA is asleep before she leaves because she lied

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to him and told him she wasn't going to go anywhere.

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But in the book Katniss actually gets something from a sponsor that helps put people to sleep.

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She then puts it in PETA's food, starts to feed it to him.

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But then when he notices that something is wrong, she forces him to swallow it.

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That does come back up later and they do talk about it.

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I just thought it was interesting to have Katniss do that.

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And that was definitely something I did not remember happening.

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I could also add some of her moments with Brew in here as well.

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While the story does move quickly, when we have these moments where these characters

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are able to interact, it does feel like it gives the story time to breathe.

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Another thing I did enjoy was the actual start of the Hunger Games, which was the start of

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Chapter 11.

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This was an intense start to the chapter when it actually started or the countdown to it

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starting and then Katniss started to figure out whether or not she should go for the bow

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and arrow, Amos told her not to because there were just going to be so many of the other

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kids attacking each other and trying to kill each other.

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And she would just put herself at risk.

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And then we see PETA remind her of that as we see when they lock eyes and he shakes his

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head at her, he knows what she's thinking because she was staring down those arrows.

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Also 11 of the tributes ended up dying during that time, which is pretty nuts.

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Then we have Katniss not knowing if PETA is dead and her worrying about him, to then at

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the end of a chapter, see that he is actually with the careers and working with them.

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And then there's Chapter 12 where Katniss is alone, she's looking for water.

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She thinks she's not going to get any gifts from any of the sponsors because she believes

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that Hamish doesn't like her.

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And then that chapter ends with a wall of fire descending on her and so on and so on.

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The arena isn't a joke and I'm pretty sure I would not have lasted.

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I don't think I'm pretty sure.

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I'm sure I would not have lasted.

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And there are other things that I really enjoyed.

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I think the characters are fleshed out well.

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I think the story is fleshed out well.

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The story doesn't go all over the place and the world building works.

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I'm remembering how this book got so popular when it came out.

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And I know a lot of people want to say that the book didn't get popular until the movie,

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but I disagree.

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Opening weekend, this movie made $152 million.

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I repeat, $152 million domestically.

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I think the books had to have been popular to get people to actually want to go see this

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movie and it was huge.

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Now I already talked about the things that I did enjoy and I did mention something that

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I forgot happened earlier about Katniss pretty much putting Peters asleep against his will,

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but I do have some other things I forgot about and I want to talk about them.

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So first off, and I know this is probably small, but I forgot the districts had mayors.

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I don't know why.

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Like it makes sense that the districts would have some type of leadership.

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I just never really thought about it.

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But for district 12, it's kind of important for the book because we get to meet the mayor's

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daughter Madge and she actually plays a role early on.

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Her and Katniss are kind of friends.

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I mean, they kind of hang out at school, but mostly because they're maybe the only ones

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left and everyone doesn't want to hang out with them.

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I don't know, but they kind of sit at the same tables together.

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They don't really talk a lot, but they're friendly to each other.

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I'll say that.

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Also, Madge is the character that gives Katniss the mockingjay pen.

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I know in the movie they have it be this lady at the black market that gives her the mockingjay

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pen and they ended up making a big deal about the mockingjay pen.

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Well, I guess she gives it to Prem saying, hey, this is going to keep you safe.

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But when Prem had it, her name got called, so kind of didn't keep her safe.

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So also in the book, Madge gives her the pen after Katniss volunteers.

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I don't think it really matters who gives her the pen.

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I just thought it was interesting that Madge, a character that was removed from the movies,

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is the one who gave her the pen.

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And I think she ends up showing up again later in the books, but I can't remember.

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But I will be rereading the other books in the series, so I guess I'm going to end up

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finding out.

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Another thing is having the reaping explained to me more and why names are entered multiple

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times.

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And this one, I'm going to have to read it.

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I took notes.

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So here it goes.

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One becomes eligible for the reaping the day they turn 12.

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That year, your name is entered once, the next year twice, the year after that three

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times, so on and so on.

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By the time you're 18, your name would be entered in seven times.

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You can also have your name added in more times for food.

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They call it a tesserae.

