Chapter 3

I think Peeta’s dad could have given Katniss cookies for a number of reasons. The most likely being that she is a good friend of the baker. She trades with him a lot and I think they’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. Another reason could be that she is a loved citizen of the Seam. Remember the goodbye that was given to her? Another thing I thought is that the Baker will keep his promise. As I said before, he and Katniss are probably good friends by now, and even if he doesn’t do it for Katniss. Everyone loves Prim. I don’t think he really could not do that. However, at the same time, I don’t think he alone will be able to support Katniss’s family. He’ll help but he won’t be able to do everything. Gale will also be helping and that, along with the baker’s help and their own work, may be enough to support her family. Also, when Prim grows up I think she might be something like Katniss. She might not be as good a hunter, or a hunter at all but I think she will still help to support the family in any way she can. Even if that only involves collecting herbs and stuff for her mother’s apothecary business. However, I may be completely wrong and she could just sort of shut down like her mother did. That would be very very bad. I think all of this is going to be very hard for Primrose to take in and she might not be able to cope and oh my god. Wait. Getting off topic here. Yes I think the baker will keep his promise. I already said why so, if you don’t know why I think that, then you should probably start reading.

I could go on an hours-long incoherent rambling about what Gale was trying to tell Katniss... but I won’t. Instead, I’ll just tell you up front what the final words of aforesaid incoherent rambling would be. Something along the lines of “ Bill Gates was definitlely riding a dinosaur in this photo. ” but that’s not important, what is important is what I think Gale was trying to tell Katniss and that was probably the cliche “I love you” sort of thing.

During his visit, I could tell that something had changed between the two since the first time we saw them together. OH! Also! I made a purrediction [Cat puns :O] My prediction is that Gale may or may not sneak into the hunger game to help Katniss win, because he loves her and wants her to not die. I don’t know wether or not this is legal or if the Capitol would kill him for it or what, but it may or may not happen. If he does in fact do this, [he purrobably (Cat pun x2 combo) won’t] then I think Katniss will be more motivated to win the games. That is, right up until the point where Gale dies. At which point she probably will too. But her death might not be a completely bad thing. I don’t mean to say that she’s a bad character or anything, just that it might be the slight nudge in the right direction that will spark a revolution. On second thought that might be a bad thing, thinking about the last time that happened. However, a lot has changed since then. The people of the Capitol are all comfy and confident that a revolution is the last thing that would happen but that’s not a good position to be. Actually it’s possibly one of the worst positions to be. I think that if the districts rebel, they will win. All in all I think that Gale does love Katniss but I’m not sure if she feels the same way. She probably would I guess but I can’t be certain. If anything does happen between them, on reflection I think it would have to happen after the games, if Katniss isn’t dead by then. I think it would be rather difficult for someone to sneak into the games. If they even wanted to. I don’t think they would want to even if they could. Which they couldn’t.

Chapter 4

I think that... I’m being a jittery chihuahua right now... One moment, I have to stop being that.

...

Okay enough of that rambling nonsense. “But max!” you may be saying right now “Rambling nonsense is fun.” You’re probably not saying that but shush your face I’ll keep doing it anyway. So you ask me what I think Haymitch and Peeta’s relationship will be? I don’t think they’ll get along very well but that’s just me. Haymitch is a drunken idiot. I don’t think anyone could get along with him without being a drunken idiot themselves, but you know it’s not even important wether or not you get along with him if he’s the one who’s supposed to save your life. You want to survive right? Well then deal with it. You have a choice between ignoring him and survival. Personally I’d choose the ladder. The ladder of course being survival.

Oh look, more relationship nonesnes... nonsenes... nonsense. Anyway, a little slip of paper asked me how Katniss’s family and Gale might effect her performance in the games. I could answer that with a single sentence but I think I’ll continue with what I’ve been doing. If anything I really think they’ll have a positive effect on her and keep her going through whatever conditions. They probably won’t help her win per se, but make her try harder to do so. She cares about her family and Gale very much and is definitely going to want to go back to them. But if you’ve ever read a book before you should know that things tend to backfire. Chances are Katniss isn’t going to see her family again any time soon if ever.

chapter 5

No. Nope, nope, not answering anymore.

... ... ...

Fine, I’ll answer two more but that’s it.

