Last minute reading post for the super busy past two weeks. This is from page 355-391 (the end of the book....finally).
Katniss really feels connected with Peeta. Her goal is still to clear the rest of the competition and get Peeta to win. She second guesses herself about how long the alliance will last and if the group is really secretively looking out for Peeta.
Peeta and Katniss go off to the water where she teaches him how to swim. While they're by themselves, Katniss suggests that they break off from the pack because there are only eight left. Peeta promises they'll split after Brutus and Enobaria are dead. Turns out Beetee has come up with his own plan to kill Brutus and Enobaria and wants them to be next. The duo isn't anywhere to be found on the beach and the alliance decides that they must have gone to the jungle to spy on them and eat.
Beetee's plan is to run his wire that is highly conductive in between the lighting strikes. His plan is that anyone touching the wire or anything it is connected to would be electrocuted when the lightening strikes.
When the group goes walking through the forest to set the trap Finnick suggests that Katniss take the lead because she can "hear the forcefield" with her Capitol repaired ear. Beetee isn't buying this, because he's the one who show her how to do it in the training center, but he doesn't say anything.
While fishing, Peeta finds an oyster, opens it and gives Katniss the pearl inside. She believes this will be her last gift from Peeta. She plans on keeping it hoping that when she dies it'll make it back to her family so they can give it to Peeta before they burry her body.
Katniss and Johanna leave to drop the wire into the water by the beach and Peeta is worried no one will be there to protect her. She stays optimistic and tells Peeta she will see him at midnight, meaning she'll live. The wire vibrates and then falls down around them. Someone has cut the wire, they're sure of it. Katniss is lying on her back and can't see straight as a result of the vibration. Johanna is sitting on Katniss's chest holding her down while being stabbed in the arm with something. Out of no where Brutus comes out and is shouting to Enorbaria that "she's as good as dead" (referring to Katniss?). Katniss thinks the alliance is over and that Finnick and Johanna have made an agreement to bail on Katniss and Peeta.
Someone's died and this sends Katniss into a running frenzy. She trips over Beetee's wire, but gets out and keeps heading for Peeta. When she reaches the area where the others were. Beetee is up in the tree moaning and cut and holding the knife that Peeta was carrying earlier. Luckily she finds Peeta and he's realized that everyone is hunting them.
Finnick and Enobaria show up but Katniss is out of their view. Another cannon goes off. Katniss is up in the tree ready to kill Enobaria leaving Peeta with only one enemy left to kill.Katniss remembers Haymitch's words "Katniss, when you're in the arena...You just remember who the enemy is." She now knows what he is talking about. She takes her arrow while looking for the sweet spot in the force field and sends her arrow flying through. She's thrown to the ground and before the explosion, she finds a star.
Katniss doesn't think they'll let anyone survive this Quarter Quell. She can imagine President Snow reading, "...a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol..." She's sorry that she couldn't save Peeta. A hovercraft is over Katniss, the claw drops, and when she's inside she sees Plutarch Heavensbee (the Head Gamemaker).
Katniss drops out of consciousness, when she awakes she has tubes in her arm that are trying to keep her alive. She rips them out and goes unconscious again. When she comes to she sees Beetee hooked up to ten machines and all she wants to do is die. Katniss considers killing Beetee in the moment but decides to put it off. She walks down the hallway and over hears Plutarch talking to someone. He says, " No, I'm sorry. There's no way I can get you to Four. But I've given special orders for her retrieval if possible. It's the best I can do, Finnick." WHAT?!?! Next she hears Haymitch saying he'll keep "her" alive as bait.
Haymitch explains to Katniss what happened, and it goes like this... There had always been a plan to break the victors from the arena when the Quell began (victors from District 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 11 had some sort of knowledge about this). Turns out Plutarch has been in an undercover group for years whose goal is to defy the Capitol. Everything was a specific sign or code to those who knew. It was quite a detailed set up. The hovercraft that captured Katniss was from District 13, yup that's right 13. Bonnie and Twill, the ladies from the woods, were right about 13. Currently those in the hovercraft are on their way to District 13 while a majority of Panem is in a full-blown rebellion.
