Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series?

[Deleted User]

I just finished Mockingjay last night, and I seriously want to talk about the books with someone. H is going to read them next but he's super slow so it will probably be a few months before he's done.

I don't normally rave about how awesome a book is, but these were amazing.

LesPaul

No, but I'm going to put them on my list after hearing how good they are.

[Deleted User]

Get back to me when you do! I'm dying to know what people think about the ending.

Steph0871

SPOILERS

Ok. I hated hated hated Mockingjay.  Yes, it was a great book, and the author did a good job telling the story using Katniss's coherence level, etc.  But. I'm disappointed.  I was hoping she'd actually be able to do what she wanted, for once in her life.  Instead, the book ended with her doing just what everyone expected of her with Peeta and kids.  

Ok, end rant.

dmlk413

I am a lurker and don't usually post here but yes, I have the read the series and I LOVED every one of the books. 

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-read-finished-hunger-games-series?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:70d8b727-0478-480f-b823-aea92b609beaPost:c79da63e-5781-45ed-bd00-5bcd53ed9019">Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series?</a>:
[QUOTE]SPOILERS Ok. I hated hated hated Mockingjay.  Yes, it was a great book, and the author did a good job telling the story using Katniss's coherence level, etc.  But. I'm disappointed.  I was hoping she'd actually be able to do what she wanted, for once in her life.  Instead, the book ended with her doing just what everyone expected of her with Peeta and kids.   Ok, end rant.
Posted by Steph0871[/QUOTE]

SPOILERS






I kind of agree. The ending seriously bummed me out. I wanted her to end up with Gale. I get that it was bittersweet, they won but they didn't win, they were happy, but could have been happier. But seriously. And when Buttercup showed up, I got teary.

However, I loved that she shot Coin. I was actually thinking before that, that if I wrote the book that's what I'd do. And she did it. It was awesome.

And I HATE that Finnick was killed.

Steph0871

oh yeah! I LOVED the scene where she killed Coin.  I'm also quite upset about her sister.  That whole thing was so messed up. I'll be honest, too... I had a hard time following the second half of Mockingjay.

[Deleted User]

I wasn't always exactly sure what was going on, especially when a lot of time passed from one chapter to the next, but I got the gist of it. And honestly I would have rather had Katniss die than Prim. But still, that poor mother. That's all I could think about, the poor mother. And then the cat. And Annie. I really came to love Finnick's character.

I get too wrapped up in these books. But to be honest, I can't complain because if I were the author, I'd have done the same thing. So you may not want to read my books, they are a bit dark at times.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-read-finished-hunger-games-series?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:70d8b727-0478-480f-b823-aea92b609beaPost:581894f8-09d7-4c51-b0cb-dc93d5af6e85">Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series?</a>:
SPOILERS









[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series? : SPOILERS I kind of agree. The ending seriously bummed me out. I wanted her to end up with Gale. I get that it was bittersweet, they won but they didn't win, they were happy, but could have been happier. But seriously. And when Buttercup showed up, I got teary. However, I loved that she shot Coin. I was actually thinking before that, that if I wrote the book that's what I'd do. And she did it. It was awesome. And I HATE that Finnick was killed.
Posted by Seshat411[/QUOTE]

I agree completely with this assessment.  COMPLETELY.  Gale was her freakin' soulmate and they just shipped him off to another district.  I mean, i get him being confused and hurt and all that jazz, but dang. 

csuperstar02

Very disappointed with the ending! I read the first two last school year and had to wait for Mockingjay. I enjoyed it for the most part -tying everything up and such, but I HATED the ending.

ETA: Seshat: what is your book about?

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-read-finished-hunger-games-series?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:70d8b727-0478-480f-b823-aea92b609beaPost:ed7db27e-fe2f-4ed7-9764-71f5f004ebde">Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series? : SPOILERS I agree completely with this assessment.  COMPLETELY.  Gale was her freakin' soulmate and they just shipped him off to another district.  I mean, i get him being confused and hurt and all that jazz, but dang. 
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

Yeah I kind of felt like Gale was a big baby about the whole thing. Katniss and Peeta were forced together but he took it all so personally. He knew she didn't love Peeta but she did care about him, and with good reason, yet he was stuck on the fake love thing. And then when they finally were getting past that in the end, he's shipped off to another district.

Was he not allowed to follow her back to 12? Did the capitol still insist on the fake relationship? Those were my 2 big questions at the end that were never answered.

MrsLibrarian

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[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series? : Yeah I kind of felt like Gale was a big baby about the whole thing. Katniss and Peeta were forced together but he took it all so personally. He knew she didn't love Peeta but she did care about him, and with good reason, yet he was stuck on the fake love thing. And then when they finally were getting past that in the end, he's shipped off to another district. Was he not allowed to follow her back to 12? Did the capitol still insist on the fake relationship? Those were my 2 big questions at the end that were never answered.
Posted by Seshat411[/QUOTE]

<div>Honestly, I felt like it was because, at the end, Gale and Katniss were in such completely different places.  Gale was full of anger still, and hate, evidenced by his creating the weapons to play on human emotion and his attitude in District 2 with the mountain.  I think Katniss was so over all the killing.</div><div>
</div><div>I was pissed that Prim died though.  Katniss saving Prim was the whole reason the books happened, and it annoyed me that she couldn't at least have that one small wish.</div>

Celles

I was disappointed by the ending, too.  I liked Gale and Peeta for different reasons, and would have been fine with either choice if it had actually been a choice and not some arbitrary plot device that sent Gale conveniently away. 

