yes, i know it's not real.

Ok, if you haven't read the Hunger Games and are even vaguely considering it, I will tell you when to stop reading. Or you can stop now, because none of this will make sense to you anyway.

~

The other night I had a dream. Of course, I was in Panem, and me and this girl I went to high school with were trying to escape (my mom sent me a text that day saying she saw her at Walmart, which is precisely how she ended up in Panem with me, as I haven't seen her in years). Anyway, we were trying to escape with Carly and the girl's little boy, and the girl had these really tall boots on that were making it impossible for her to go very fast and it was driving me crazy. All the Peacekeepers were wearing Sidney Crosby jerseys, like they were trying to convince me they were friendly. And we had to make it to the MTC in the Capital to rescue my little brother because he was sick. It was seriously stressful. I don't know what ever became of us. I woke up before the end.

~

What, you don't have nightly Panem dreams? Maybe that's just me.

~ 

I finished the last book last night, and let me tell you, I enjoyed them quite a bit. I went in to them literally having no idea what they were about. I remember when Mockingjay came out a few months ago everyone's Facebook status was about it, and later a friend told me she had them so I borrowed them. I was pretty surprised when I actually got into the first one, by what it was about and how it was written. I was kind of expecting something along the lines of Twilight, a lot of mushy love with a bit of action. But these are mostly action with a bit of confusing love. Right up my alley (ha!).

Since I'm no book critic, I'm going to share my thoughts in a series of likes and dislikes. You should probably know that this is entirely too long, and its mostly for me, as my mind has been spinning with thoughts I have no one to share with because I want Chris to read them (probably at Christmas time) without them being ruined.

{Ok, if you haven't read the books and want to, stop reading now. Seriously, because I'm going to ruin them. Chris, that includes you.}

This is in no particular order.

Like: Prim. I love how Prim matures and develops throughout the series. How she becomes the rock of the family as Katniss crumbles. How, as Katniss describes her, had the best attributes the family has to offer. She comes across as sweet and innocent, but she is talented and calm when the chaos ensues, when the sick and dying need her. She knows exactly what is going on and how things are working without having a panic attack (Katniss . . . ). And one thing the author did that I love most of all? At the very beginning of Hunger Games, Katniss describes Prim as a little ducky with the tail of her shirt hanging out. That portrayal of Prim then fades, as Katniss notices how the Games and the Revolution have forced Prim to grow up so fast. Her shirt is always neatly tucked in. Then at the very end, just before Prim dies {told you I would spoil the books, cheaters}, she returns to that image, the ducky with the shirt tail hanging out. Tears, I tell you. Love me some Prim. I have a current desire to name a little girl Primrose. Hopefully that passes before the time for #2 rolls around.

Dislike: Katniss. Yes, I dare say our Mockingjay drove me a little insane. She had a good heart. Good intentions. Loved those she loved fiercely. She was talented and smart. But something about her rubbed me the wrong way. Can I just tell you this without sounding like a crazy person . . . Katniss drives me crazy because Katniss is a little bit too much like me. Selfish but really trying hard not to be. Unable to express herself appropriately though spoken words. Constantly questioning herself and her abilities. Cherishing nothing more than those she loved. Too often when Katniss was exploring her own motives, thoughts, and intentions, when she was getting to the bottom of how her mechanics worked, it reminded me of me. Though, for the record, I've always known exactly who I am in love with.

Like: No, LOVE, Peeta. I know I've said this before, but he is so much like Chris is my opinion, if only Chris could bake and I wasn't allergic to flour. Sweet and sensitive, always paying attention to the smallest details. Strong and able, but not violent or angry. Able to see the positive, express himself well, and say the right thing at the right time. When he was hijacked, I just knew it was the authors way of getting him out of the way to clear the path for Gale and Katniss, and I was not happy that she destroyed my Peeta. She just barely made up for it.

Dislike: No, like quite a bit less, Gale. To be totally fair, you don't get to know Gale as well as you get to know Peeta. But he always seemed like he had a chip on his shoulder. A bit more angry or competitive than Peeta. But there were times, I admit, that my heart turned a bit and I wanted Gale and Katniss together, but they were few and far between. I do not, however, like how they ended it with Gale. Just taking off to a fancy new job and leaving Katniss without a second thought? Not sure about that one.

All through the last book I kept trying to decide who she would end up with. Both seemed like too obvious a choice. I even thought for a bit that everything would turn upside down and Katniss would fall for Finnick. Then I got pretty convinced she would end up with Gale, that Peeta was all freaked out and guilt ridden by his insanity and he would kill himself to save the both of them. I was preparing for the heartbreak. I literally shrieked when he asked if she loved him and she said "Real". De-lish. Though I don't really think she deserves him, kinda like I don't really deserve Chris. But some of us are lucky like that.

