Part 1, Chapter 1
[Pages 1-20]
~FD can pick a quote too~
“It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have us divided among ourselves,” he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine. If it wasn’t reaping day.
~Stuff that happened~
Enter the hero. At least I assume she is the hero. From what I gathered in the other topic THG follows a single person's perspective and so I might as well get used to her since it's probably going to be a bumpy ride.
I will say that it took me just a little while to figure out the main character was a girl. The book does a decent job explaining the intricacies of the overall situation, but does not provide a whole lot of specific description. The Seam (which is their part of the district in which they leave) is described, but only in very broad terms and so I have a general idea what the area 'feels' like but I can't see it very well. So I figured out she was a girl (it didn't take that long, honest) and we meet the best friend and likely love interest, Gale.
So they bring us up to speed on how hard life has been and what Katniss and Gale in particular have done to make life easier on their family. They break bread together and seem to mentally prepare themselves for the selection process that will be so ceremoniously performed later.
I immediately start to think it would be awfully contrived if both Gale and Katniss were selected for the same Hunger Game (especially since it would be Gale's last chance to get selected) and I start to wonder how they could mix it up. And then I think 'that's just what they want me to think, they are going to trick me by actually choosing both of them". Basically I WIFOM myself and end up having no idea what I actually think is more likely so I can safely say that I did not genuinely expect that Katniss' sister would get selected.
~Forceful's Thoughts~
Katniss: I like what they've revealed about her so far, and I hope she does stay the main character. It seems like she will, but then I'm not sure how she is going to be involved in the games now that her sister's been called. Maybe she'll be able to swap in somehow or maybe she'll be punished for hunting and thrown into the mix in addition to her sister. Anxious to see how the book stays behind her. (Or maybe it wont!)
Katniss' Mom: I wonder if there is a specific reason that Kat holds animosity towards her. It seems like a generally focused "you are the reason we're alive and in this mess so I'm gonna hold a grudge", but maybe there is something more. But (unless I missed it which is possible) they did not even give her name so it's entirely possible we wont be hearing much more about the mother figure. And any turbulent family past is going to cease to matter soon anyways. Figured I'd give her a mention since it might be her only appearance though.
Prim: We no virtually nothing about Prim right now. This is fine since it will be shortly remedied. I wonder how she is going to accept her role as one of the chosen for her district. Often times "young" main characters are often attributed a wisdom beyond their years and I think it would be refreshing to see Prim genuinely overwhelmed by the situation, at least at first.
Gale: Seems okay so far I guess? "Olive skin, black hair, grey eyes" can mean a lot of things and so I'd like to be able to visualize the character better. But we're just getting started and so for an introductory chapter it is very good. If I wasn't already committed to more chapters I know I would have a hard time stopping now.
And Gale seems like a shoe-in now that Kat is off the hook.I wonder how he's going to take it. Or maybe some other boy gets selected and Kat and Gale attack the game together somehow. Heck if I know.
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