The Hunger Games: Finished up Mockingjay
Mar. 30th, 2012 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyThat was incredibly satisfying.
Oddly, one of the things that this series made me think of, as I read it, was how much better I liked its take on things than the other big YA series that I've read in the last few years. I try not to play the comparison game too often, because I like taking things on their own, but this series just satisfied some specific things that I had been lacking elsewhere.
The final Harry Potter was so frustrating to me. I felt like Rowling had abandoned her great ideas. The epilogue, in particular, frustrated me because all the old hates and biases that had caused Voldemort in the first place all seemed to still be firmly in place. With The Hunger Games, I got exactly what I wanted out of HP - the destruction of the old and corrupt system so that a new way of doing things could rise in its place.
The other incredibly satisfying thing that I got out of THG that I didn't get out of HP was the love story. Katniss and Peeta were intensely satisfying to read. Romance was not Rowling's strong suit; I think my favorite canon couple in HP was Bill/Fleur. Her actual romances always felt tacked-on to me. With Collins, though, the romance was so well wound into the fabric of the story. It breathed right along with the story. Inseparable and always there but never over-powering it. Just another necessary strand. And Peeta is such a catalyst for Katniss's character growth throughout the series.
Katniss is a fantastic character. I'm looking forward to the rest of the movies a great deal, so that I can watch her survive through these terrible events and, in that survival and the choices she makes, shape the new world that will form out of the ashes of the old one.
I've gotten the impression, from looking around fandom, that Peeta's hijacking was controversial for some people, but it felt so essential to the story and characters to me. Peeta's love has been a rock for Katniss throughout the series - she's depended on it even when she hasn't been willing to admit that she was doing that. It had to be taken away at some point.
Again, love how many fascinating characters there are in the books, and how many of them are female. I'm particularly interested to see who they cast for Johanna and Coin.
Oddly, one of the things that this series made me think of, as I read it, was how much better I liked its take on things than the other big YA series that I've read in the last few years. I try not to play the comparison game too often, because I like taking things on their own, but this series just satisfied some specific things that I had been lacking elsewhere.
The final Harry Potter was so frustrating to me. I felt like Rowling had abandoned her great ideas. The epilogue, in particular, frustrated me because all the old hates and biases that had caused Voldemort in the first place all seemed to still be firmly in place. With The Hunger Games, I got exactly what I wanted out of HP - the destruction of the old and corrupt system so that a new way of doing things could rise in its place.
The other incredibly satisfying thing that I got out of THG that I didn't get out of HP was the love story. Katniss and Peeta were intensely satisfying to read. Romance was not Rowling's strong suit; I think my favorite canon couple in HP was Bill/Fleur. Her actual romances always felt tacked-on to me. With Collins, though, the romance was so well wound into the fabric of the story. It breathed right along with the story. Inseparable and always there but never over-powering it. Just another necessary strand. And Peeta is such a catalyst for Katniss's character growth throughout the series.
Katniss is a fantastic character. I'm looking forward to the rest of the movies a great deal, so that I can watch her survive through these terrible events and, in that survival and the choices she makes, shape the new world that will form out of the ashes of the old one.
I've gotten the impression, from looking around fandom, that Peeta's hijacking was controversial for some people, but it felt so essential to the story and characters to me. Peeta's love has been a rock for Katniss throughout the series - she's depended on it even when she hasn't been willing to admit that she was doing that. It had to be taken away at some point.
Again, love how many fascinating characters there are in the books, and how many of them are female. I'm particularly interested to see who they cast for Johanna and Coin.