Haymitch didn't tell Peeta and Katniss because he thought it would be way too risky of a move. He explains that once the force field was blown they'd be the first ones to be captured and the less they knew the better. Everyone promised to save Katniss and Peeta and keep them alive. Johanna pinning Katniss was done so she could cut the tracker from Katniss's arm. Katniss had to be saved, Haymitch explains to her that, "...you are the mockingjay. While you live, the revolution lives." Peeta has been picked up by the Capitol along with Enobaria and Johanna. This pisses Katniss off and sends her lurching across the room ready to claw Haymitch with her fingernails.
People pry Katniss off of Haymitch, restrain her, and as she slips out of consciousness again Finnick explains that he wanted to go back and save Peeta, but he couldn't move. He says it'll be better for Peeta because the Capitol will learn that he knows nothing and will just use him as bait against Katniss. Without giving up Katniss says they'll use Peeta as bait for her while they use Annie as bait for Finnick. Then and there Finnick just wishes he along with everyone else would be dead.
Katniss starts weighing out the option of Peeta's chances for survival and death. Right now she's decided if she can't have him back she'd rather have him dead. She knows the Capitol will never give him back to her. Katniss is giving up and letting the people around her pump whatever into her that they want with the hopes that if she dies maybe Peeta will live. She blames Haymitch for using them as pieces in the games.
She opens her eyes and sees Gale. He's been burnt and his arm is in a sling. She immediately asks about Prim and her mother and he tells her that they're alive. After the games, he tells her that the Capitol dropped firebombs on District 12 and he saved them. Gale tells her that there isn't a District 12 left...
Ah can't wait to start the next book, the third and final one, Mockingjay!!
Showing posts with label Catching Fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catching Fire. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
So much to do with not near the amount of needed time. Really sorry I haven't had the time to make reading logs lately, but here's one from 326-354.
For every hour that passes on the clock something horrible (done by the Gamemakers) happens. They have nicknamed this "the clock theory." They've all gotten up and are on the move away from the the Gamemakers' troubles. Katniss relates the events back to her run in with Plutarch Heavensbee when he flashed her his mockingjay watch and hinted that "it starts at midnight."
Meanwhile Katniss likes having allies this time in the games even though she keeps trying to forget that she'll have to kill them. Peeta has been able to scratch out a map of the areas in the arena they've been in. The arena is shaped like a clock and he's able to match the destruction element to the literal hour on the clock and the hour (as in the location) on the clock
The Careers sneak up on Katniss and her alliance. The Careers manage to kill Wiress while Katniss's group kills Cashmere and Gloss. Katniss has thought about the previous action taken by other victors in the arena and she's come to realize that the others are trying to keep him alive. She thinks that Haymitch has said something and bribed the other victors who are with them.
Katniss hears a scream and thinks it's Prim, but for the first time she sees a jabberjay---the father of her beloved and treasured mockingjay. As they continue on Finnick also hears a scream, only it sounds like Annie, (you find out later that Annie won one year because she was the best swimmer and she went insane when her district partner was beheaded) it also turns out to be a jabberjay. They're aware that the Capitol is playing tricks on them. Another bird screams, this time it's Gale.
The two wonder why the others in the alliance haven't come to help them. It turns out Katniss and Finnick have been trapped by a clear thick glass wall. It has them trapped from the four-five o'clock hour on the clock and they'll be stuck there til the hour is over. Jabberjays come and start to fill up the entire enclosed area.
On the positive side, the victors have figured out seven of the twelve hours on the clock. The cannon fires and announces the recently killed victors: Cashmere, Gloss, Wiress, Mags, District 5 Lady, Morphling, and District 10 Man. Two thirds of the tributes have been killed.