I recently ran int a person on the street and he said “Hey, I was just wondering, who was the first president of the united states?” I told him to look it up. That’s not what I’m here to talk about at all, though. Instead, I will talk about The Hunger Games. A book by Suzanne Collins. You know, the one I’ve been talking about for the last one thousand eighty words now. Hmm... it comes to my attention that I’ve talked a lot in this paragraph but haven’t said anything about the book itself... I should do that now. The question I was asked was “What is the relationship between Katniss and Peeta throughout chapter five?” More relationships. Jheesh, what do you think I am, a shipper? Wait, I am that. Anyway, my answer to this question is simple. Or at least, simpler than my other ones. I think that Peeta genuinely likes [] Katniss, whilst Katniss is just over-reacting. But at the same time, it might not be nothing, Peeta could actually be plotting something...

No, not going off on a rant again. I’ll do that after I answer all these questions. Anyway, next question.

Oh goody, something not about relationships. This one is about fashion. Personally I think fashion is stupid. It’s a complete waste of time and serves absolutely no purpose. The people the Seam realize this and don’t really bother with it. The people of the Capitol have a different opinion. They are always trying to find new ways to alter themselves to keep up with the new fashions. I suppose it is their decision to do that but at the same time it’s a waste of resources. The nation of Panem could be so much better if the Capitol wasn’t so obsessed with fashion. Although I don’t think they would want their citizens to be too happy after the rebellion. Oppressive government is oppressive.

Final response

Okay there’s some stuff that I wasn’t able to say in the above fourteen hundred words

that I really would like to say.

For one, I wanted to get out the idea that maybe, just maybe, the hunger games are rigged but the Capitol to make sure that the person they want to be picked is picked, and that the person they want to win, wins. Furthermore I think Peeta like salted nuts. He strikes me as a salted nut person.

Perhaps his head is filled with them. Wait, no, getting off topic now. What I meant to say is that perhaps he is in league with the plotting Capitol. Maybe he gave Katniss the bread so she would survive to go to the hunger games. Maybe the Capitol had planned for Katniss to step forward and volunteer to save her sister! Maybe I should stop being a conspiracy theorist! I should definitely stop being that. It’s probably a good thing to stop doing. Anyway, something I actually think might happen and that isn’t completely silly is that Katniss may or may not end up having to kill Peeta but that’s boring so why don’t we talk about something fun like... the other tributes perhaps. I don’t know exactly who they are but by their descriptions they’re going to prove to be challenging for Katniss, I’m sure. I’m pretty sure she won’t be able to kill the little twelve year old. By the way pretty sure is exactly the same thing as absolutely certain. This is getting boring as well. Topic switch number two. Gale. Something is going to happen with Gale, I don’t know what, but something. Probably something very important. Perhaps he could save Katniss from dying which I think I already said but whatever. Well I guess I don't have much more to say. Hmm... actually think I do have more to say maybe. Although I wouldn't count on it being English, much less making sense. What I wanted to say is that if Gale does get into the hunger games [As was talked about in my Chapter Three section] I think he and Katniss could maybe [and this is a big "maybe"] escape from the deathtrap of the hunger games and even Panem all together. There was something else I wanted to say but I can't remember what it was. Oh right, Effie Trinket. You know, this sick-in-the-head girl ==> I absolutely detest her. Sadly there's no way she won't be having another appearance in the book. She may even turn out to be an important character. Okay now I'm out of things to say. ... Well see you next week.

Katniss Everdeen definitely feels it is important to care for your younger siblings. She shows this in several instances. I think she feels this way because, after her father died, her mother just sort of completely shut down, and she had to start caring for Prim and her mother. She had to grow up pretty fast to be able to care for them, and I don’t think that’s a good thing to happen. Katniss never really got to act like a real kid, and she wants Prim to be able to. So she helps her whenever she can, but now that she’s going to the hunger games.... she cant do that anymore.

I think that Katniss’s relationship with Peeta will make her hesitant to attack him if they end up having to fight. Although I’m not quite sure I understand their relationship. By what I’ve read I think that Peeta likes Katniss. In the book it says that she has seen him staring at her, and turning away when she looked back at him. The thing with the bread may also support this. I don’t think they would kill each other if they were forced to fight.

I don’t think Katniss “owes” Peeta anything. When he gave her the bread he wasn’t looking for anything in return, he was just helping her out of the kindness of his heart.

Katniss’s reaction to Peeta’s name being picked, on page 25, confused me to an extent. Why would she be so distraught? I mean, I guess it makes sense, as anyone picked as a tribute is as good as dead. I also noticed, on page 33, that she thought “Oh well, there are twenty-four of us here, odds are someone else will kill him before I do.” My initial reaction was “. . . That is cold, Katniss Everdeen. Just cold.” However, it actually makes sense to hope someone else kills someone so that you don’t have to yourself. At the same time, though, hoping he ends up dead at all is not something she should be doing.

