WARNING: THIS POST IS, LIKE, THE CAPITAL OF SPOILERVILLE. if you haven’t read catching fire yet, DON’T READ THIS!
welcome to FYA’s first “party line” post, where we start the party and then invite all of you to share yr own !!!s and OMGs and WTFs.
ok, you know that feeling you get after you eat a huge dinner (plus pie for dessert) and you finally return to the privacy of yr own room and undo the top button of yr pants and yr tummy spreads out and it’s like SWEET SWEET FREEDOM?!!!
well, that’s how i feel about this entry, except it’s like i just gorged myself at the party at president snow’s mansion so i am literally ABOUT TO EXPLODE if i don’t get to freaking TALK ABOUT CATCHING FIRE WITH YOU GUYS RIGHT NOW.
SO LET’S DO THIS!
what did you think? what did you love? what did you hate?
WHAT ABOUT THAT FREAKING ENDING? is anyone out there still breathing? cos I CANNOT BELIEVE PEETA GOT CAPTURED I AM GOING TO DIE. OMGGGG.
personally, i thought this book was just as awesome and heart-pounding as the hunger games. in fact, i think it may have been even *more* compelling, now that i’ve come to know and love all of the characters (even effie). like, i didn’t think it was possible for the peeta/gale/katniss love triangle to be even more gut-wrenching but SUZANNE COLLINS YOU SLAY ME. and it’s not even a clean slay, oh no. it’s a knife in the gut with repeated jiggling and some lemon juice throw in for good measure. AG AG AAAAAG!
i also thought the return to the arena could’ve been a cop-out in the hands of a lesser writer, but the whole “tribute reunion” thing was genius! esp. cos i finally get to cast a hot actor who *isn’t* a teenager!
so, for finnick, i’m picturing either:
sam worthington
(i thought the wetness in the picture was a nice touch, given the whole water thing)
and then, well…
ryan reynolds
GOOD AFTERNOON, ABS!
i can totally picture ryan nailing finnick’s cocky attitude, plus wielding a trident takes some real gun power, if you know what i’m saying.
as for effie trinket, i wonder if miranda richardson is up for donning yet another crazy wig and outlandish outfit?
miranda richardson
who else do we need to cast?
so, i had a lot of favorite moments in the book, but i need to stop blabbing and give someone else a chance to talk. i’ll just throw out two for now:
1. learning about haymitch’s personal experience in the games… um WOW. and also G to the ROSS (death by flamingo? yowza).
2. PAGES 352-353!!!!!!!! SMOKING HOTNESS! i don’t think i’ve ever pumped my fist so enthusiastically for a kiss before. also, major lolz on “Only one [kiss] that made me want more. But my head wound started bleeding and he made lie down.” best cockblock ever.
ok, party line, i now turn over the spoiling to YOU.
p.s. tomorrow, jenny will be posting another party line on predictions for the third book so… get yr rebel forces ready!
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OKAY! I totally turned into a 12-year old girl when Gale got whipped. If I could have brought him back to my table, and spoon-fed him soup, I would have!
Like your casting for Effie and Finnick. I would also like to submit Liev Schrieber as a contestant for Finnick, mostly because I’d be happy on a deserted island with just him… And maybe a box of those Trader Joe’s gorgonzola snack crackers…
Um, where was I?
Oh yeah, THERE IS NO DISTRICT 12??!!! What? What?
Oh, and one last thing: PEEEEETAAA!
THANK GOD this post is finally up. OBVS sarah and I discussed this in the car last weekend but then we had to stop calling because we were around a bunch of people who hadn’t read it yet. (some of them hadn’t even read THG, can you imagine???)
OKAY. so, what I was telling Sarah really struck me about the second book (and the first) were the ways in which the public was manipulated in katniss’s favor. In THG, they were led to believe that Kat was a lovestruck teenager – and it’s important to remember that this is a scenario that Haymitch and Peeta struck up, that Kat was unaware of until it was announced to the nation. In CF, Peeta announces that Kat is pregnant, which again makes the public root for her. But are they rooting for her, or for the traditional “roles” of a woman? And is there something to the fact that this is a man’s strategy, and not Kat’s?
For that matter, I kinda loved that even when she’s being kickass, kat’s STILL being manipulated by forces (at least these forces are fod good, though), i.e. Haymitch recruiting other victors to keep Peeta (and through extention, Kat) alive.
Also, can I say? CINNNNNNNNNNNA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, V. good casting choice on Ryan Renalds, Sarah. I am PRO THIS CASTING.
PEETA BE SAFE AHH!!
Oh, Erin! You are so right on with the controlling Kat thing!!! That’s something I’m going to touch on tomorrow, too! I’m just sayin’ I think it’s going to come back and bite them in the behind!
Apparently I can’t spell today. “Renalds”? I’m sorry, Ryan!!
Also, how crazy were the programmed jabberjays??!! Poor Kat and Finnick!
ALSO I love love love Nuts and Volts. Love ‘em.
YOU GUYS I ALMOST SCREAMED OUT LOUD WHEN THOSE DUDES CAME AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF CINNA!!!
i seriously like beat the pages of my book (ok, more like a light tapping, cos i had to give the book back) in frustration cos there was nothing katniss or i could do to save him. PLEASE PLEASE BE ALIVE CINNA!
erin, i’m v. impressed with yr deep analysis of the book (i can’t seem to talk about it without becoming a 13-year-old girl) and i completely agree. hopefully tomorrow we can discuss the possibility of kat finally taking control in the next book! and also jenny i want to talk about district 12 tomorrow too.
um was anyone else kind of disappointed that the entire arena wasn’t water?!! although erin and i talked about it and we realized that would make for a v. v. quick hunger games. plus the clock thing was AWESOME so obvs suzanne knows what she’s doing.
what about those freaking monkeys?!!!!!