Like: The way the books are written from Katniss' perspective. I like how the language is pretty casual, like she is sitting next to you and telling the story like it just happened. And how its present tense (? I've been out of school too long) . . . Like she says "She crouches beside him and puts the coil in his hand" instead of "She crouched beside him and put the coil in his hand". Ok, I sound like I'm doing a homework assignment, but I thought that was a cool way to write and really fit Katniss' personality.

Dislike: Katniss' blackouts. A couple of times when Katniss got hurt or something, the author used it as an opportunity to . . . not write a bunch of big events, because Katniss wasn't there to witness them. Like when she got burned at the end of the Revolution, we hear about the end of the war, where everyone ended up, what happened to Peeta, and how Gale escaped in one single paragraph. The story lines were wrapped up too quickly when she did that.

Like: The portrayal of Panem. I loved how the future is portrayed. Its so interesting how the future is simultaneously so advanced and yet primitive. The people in the districts cook over fires and mine coal. Electricity is off and on, medicine is unavailable. But the Capital has all the magic one expects the future to have. I think its interesting how the author took the course of history, the destination of North America. Its a fascinating, yet depressing, view of what we could become.

Dislike: Violence, except not really. Ok, this one is making me wonder about myself. The "violence" in the book? Didn't really get to me. I mean the gory stuff didn't. Thus, I've come to two conclusions: either I'm a heartless psycho, or I don't have that great of an imagination when it comes to violence. Can we go with the latter? While I usually produce pretty vivid images that stick with me when I read a book, the gory scenes in the Hunger Games came out very tuned down in my mind. I'm guessing it let me enjoy the books more, because I wasn't distracted or freaked out. That's just how my brain works sometimes, kinda like how I tune dirty parts out of movies and totally forget about it, then recommend the movie to someone and the person is like "That movie was kinda dirty!" Whoops. Yeah, kinda like that.

Like: President Snow. I said it. I like him. Not as a person, but as the bad guy. He was unreachable, safe in his big city, playing with Katniss' life and sanity like she was a chess piece. And the roses were the perfect touch. Something that is traditionally used in a romantic way, symbolizing love. Twisted perfectly into something totally creepy. Don't think I'll ever be thinking of roses the same way. Thanks goodness my wedding took place before these books came out, because I did love my bouquet of roses.

Like: The way the series ended. Love that she ended up with Peeta. Love that all the lose ends came together. Love that Prim died. Heartless? No, if anyone deserved an escape, it was her. And someone really important to Katniss needed to die, and making it Gale or Peeta would have been too easy. Love that they had an epilogue that included babies that looked like Peeta and Katniss. Chris will tell you, I like stories that end in weddings and babies, not "I love you" or a kiss. We need a real happily ever after. Well, as much of one as you can have in the aftermath of Panem.

Dislike: The way the series ended. Mentioned before, the author wrapped things up too quickly. Between Katniss being out after being burned, and being locked away after killing Coin, it was finished in a blur. Oh, I do love that Katniss killed Coin, but I don't like how she was declared innocent based on insanity, and that Coin wasn't really exposed for what she was. I don't like Katniss's attitude in the end. How she was all depressed and seemed like "Ok, I guess this is my life." She got the ultimate reward: a life, loving husband, children. And of course she would have lingering emotional trauma, but you think she would be a little more positive in the end. That she survived. That she transformed Panem. That she beat the Games.

On the whole, I loved the series, though I did think each book was slightly less good than its predecessor, which is not uncommon. I flew through Hunger Games, ate up every word. Fell in love with Peeta, worried about Prim, stressed over Katniss. I really liked Catching Fire as well, especially as it shifted primary focus from the Games themselves to the Revolution as a whole. Mockingjay was slower on the uptake, and it took longer for me to get into it (like a few days rather than a few minutes). Then at the end everything wrapped up so quickly, like the author didn't want to write another book but she still had a million things to cover. But I will have to say that to date its one of my favorite series ever. {Gasp!} I'm not sure why, but I enjoyed my trip to Panem more than my trips to Forks or Hogwarts (still working my way through Hogwarts . . . ). My greatest fear at this point is that they will make the books into corny teeny bopper movies and there will be "Team Peeta" t-shirts (though . . . . just might buy one of those. ha!) and its quality will be lost in an annoying trendy obsession. Just like the destruction of the Twilight Saga. I've already declared to Chris I will never be seeing any Hunger Games movie. There.

How about you? What did you like? Dislike?