Katniss was so strong in the first two books, but I feel like she lost herself in a third and became a zombie.  I understand she was traumatized and I'm glad the author portrayed that, but I so wish she had come back into her own at some point.  I kept waiting for that moment in Mockingjay when Katniss would pull it together and become Katniss again, but it never happened.  She was on auto-pilot from the moment she was "rescued" from the arena.

I loved the books as a whole and read all three in one day (<3 my Kindle), but the ending definitely fell short for me.

Anysunrise

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[QUOTE]I was disappointed by the ending, too.  I liked Gale and Peeta for different reasons, and would have been fine with either choice if it had actually been a choice and not some arbitrary plot device that sent Gale conveniently away.  Katniss was so strong in the first two books, but I feel like she lost herself in a third and became a zombie.  I understand she was traumatized and I'm glad the author portrayed that, but I so wish she had come back into her own at some point.  I kept waiting for that moment in Mockingjay when Katniss would pull it together and become Katniss again, but it never happened.  She was on auto-pilot from the moment she was "rescued" from the arena. I loved the books as a whole and read all three in one day (<strong><3 my Kindle</strong>), but the ending definitely fell short for me.
Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

Just one more week for mine...

I'll have to get these books when I do.

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_anyone-read-finished-hunger-games-series?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:70d8b727-0478-480f-b823-aea92b609beaPost:683eeb4c-89e4-4563-b5b3-4bb55746798d">Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series?</a>:
[QUOTE]I was disappointed by the ending, too.  I liked Gale and Peeta for different reasons, and would have been fine with either choice if it had actually been a choice and not some arbitrary plot device that sent Gale conveniently away.  Katniss was so strong in the first two books, but I feel like she lost herself in a third and became a zombie.  I understand she was traumatized and I'm glad the author portrayed that, but I so wish she had come back into her own at some point.  I kept waiting for that moment in Mockingjay when Katniss would pull it together and become Katniss again, but it never happened.  She was on auto-pilot from the moment she was "rescued" from the arena. I loved the books as a whole and read all three in one day (<3 my Kindle), but the ending definitely fell short for me.
Posted by Celles[/QUOTE]

This is true, she really did spend most of the book doped up on morphling or sleeping away her feelings or just being confused. She started to get back into her old self when she took control of the Holo and went to kill Snow, but even then she still wasn't in control.

I also like both Peeta and Gale, but I don't think she loved Peeta the same way at all. So in the end she's lost, she's still under Capitol control. Everyone who means something in the book has lost. I think she and Gale balanced each other out, so even if he was still full of anger and hate like PP said, it could have worked for them.

I think I'm too invested in these characters.

SarahSmile23

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[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series? : Honestly, I felt like it was because, at the end, Gale and Katniss were in such completely different places.  <strong>Gale was full of anger still, and hate</strong>, evidenced by his creating the weapons to play on human emotion and his attitude in District 2 with the mountain.  I think Katniss was so over all the killing. I was pissed that Prim died though.  Katniss saving Prim was the whole reason the books happened, and it annoyed me that she couldn't at least have that one small wish.
Posted by MrsLibrarian[/QUOTE]
I don't see Gale as full of anger and hate at all. I saw him a man who would do anything he could to protect Katniss, her mission, and the freedom of all of the districts. All of his ideas were created out of his desperation to beat the capital and, ultimately, free Katniss of the burden she was forced to bear. He was her soulmate. Even before she went to the HG, he would know what she was thinking without her saying a word. He understood her loss of her dad more than anybody else could have. I do not think that the characters of Katniss and Gale would have parted for the rest of their lives. It didn't make sense. I also don't think it made sense for her mom to peace out while her daughter was still broken and healing. For everybody...save Peeta...to completely and utterly give up on Katniss for the rest of her life after all she gave for them was unrealistic.

I am ok with the book ending on an unhappy, tragic note. It's fitting. But I think the ending she chose left me wanting more. It didn't satisfy. I will say that the best-written scene in the entire book was the one at the end with Buttercup. I was reading the book on the crowded pool deck on our cruise ship a couple of weeks ago and I had tears streaming down my face.

[Deleted User]

I did too Sarah, that scene with Buttercup made me cry.

And that was my problem, there were so many loose ends and it didn't make sense the way it was tied up so neatly in the end. Like you said, are we supposed to believe that Katniss and Gale NEVER saw each other again? That they just accepted being apart? No way. And that her mother just moved on to healing people? And how did Peeta suddenly get over being hijacked?

I need to have a conversation with Suzanne Collins. She needs to put out a rewrite.

SarahSmile23

also, i think that we need a parallel novel from Prim's POV, a la Ender's Shadow. it could be really interesting to learn about everything that happened in 12 and 13 while Katniss was away. especially since we got a slight glimpse in Mockingjay of what a dynamic character Prim blossomed into.

J&K10910

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[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Has anyone read and finished The Hunger Games series? : I was pissed that Prim died though.  Katniss saving Prim was the whole reason the books happened, and it annoyed me that she couldn't at least have that one small wish.
Posted by MrsLibrarian[/QUOTE]

Yes, it was a bit of irony that I didn't much appreciate.