Peeta had me at “if it weren’t for the baby.” Way to stick it to the man!
Arena parte dos could have been a cop out, but as Tim Gunn would say, “She made it work.”
I knew that Plutarch’s clock with the hidden mockingjay meant something, but I just couldn’t figure it out. Oh Suzanne Collins, you are an evil genius!
I’m thinking about doing some lessons with my 5th graders this year on cover art and how in many ways, publishers really do want you to judge a book by the cover. It wasn’t always so, but these days a lot of money is spent on choosing a cover that will sell the book.
With that in mind, take a look at the covers of HG and CF.
The mockingjay on the cover of HG has an arrow through it. It is affixed to the circle and not going anywhere. It appears to simply be a likeness of Katniss’ pin.
Then in CF it becomes very clear that the mockingjay is a symbol of rebellion.
If you look at the mockingjay on the cover of CF it is no longer being pinned down (oppressed), and in fact it is actually being targeted, as the circle around it now resembles what you would see when looking through a sight on a gun.
So the freedom of the people in the districts is being pinned down in HG-there is no hope of another way of life. But at the end of HG and beginning of CF a rebellion has begun and people realize that things could be different. And now they are being targeted for it.
I am totally intrigued by Erin’s observations, especially since in many ways Katniss appears to be an anti-Bella Swan. Can’t wait to see how it all plays out!
whoah, katie. WHOAH. you just BLEW MY MIND. prior to reading yr comment, my only thought about the CF cover was “oooh, shiny!”
but you are SO RIGHT! dang. and that’s a great lesson to teach yr students! because not only is it fascinating, it’s also useful protection against manipulative marketing. i totally wish i had learned something like that in 5th grade, cos then i wouldn’t be such an easy target for, say, romcom trailers.
and yeah, when peeta pulled out that baby stunt, i think i actually yelped out loud. on a public bus. awesome.
Okay, so I obvs missed the rush on this business, but here’s my two cents on Catching Fire:
I read it straight through in a few hours, distracting myself from yucky life stuff, and it worked wonders. I almost died from the ending, I can’t even HANDLE what is happening with Cinna right now (no way he’s dead, we have to see him at least once more), and the Gale/Peeta conflict is now even more so.
I totally agree with the traditional woman roles being pushed on Kat. I was soooo pissed at Peeta when he pulled that “she’s pregnant” thing, and I couldn’t believe Kat wasn’t. I’m DYING for the third book already–do we have any idea when it’ll be out?
meredith, according to the internets, it’ll be in out in fall 2010.
YOU GUYS THAT IS A YEAR AWAY. WTF.
Catching fire was awsome! I can’t help but force this series on everyone I meet… I think a few people might be afraid of me now…(jk)
In a different matter I think I saw Poshdeluxe at the Buffy sing-a-long last night had tons of fun… (I LOVE SPIKE!)
I stilll think that know matter how cruel it sounds it would be awsome to see the opening cerimonies for the Hunger Games. It would be amazing to see Katniss’s first “girl on fire dress” then the mockingjay dress from Cathing Fire. Thanks to Cathing Fire and The Hunger Games my friends all think I’m super weird when all of a sudden I start screaming “NOOOOO Don’t take Cinna!!” or “OMG I hate you STUPID President Swan! ” I tend to babble on and on til I notice no ones listening(but I keep going anyway). Thats all I guess but one more question, has anyone read the Gregor the Overlander series? Thats by Suzanne Collins too I think.
kyra, buffy sing-along represent!!!! that’s awesome that you were there, although i can’t believe you managed to spot me amidst the hundreds of other buffy geeks.
unbeknownst to you, posh d., we put a sign on your back.
Yeah… I knew it was you because my mom follows you on twitter COOL!
i finally read Catching Fire… I had to wait until NYE in London to buy it. AWESOME! I seriously teared up at the end- I love Peeta! Gale is awesome. I have a hard time remembering that this is supposed to be a teen book- it has some heavy intense stuff in it. The gore and torture alone.
Now I have to lend out my copy to the other fellow expats here in Kuwait who have been anxiously awaiting it. I need a countdown to Book 3.
When I read the first book, I was team Gale, then During the Mid. to End of the 1st Book I was team Peeta…then Catching Fire, I became Team Gale again…Now I finished the 2nd Book and I’m Leaning More towards Team Peeta…But that might change during the 3rd Book…Suzanne Collins Does that to you!
I Know this is weird…… But I picture Finnick as Zac Efron…Do you Agree?!?
When I read the whole book.I was like….
“PEEEEEETTTAAAA!!!!!!”
“Bye Bye Dis. 12″
I was Totally Crying when Gale was whipped and when Katniss Kissed him…..
I was just re-reading your old posts and I’m dying so hard of laughter to hear it from another point of view, but I’d like to point out something that caught my eye:
“and also G to the ROSS (death by flamingo? yowza).”
I know that was only meant to mean G-R-O-S-S, but do you realize that by doing this, you effectively (if unknowingly) predicted the director of the movie? G. Ross? Gary Ross?
I know, it’s just a random speculation, thought I should share. May the odds be ever in your favor and all that shit.
HOLY SHIZZ I’M SO PSYCHIC!!!!
Thank you, Rachael, for pointing out my new gift. I’m off to play the stock market now!