Katniss and Peeta take look-out and take some time to talk. Peeta decides that since Haymitch has made promises to both of them and they should assume he's lying. Peeta reminds Katniss that without her he has no reason left to live in District 12 because she is his reason to live. Peeta reveals his gold chained locket necklace.He opens it and there's a picture of Prim and Katniss's mother and another picture of Gale. To stop Peeta from diminishing himself she kisses him and gets "that feeling" again, the one she's only felt one other time when she really felt the kiss. They keep kissing and Katniss wants more.
Back into reality, Peeta makes a comment about the baby when Finnick wakes up and switches guard with Katniss.
I wonder how long the baby act will go on before the audience realizes it's a fake. Will Peeta really give his life and everything up for Katniss? We'll see.
For every hour that passes on the clock something horrible (done by the Gamemakers) happens. They have nicknamed this "the clock theory." They've all gotten up and are on the move away from the the Gamemakers' troubles. Katniss relates the events back to her run in with Plutarch Heavensbee when he flashed her his mockingjay watch and hinted that "it starts at midnight."
Meanwhile Katniss likes having allies this time in the games even though she keeps trying to forget that she'll have to kill them. Peeta has been able to scratch out a map of the areas in the arena they've been in. The arena is shaped like a clock and he's able to match the destruction element to the literal hour on the clock and the hour (as in the location) on the clock
The Careers sneak up on Katniss and her alliance. The Careers manage to kill Wiress while Katniss's group kills Cashmere and Gloss. Katniss has thought about the previous action taken by other victors in the arena and she's come to realize that the others are trying to keep him alive. She thinks that Haymitch has said something and bribed the other victors who are with them.
Katniss hears a scream and thinks it's Prim, but for the first time she sees a jabberjay---the father of her beloved and treasured mockingjay. As they continue on Finnick also hears a scream, only it sounds like Annie, (you find out later that Annie won one year because she was the best swimmer and she went insane when her district partner was beheaded) it also turns out to be a jabberjay. They're aware that the Capitol is playing tricks on them. Another bird screams, this time it's Gale.
The two wonder why the others in the alliance haven't come to help them. It turns out Katniss and Finnick have been trapped by a clear thick glass wall. It has them trapped from the four-five o'clock hour on the clock and they'll be stuck there til the hour is over. Jabberjays come and start to fill up the entire enclosed area.
On the positive side, the victors have figured out seven of the twelve hours on the clock. The cannon fires and announces the recently killed victors: Cashmere, Gloss, Wiress, Mags, District 5 Lady, Morphling, and District 10 Man. Two thirds of the tributes have been killed.
Katniss and Peeta take look-out and take some time to talk. Peeta decides that since Haymitch has made promises to both of them and they should assume he's lying. Peeta reminds Katniss that without her he has no reason left to live in District 12 because she is his reason to live. Peeta reveals his gold chained locket necklace.He opens it and there's a picture of Prim and Katniss's mother and another picture of Gale. To stop Peeta from diminishing himself she kisses him and gets "that feeling" again, the one she's only felt one other time when she really felt the kiss. They keep kissing and Katniss wants more.
Back into reality, Peeta makes a comment about the baby when Finnick wakes up and switches guard with Katniss.
I wonder how long the baby act will go on before the audience realizes it's a fake. Will Peeta really give his life and everything up for Katniss? We'll see.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
New summary through page 326.
The so called fog turned out to be a poisonous gas. Katniss wakes the gang and they take off in the opposite direction. As they're making their escape Peeta's artificial leg catches in a mass of vines and he falls to the ground getting hit by the vapor. Sadly the effects are worse than blisters. The left side of Peeta's face has drooped and his facial muscles have died. Katniss realizes the chemical in the fog not only burns their skin, but it also targets their nerves. Katniss has to carry Mags out by she can't manage it the entire way and Finnick has to carry Peeta. Since Finnick can't carry both Mags and Peeta, Mags crawls off into the fog and is taken over by the fog, she dies.
