Review

Although several of my friends read The Hunger Games trilogy last summer (or the summer before even?), after hearing the basic plot of the stories, I was unsure I wanted to read them. It sounded unsettling and disturbing. But when I heard the movie was coming out this spring, I opted to go ahead and read them because I have a thing about seeing the movie without reading the book first.

Side note: I actually read The Help last summer so that I could go see the movie with some friends, but something came up and I never went to the movie. So I have read the book but still have not seen the movie - crazy, huh?

I started The Hunger Games and found them so compelling that I finished all three books in under 72 hours. They were well-written and seemed to pull me into what the characters were thinking and feeling as they made hard decisions (or as decisions were made for them).

As much as I was drawn into the series, I was also disturbed by some of the themes and content. I hated what "The Capitol" represented and was uncomfortable with the similarities I saw in the book and in our world today: the way we view entertainment, the huge discrepancy between haves and have-nots, the way I sometimes worry more about what I need than the good of everyone in the world. I was challenged to think and change because of the books. (Although I still feel like I need a book club or support group to help me process my thoughts.)

I have been anticipating the movie, hoping that it would rekindle some of the thoughts and feelings I had for the books. I saw the movie Monday night and have to say that, while I think they accurately portrayed the events of the book, something was missing. I was disappointed and (to use a word from the review I posted below) "under-whelmed."

The characters and setting and events were as I had imagined; but, after reading this review, I think I know what was missing: it was the inner monologue of Katniss. Her thoughts and feelings, and emotions were described in the books in such detail, that there was no way to capture that in the movie through facial expressions and conversations. What they showed was good, but there was so much more to be shown.

I think this article says it well. What do you think?