On page twenty-eight, it said that the peacekeepers never said starvation was the cause of death for citizens in The Seem. They would always say it was something else like disease or something. Why would they be trying to hide something so blatantly obvious? If they were going to do something about it they probably would have already. I suppose oppressive governments wouldn’t want to take any risks.

I think the use of the term “Reaping” is appropriate for this date in the book. The history of Panem says that there was a rebellion by the thirteen districts, one of which was destroyed. The Hunger Games were made to keep people from doing that. The term “reaping” means to harvest or gather. The Capitol of Panem takes one girl and one boy every year from each district to show that they have complete control over the people. Normally we use the term reaping for harvesting plants, and sometimes, the souls of the dead. . .

The effect that was definitely there, and probably the most important, was the breaking of the law. People would occasionally pass through the not-so-electrified fence to get out to the forest to gather berries and apples and such. However, Katniss Everdeen would go through daily to hunt with Gale. This is against the law, and they could be killed for it. However, as was said in The Hunger Games, they both agree that if we had to choose between a bullet to the head and starving, the bullet would be much quicker. Not only that, but even the law enforcers would buy illegally obtained meat.

The setting of this book is a borderline apocalyptic world set in the future of america, where wars and shortages of natural resources have left behind the nation Panem. Panem is a nation of twelve districts ruled over by the capitol that rose out of the ashes of a place formerly known as North America. There were once thirteen districts, but one was destroyed when the districts rose up against the capitol. I think that maybe the districts will rebel against the capitol yet again.

In all honesty, I’m not quite sure how to react. When I think about it, it was actually pretty obvious. Katniss was constantly talking about how she would protect primrose from anything, but could not protect her from the reaping. Not only that, but it was also said that she was the safest of them all, and things like that always backfire.

One of the things I noticed in the book was a line that read, “I have to try to forgive her, for my father’s sake.” I wonder what she has to forgive her for. Maybe she unintentionally killed Katniss’ father... Anyway, I also noticed that they said that the seas rose, this is what global warming is going to do if we do not stop it. Another thing that intrigued me is the drawing of primrose’s name. She had one entry in thousands, how was her name picked? I suspect foul play.

I’ve heard about this book in the past, but I’ve never actually taken the time to read it. My teacher, Ms. Nerney, recommended this book to me because I’ve read another book series by Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games. At first, the title might suggest a silly book, but looking at the cover, I doubt that it is. I think The Hunger Games will be an adventure book, perhaps about a character that may have to solve puzzles or win games to achieve a goal, what that is remains a mystery, but I’m sure it will be fantastic. The use of the word “game” may also refer to hunting. All in all I’m pretty excited about finding out where this book is going to go.

The author, Suzanne Collins, is by far the best, in my opinion. I’ve read a series of five books by her, The Underland Chronicles. I could not put it down at all, and I’m sure anything else by her is going to be great. I know the name well, as I love her books, and would suggest that other people read them. Suzanne Collins is a New York Times best selling author, not unexpected from her, in my opinion.

The cover art of The Hunger Games could mean several different things. The art displays a golden bird grasping an arrow in it’s beak. This could possibly be the emblem of some sort of group, or a logo for a company or event from the book. Aside from this and the text, which is white and red, the cover is mostly black and grey, showing what looks like a chain of connected points. This could possibly be a chart or a sort of map.

The use of colors suggests that the main character is in some sort of danger, or something troubling has happened or will happen.

Stephen king has this to say on The Hunger Games. “A violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense. . . . I couldn’t stop reading.” I’ve not read anything by Stephen King, but from what I’ve heard of his books, he is a great writer. Stephenie Meyer, the author of twilight, said this, “I was so obsessed with this book. . . . The Hunger Games is amazing.” I’ve not read Twilight either, but it is a very popular series, and the author of such a series liking this book could not be a bad thing. Lastly, there is John Green, who said that this book is “Brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced.” Reading these quotes, I can hardly wait to open this book and start reading.

After reading the book’s description, I now have a basic idea of the plot and setting of the book. I don’t quite understand everything, as I’ve not read the book and that would be silly, but I can tell you one thing, this book is going to be amazing. From what I’ve read in the description, the main character, Katniss Everdeen, has been sent off to near-certain death, and must use her survival skills to keep herself alive. The more I think about this, the more excited I get about it.

[Link] That is a review of The Hunger Games. This review has made me even more excited about this book. Micheal A. Behr described The Hunger Games as an art. If this is the case, then this will definitely be a book I will love for years to come. Another great work by Suzanne Collins. This book will be sure to match, or even surpass, another of Suzanne Collins’ great works, The Underland Chronicles.