#thgreadalong19

okay so i reread the hunger games for the first time in like... 8 years or something and boyyyyyy it was a ride:

* this book came out in like 2008, but goddamn it’s still relevant as fuck * i absolutely adore the fact that it wasn’t a traditional “rise against the government” story, where the girl was The One and she did All The Things - Katniss was thrown into all this shit somehow under the radar, with adults still running the rebellion, but choosing her as a symbol and honestly she’s like “i have no idea what the fuck to do, but i’ll listen to Haymitch and Cinna - adults who know more stuff than I do, and hopefully not get killed” * i also liked the fact that her and Peeta’s traditional roles were reversed: she was the hunter, he was the baker (who was doing the FROSTING on cakes int he bakery, like, i stan) and this was Suzanne Collins saying fuck you to expectations about what roles men and women are supposed to fulfil * this book is disguised as another YA bullshit, but my dudes, holy fuck no - even if you take out the whole “we’ll send your kids to murder each other in an arena for our entertainment” - it deals with a shit ton of issues: PTSD, abandonment, alcoholism, children way too young being forced to take the roles of providers in their respective families, how entertainment affects the way we see the world, how media manipulates perception - like, this shit is Deep™

* it annoys me that at one point, this book/series was reduced to Team Gale vs Team Peeta, when... it was honestly about SO much more. And tbh, the progression of the love triangle was natural - when you share a life and death situation with someone, it’s completely natural to have at least some conflicting feelings towards that person, so Katniss’ indecision over Peeta and Gale is completely fucking normal for an adult, let alone a teenager just discovering themselves and exploring their heart

* the writing is Really Good, even compared to newer books that I’ve personally read and adored - it’s intense, fast paced, I flew through this in a couple of days and even knowing the story, it was still gripping and adrenaline-fuelled

* Peeta is completely underrated as a strategist - like, that kid is Smart™ as fuck

* Katniss and Rue’s relationship was such a punch in the gut, because it really solidifies the idea that these are kids, paying the price for something they had no hand in, paying the price for a past they had no choice in and no control over, and I’m unashamed to say that I, a woman in her 30s, still cried ugly tears when Katniss sang her song for Rue 

For #ToastedTHG @everlarkedalways asked us to compare and contrast the kiss in the snow with Peeta to the kiss at the fence with Gale. Buckle up Everlurkers!

Gale's kiss is an empty experience for her. A lot of her phrasing is void-esque:

"he took" || "i think" || "vaguely" || "he let go"

"he was gone" || "hole in the fence"

The kiss with Peeta is a full experience:

"catches me" || "into" || "full of" || "underneath" || "brings to everything" || "not alone"

Peeta's kiss is described viscerally but Gale's is explained dryly. During the kiss in the snow she becomes overwhelmed with emotion to the point of wanting to cry. After Gale leaves Katniss she has to think on if the kiss made her feel anything at all, and it didn't, she felt and feels absolutely nothing.  Not even resentment, even though she was completely unprepared for it. Which knowing Katniss, and that Gale supposedly knows how she feels about love and relationships, you would think she'd at least be ticked off. But she just feels nothing. That could be chalked up to her bad mental health except that she becomes emotionally overwhelmed by Peeta's kiss.

I think the most important distinction between these two kisses is the movement descriptor Katniss uses and how she uses it. She declares Gale's hands entrap her even though he isn't the one she is required to kiss. She describes the feeling of Peeta's kiss as steady. It's familiar, secure, stable. Peeta literally catches her and even though they slip and fall, he still cushions her from the fall. It's very metaphoric for their entire relationship through the series. There is a lot of togetherness in her language as well, "catches", "we" is used three times plus "our" and "underneath". That word "underneath" speaks to the experience being layered for her.

Gale's kiss is described as something that's all about him and his feelings, because he feels left out and wants to stake a claim whereas the kiss with Peeta is about him showing up for her, being in the show together despite how it might hurt him on a personal level. The kiss with Peeta is one paragraph and she uses the word me seven times! No words or phrases of being together are used when relaying Gale's kiss to the reader.

Hi, my name is Hafsa! I've had booklr for a while but haven't been interacting with the community as much as I'd like, so thanks to @books-and-cookies for organising this so I can hopefully change that :D my main blog is letthebookbegin so if I like/reply to anything it'll be from there.

This is one of my favorite lines of the entire series. It's so flirty in Katniss' way, like when she kisses his bruise after the tribute parade.

She loves Peeta's unpredictability because it's a safe unpredictability. She expects the worst and what she always gets from him is the best. He surprises her by being completely different from anyone she has experienced. Katniss can't even imagine good things, pretty much admits that the only way it happens is in dreams on rare occasions, and here comes this boy who constantly does good things and has incredible talents. It's utterly shocking to her.

Me presenting exhibit 86 of Iconic Katniss from THG: Katniss Everdeen concerned for the mental, emotional, and physical well being of an alcoholic who hates her, in the midst of a death match.

People were out here like "ZoiiiNKs!!! PeeTa MeLLaRk sOoOoOo weak, beta male BeTa MaLe bETA MAAAALE, Katniss Everdeen did EVERYTHING, he rode her coat tails!!!"

Ok but have you been stung by *FIVE* tracker jackers and stabbed with a sword to the bone in your thigh AFTER fighting your way into the Career pack 4 vs 1 and getting the shit beat out of you to point you are limping plus sustain a burn across your entire chest, then still managed to use your brain to find the best hiding spot in the arena so that you didn't have to move to find food/water while HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT BY DISGUISING YOURSELF SO WELL THAT EVEN A SKILLED HUNTER COULDN'T DETECT YOU. Then slept there in the freezing cold and underneath a burning sun for a week with a fever, dying, but still managing to survive. No, didn't think so, so sit the fuck down.