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A tesserae is worth a meager year supply of grain and oil for one person.

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You can also add your name in for your family members to receive a tesserae as well.

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And these entries are cumulative.

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Katniss has had a tesserae for her, her mom, and her sister ever since she was 12.

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So for present day, this is why Katniss' name is in there 20 times and Gail's name is in

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there 42 times.

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Also Gail is 18.

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He's two years older than Katniss and he has two little brothers and his parents.

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So he gets tesseraes for a family of five.

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That is why his name is in there more than Katniss.

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Next thing I forgot about is the AVOX girl.

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I would say this is a character I'm not a fan of being removed from the movie.

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So I'll explain AVOX.

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They are someone who committed a crime and they got their tongue cut out.

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And while Katniss is eating on the train with PETA, Hamage, Effie, Senna, everyone else,

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she ends up seeing this girl who looks familiar to her, but she can't really place her.

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Later on, she talks to PETA about it and she mentions how one day when she was with Gail

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in the woods, she saw these two people like running and it was like they were running

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away from something and it was a girl and a boy and they did end up getting caught.

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I believe the boy ended up dying and Katniss while she was hiding with Gail, she locked

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eyes with the girl and that girl cried out for help, but Katniss didn't come out hiding.

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She didn't help, which I don't know what she would have been able to do if she had.

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I think Katniss definitely felt guilt when she saw that girl.

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And also in terms of the movie, I kind of wish we would have gotten to see a scene with

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them.

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I don't even think there's a deleted scene.

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Maybe there is.

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I don't even think there was a deleted scene with the AVOX girl.

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Another thing I forgot was PETA having a leg problem.

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So when PETA got cut in the games by Kato, Katniss tries to help him and everything,

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but once they're out on save one, Katniss learns during their interview with Caesar

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that PETA kind of has a new leg.

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He had to get a metal and plastic device to replace flesh in his leg.

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I don't think it's a brand new leg.

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I think he just replaced things, but I could be wrong, but it is definitely something I

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forgot about and definitely something I wish they would have added.

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I feel like that would have explained certain things in future movies, but we'll get to

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that when we talk about catching fire.

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Another thing I forgot was the mutts faces being the falling tributes.

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So at the end where the mutts show up and they have to run away and pretty much climb

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onto that thing.

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I don't know what it's called, but climb onto that thing to pretty much save themselves

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from the mutts.

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So in the movie they're like hounds, but in the book they are things that have the faces

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of the falling tributes.

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So I get what the book was going for here.

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To have Katniss having the remaining tributes see the fallen tributes.

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To see how Katniss reacts when she sees Rue's face on a mutt.

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I'm sure that wasn't fun.

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I don't know if that would have translated well in movie form.

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I really don't.

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Like I get what they were going for in the book, but I just don't know if that would

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have worked in the movie.

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So I'm okay with them changing that.

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The hounds, they were scary enough.

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Another thing I forgot about was how things ended with Katniss and Peeta.

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Things are pretty icy.

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So in the movie things were a little bit more open ended.

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Katniss tells Peeta that they just forget when Peeta asks her, hey, what do we do now?

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And then Peeta's like, I don't want to forget.

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So we know that Katniss wants to forget, Peeta doesn't want to forget.

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We know that, right?

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Although I'm pretty sure Katniss was talking about everything else that happened in the

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arena and I know Peeta was talking about his feelings for Katniss.

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I get that.

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But in the book, Peeta realizes that Katniss was pretty much being coached by Hamage with

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all of the lovey dovey stuff, with all of the romance and everything like that.

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And he doesn't really take it too well.

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He's not happy about that.

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And I know at the start of the Catching Fire movie, it is icy between them.

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But in the book at the end of the Hunger Games, that's when the iciness began.

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Some other things as well that I forgot about would be Katniss losing her hearing after

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she blew up the food supply for Kato and the other careers.

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District 11 sending Katniss bread after Ru's death.

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I believe this one was a deleted scene.

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There were also two other winners before Katniss for the Hunger Games from District 12.

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For some reason, I just kept thinking it was Hamage.

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But no, not just Hamage.

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I don't know why I just kept thinking it was Hamage.

