#thg again

Katniss: “you can’t spell happiness without P E N I S”

Peeta: “how many did you drink?”

Katniss: “2, maybe 3 shots”

Johanna: “10 shots brainless”

the punch of the previous chapter’s ending immediately transitioning into this flashback is fantastic because Katniss is in such shock she has to find something in her past to rationalize it

the boy who caught Katniss when she started to fall is such a small detail and yet it tugs at my heart

“hadn’t I done everything?” yes, Katniss, you did, but that isn’t how this goes

Prim walking stiffly towards the stage, so brave and so afraid, is absolutely gut wrenching

not to get Biblical but absolutely to get Biblical, Katniss’s volunteering, her sacrifice, her love is so powerful

there is no greater love than to lay down your life for those you love (paraphrasing John) and Katniss demonstrates that radical love right here

the “You can’t go!” “Let go!” exchange between the sisters calls to mind two scenes from Mockingjay: 1) when Katniss dreams of Prim as a bird after her death where this dialogue is quoted verbatim, and 2) when Peeta stops Katniss committing suicide at Snow’s execution with “Let me go!” “I can’t!”

this is one of my favorite Gale moments in the entire series: when he takes Prim and helps Katniss up, keeping his voice steady to steady her

you win a star, Mr. Hawthorne ⭐️ don’t make me redact it

“I don’t think of District 12 as a place that cares about me” is such an interesting line and I want to track this, the notion of the district itself, as an entity, caring for Katniss or not

and here he is, our boy 🥰 I have to admit I was so surprised when Gale wasn’t reaped alongside her

and my mind cocked to one side like a curious puppy like “oh??? who is this???”

not that we’re happy they were reaped, and at the risk of sounding like Plutarch, you couldn’t have asked for a better combination of fire and gasoline

Snow better watch his back

the bread scene ... to this day it tugs at my heart ... eleven is so young ...

the detail about Prim still washing their father’s shaving mirror because he hated the coal dust on it is such a resonant image ... I can imagine Mr. Everdeen looking at himself in that dirty mirror and thinking “this is not who I am”

the description of starvation ... of old people and children being left out to die ... 12 isn’t just rough ... it is horrific

I forget how close to death Katniss is ... she isn’t just sad and hungry ... she’s dying ... she drops the baby clothes she’s shaking so hard and can’t bend down to pick them up for fear of keeling over and being unable to stand ... becoming one of those bodies in the street

the golden light pouring from the bakery ... such a beautiful and desperate image ... this whole scene is intensely reminiscent of The Little Match girl, especially with her in the rain and cold, drawn to the glow and smell

Mrs. Mellark is so awful here ... what is it with the dysfunctional mother relationships of Panem? screaming at a starving child who is barely older than ten???

the image of little Peeta (LITTLE ... the movies make them seem like adults but they are so young, so small) peering from behind his mother is somehow completely heartbreaking... he sees this girl and he wants to help ...

and his mother hits him for it ... ugh ... and what did she hit him with? Katniss seems to think it wasn’t a hand ... and calling him a stupid creature ... well we know where his sense of self worth took a dive

*angrily writes their mother relationships as functional in AUs*

“the heat of the bread burned my skin, but I clutched it tighter, clinging to life” is a powerful line and if we keep identifying Peeta with this bread, it evokes for me Mejhiren’s retelling of Tam Lin, where Janet (Katniss) clings to her lover no matter how dangerous he becomes ... this is categorically a stretch, I know 😋 but I love how Everlark clings to each other ... even aflame

the first dandelion of the year ... and the first of many stolen glances exchanged through the years ... JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER

“Odds are someone else will kill him before I do ... Of course the odds have not been very dependable of late” — and for perhaps the only time in the series: thank God they’re not ... because odds are there’s only one victor ... but the odds are about to get shaken up

the odds do not define you, Katniss ... not in the rain by the apple tree, and not now

My own thoughts as I read through the first three chapters:

Heart:

Bread and Dandelion- both represent Peeta. They are the two things Katniss associates with him. While we find out later the roots of his affection for her, it is in these first few chapters that we, as the reader, have a chance to peek inside Katniss’s psyche to see what she really thinks. Even if she doesn’t know it at this point.

But, to Katniss, both Bread and Dandelion represent life. Peeta represents life to Katniss, and as the series progresses, we see how this all pans out.

Mind:

This is probably the 8th time I’ve read through the books. While nothing “new” jumped out at me, there was much that was reinforced to me. Little details we as a fandom sometimes lose because of our focus. Details like, other people going out of the district for hunting and gathering apples; how smart Haymitch is, even though as a first time reader we may not recognize it; how someone (who it is we don’t know) is charged with writing each of the names that go into the Reaping bowl. We think, “Why not just use a computer? Surely they still had that technology?” (and they must have). But the names being handwritten- that makes them “special”. I think it’s another way for the Capitol to try to bill the Games as something to bring the whole country together. Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to represent their District? Good old fashioned fun, right? Right…

Soul:

Weeks Seven, Eight, & Nine (Chapters 19 - 27)

I had to scroll so far in my photos to find this banner, so that should tell you something — oops! Sorry, all! Let’s get back on track with the final three weeks of The Hunger Games, so I can get to work on Catching Fire. Let’s hope my math’s all right on these chapter and week numbers.

There is some amazing content in these chapters: from the cave scenes to the final confrontation atop the Cornucopia.

Last Time 🏹

The first song is a beautiful folk song sung to a child, the words full of reassurance of safety, the tone of the song a little less so. The second song is real song Peeta mentions Katniss singing in school (as Lucy Gray confirms in the prequel). And the third song is a great ending song, a melancholy tune about a train ride home.

This Time 🌲

With the rule change, everything is different now. Katniss and Peeta have some chance to save each other, and control the outcome of the Games. I love this song, and this line in particular: who decides the rules for lovers / like / you and I? / we choose each other because they really do choose each other, and that changes everything.

Songs for the cave scenes are really hard to choose, let me tell you. You want to strike a good balance between melancholy and hopeful. This song is about a couple fighting to save their relationship from conflict, but I think it works quite well for a couple trying to save their relationship from much bigger forces.

Of course, I have to have a song from The Sweeplings. This one is gorgeous and dark. It echoes over and over that the singers are alive, but the mood of the song, though grateful for the future, remains somber and not overly victorious, which seems a fitting end for this book.

Week Two (Chapters 4-6)

I’m behind on reading, but I am determined not to get behind on Sounds of Panem, so here we go!

Last Time 🏹

One of my very favorite songs, in which the “young and wild” creatures are told not to let “them” cut their tails and tame them for spectator sport. It always makes me think of the way the tributes are prettied up before the Games.

This Time 🌲

Good Luck, Kid is about the abrupt nature of growing up. Katniss and Peeta are forced to do a lot of abrupt growing up in these chapters, and there really is “nothing left to lean on” for them. Haymitch’s “stay alive” is his own brand of cynical “good luck, kid.” The opening lines “we’ve arrived on a new planet / another brand of sanity” are very indicative of the Capitol. Give it a listen!

Week Three (Chapters 7 - 9)

Rebellious acts start stacking up this week and the Games draw ever nearer!

Last Time 🏹

The sound production of this song is amazing: eerie and shiver inducing, sounding just like a southern storm brewing. Katniss and Peeta are stirring up a whole lot of consequences they’ll have to face even if they don’t know it: there truly is a storm about to break over Panem.

This Time 🌲

In contrast to the crescendoing action of training and interviews, I’ve picked a slower, more somber song for the tributes being prepared for death. There is no time to mourn the lives they are about to give up. I think if Katniss had time to sit and process more, her thoughts might sound like this.