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Again, probably because I have not read this book in forever.

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Another thing was the meaning of the three finger gesture.

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It was used in like funerals and to show admiration and also to say goodbye to people, which I

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did find touching after Katniss did that after she buried Ru.

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And of course, there are possibly some other things that I just can't remember right now.

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But these are things that came to mind that I forgot about.

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Now I point out some things that they didn't include that I would have liked for them to

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have included in the movie.

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But I want to talk about some things that were added to the movie that were in the book.

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And these are mostly stuff with characters outside of Katniss.

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Since the book is in first person, we don't get moments with people outside of Katniss.

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So it was nice that they added this.

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I would say seeing the game maker in this element and how he manipulated the games,

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seeing Hamage out there talking to sponsors.

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I think that was really helpful because obviously, like I said, we don't get either of those

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things.

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And also President Snow, the scenes of President Snow and the game maker, they definitely add

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to how sinister he is.

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I mean, he's already sinister since you know this world has a Hunger Games and he hasn't

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gotten rid of it.

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So that could explain how sinister he is.

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But the movies helped to also paint a picture, especially with him talking about why they

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have the Hunger Games.

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Why do you think we have a winner?

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I mean, if we just wanted to intimidate the districts, why not round up 24 of them at

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random and execute them all at once?

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Hope it is the only thing stronger than fear.

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Yeah, he's not great.

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Okay, now it's time to talk about Team PETA versus Team Gale.

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I know this wasn't as big as Team Edward versus Team Jacob from Twilight, but it was a thing.

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It was out there.

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It was a thing.

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Let's talk Gale first.

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00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:03,920
So Gale is two years older than Katniss.

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I think I talked about that earlier.

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I believe they met when she was 11, 12, 13.

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They met when she was younger.

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They met a while ago.

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He gave her the nickname Katniss because when she introduced herself, she was quiet about

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it and that's what he thought he heard.

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So he pretty much calls her Katniss from here on out.

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Gale and Katniss kind of look alike.

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They both have straight black hair, olive skin and gray eyes.

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But a lot of the families that work in the mines look that way.

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00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:38,000
Early on in the book, Katniss does mention that there's nothing romantic going on between

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them, but she also brings that up again as well after he visits with her after she volunteers

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and me thinks someone protests too much.

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Just saying.

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Something for Gale in the negative column was he was kind of a dick to match the mayor's

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daughter.

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He mentioned how she wanted to look nice just in case her name was picked and he was kind

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of a dick about it and he threw her money in her face.

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I mean, I get it.

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I don't have to like it, but I get it.

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I mean, his name is in there 42 times while her name is probably only in there once because

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she's the mayor's daughter.

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I get why he was acting the way he was, but I still don't have to like it.

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Also the end of Gale's visit when he went to visit her after she volunteered.

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00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,920
Before he leaves, he says Katniss remember I and then he's interrupted.

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00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,480
I'm guessing he was going to say I love you.

356
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:30,480
I don't know.

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00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,380
Katniss wonders if he was going to say I love you.

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At first I was thinking is this the right time?

359
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:42,220
But then again, Katniss is kind of going off to fight for her life.

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So why not say it if you can't?

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00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,960
She does end up thinking about Gale a lot while she's in the arena, possibly because

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00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,960
he's like her best friend.

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00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:58,400
Also possible that maybe she has feelings for him that she'd never thought about before.

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00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,120
And that's pretty much all I have about Gale for this book.

365
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:02,720
He wasn't in it a lot.

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So but by the end of the book, she is confused about her feelings for Gale.

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Now let's go to PETA.

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So when PETA is chosen at the reaping, Katniss actually is not happy.

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She knows him and she doesn't like that his name was chosen.

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So their only interaction happened years ago after her father died.

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00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:30,920
Katniss had taken over head of household at the age of 11, pretty much because her mother

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couldn't really do anything.

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She kind of just sat there and Katniss knew that they needed to eat.

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So she did what she could to help them eat.

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One day she was in town trying to trade, but she wasn't able to.

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00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:49,760
Also just to let you know, stealing is prohibited and it is punishable by death.

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00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:55,540
So Katniss, she felt defeated and she was like sitting outside of the bakery or across

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00:22:55,540 --> 00:22:56,540
from the bakery.

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00:22:56,540 --> 00:23:02,280
I think PETA's mom came out once and like yelled at her to get away and maybe she removed

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to a different spot.

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I don't remember, but PETA does come out.

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You can see that he has like a red mark on his cheek from being struck.

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00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:17,440
He's also carrying loaves of bread and these loaves of bread were actually burnt.

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So it's possible that he got struck, he got hit because the bread was burnt.

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00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:28,540
And I guess he was supposed to throw that bread over to the pigs, but he ends up throwing

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00:23:28,540 --> 00:23:31,360
it in the direction of Katniss.

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00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:32,800
He helped her that day.

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00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:38,460
He kind of saved her life, but Katniss doesn't like that she feels like she owes someone

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00:23:38,460 --> 00:23:45,400
anything. and the fact that he is also going to be a part of this, just she doesn't like

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00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,000
it.

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00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:51,760
And there are also moments before they get into the arena that Katniss isn't sure if

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00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,960
she could actually trust PETA.

393
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:59,280
She doesn't know if he is really being nice or if he's just trying to get her to let her

394
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guard down.

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At the end of the day, only one of them is supposed to be able to survive.

396
00:24:05,100 --> 00:24:08,020
Also there are moments in the cave like I talked about earlier.

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They do end up sharing a couple of kisses.

398
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:16,340
The first one, it was just a kiss, but the second one Katniss felt something.

399
00:24:16,340 --> 00:24:19,480
This is the first kiss that we're both fully aware of.

400
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:23,320
Neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious.

401
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,220
Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold.

402
00:24:26,220 --> 00:24:32,180
This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest, warm and curious.

403
00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:35,240
This is the first kiss that makes me want another.

404
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,880
And also how I mentioned earlier that they aren't on the best of terms at the end of

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00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:39,880
the book.

406
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,960
Out of the corner of my eye, I see PETA extend his hand.

407
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,480
I look at him unsure.

408
00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,400
One more time for the audience.

409
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,780
He says, his voice isn't angry.

410
00:24:48,780 --> 00:24:51,520
It's hollow, which is worse.

411
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,960
Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me.

412
00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,960
I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras and dragging the moment when

413
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,040
I will finally have to let go.

414
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,920
So which team am I on?

415
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,440
Well, I'm kind of on team Katniss is 16.

416
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,080
Why are we making her choose right now?

417
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:15,560
But if this is not acceptable and I have to make a choice, I have to say team PETA.

418
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:20,240
A lot of that has to do with how much more of him we get in the book.

419
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,780
We end up spending a lot more time with PETA than we do Gail.

420
00:25:23,780 --> 00:25:28,440
Also she might not want to admit her feelings for PETA, but she definitely does have feelings

421
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:29,440
for him.

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00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,520
Gail, we're still not sure.

423
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,700
So those are my thoughts about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

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00:25:35,700 --> 00:25:39,640
I'm definitely happy I decided to do a reread of this book.

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00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:41,160
Pretty much of this series.

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00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,840
I plan to read all of them, not just the trilogy either.

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00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:47,960
I plan to read the Ballad of Sombars and Snakes as well.

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00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,300
I have not read that one yet, so that one will be new to me.

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00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:56,000
But the others I have read is just I have not read them in so long.

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00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:01,120
So it'll be very interesting to see what I forgot about in those books as well.

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00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:04,480
And definitely let me know your thoughts on this book if you've read it for the first

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00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:09,560
time, if you've re-read it recently, or maybe you've even just seen the movie.

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00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,200
Just let me know your thoughts.

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Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode of Such a Fun Read.

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00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:22,100
I really hope you enjoyed today's discussion and definitely let me know your thoughts.

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00:26:22,100 --> 00:26:27,040
Also don't forget to rate us five stars and show us love on your favorite podcast app.

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00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,980
That would really help the show.

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00:26:28,980 --> 00:26:32,240
Thanks again and I will talk to you all again next week.

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Happy reading!