The fog stops and the three take a breather adjusting to the crazy sensations from the gas. Shortly they crawl to the water around the Cornucopia. They put themselves into the salt water (remember: salt water + wounds = terrible pain) and the poison begins to seep from their wounds, they're recoveries get better and better after the long they've been in the water.
When Katniss and Finnick are in the jungle they spot a huge mass of monkeys, but when Peeta approaches they go wild. They're muttations! The tributes go at the monkeys using their sword, arrows, and trident. As a monkey heads off for Peeta the morphling from District 6 comes out of no where and the monkey bites her in the chest. She dies within minutes from the bite, the alliance manages to escape, and the dead monkeys vanish.
Finnick keeps watch while Katniss and Haymitch sleep. He fills two baskets full of water and one of shellfish. Katniss wakes up and realizes she's been scratching her scabbed body in her sleep and has woken up with dried blood on her fingernails. Another gift comes from Haymitch, only this time it's smelly ointment that stops her itching; however it leaves her skin a grayish green. Another parachute arrives and it's fresh bread.
Katniss guesses that eleven are dead, so thirteen remain. The trio spots another trio and they're in terrible shape. The second trio consists of Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress (aka Nuts and Volts). Beetee has a huge gash from his shoulder to his ribs.
Johanna reveals that Mags was Finnick's mentor and she's basically half his family.
They basically just relax and go back to bed taking turns keeping watch.
The so called fog turned out to be a poisonous gas. Katniss wakes the gang and they take off in the opposite direction. As they're making their escape Peeta's artificial leg catches in a mass of vines and he falls to the ground getting hit by the vapor. Sadly the effects are worse than blisters. The left side of Peeta's face has drooped and his facial muscles have died. Katniss realizes the chemical in the fog not only burns their skin, but it also targets their nerves. Katniss has to carry Mags out by she can't manage it the entire way and Finnick has to carry Peeta. Since Finnick can't carry both Mags and Peeta, Mags crawls off into the fog and is taken over by the fog, she dies.
The fog stops and the three take a breather adjusting to the crazy sensations from the gas. Shortly they crawl to the water around the Cornucopia. They put themselves into the salt water (remember: salt water + wounds = terrible pain) and the poison begins to seep from their wounds, they're recoveries get better and better after the long they've been in the water.
When Katniss and Finnick are in the jungle they spot a huge mass of monkeys, but when Peeta approaches they go wild. They're muttations! The tributes go at the monkeys using their sword, arrows, and trident. As a monkey heads off for Peeta the morphling from District 6 comes out of no where and the monkey bites her in the chest. She dies within minutes from the bite, the alliance manages to escape, and the dead monkeys vanish.
Finnick keeps watch while Katniss and Haymitch sleep. He fills two baskets full of water and one of shellfish. Katniss wakes up and realizes she's been scratching her scabbed body in her sleep and has woken up with dried blood on her fingernails. Another gift comes from Haymitch, only this time it's smelly ointment that stops her itching; however it leaves her skin a grayish green. Another parachute arrives and it's fresh bread.
Katniss guesses that eleven are dead, so thirteen remain. The trio spots another trio and they're in terrible shape. The second trio consists of Johanna, Beetee, and Wiress (aka Nuts and Volts). Beetee has a huge gash from his shoulder to his ribs.
Johanna reveals that Mags was Finnick's mentor and she's basically half his family.
They basically just relax and go back to bed taking turns keeping watch.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
New summary through page 297
The games have begun! Katniss can't focus on the game because she's too worried thinking about Cinna's beaten body, but she realizes she needs to suck it up because he risked his life for her making her mockingjay dress and now she's ready to fight.
Katniss takes off after the gong sounds and starts swimming towards the Cornucopia. With her first idea to being to grab a weapon, Katniss begins thinking like a Career now. She meets Finnick at the Cornucopia and he's got it in their mind that they're allies. Katniss thinks this is fishy and is ready to send an arrow whizzing through his heart when she sees he has Haymitch's golden flamed bangle on. She realizes that he has given it to Finnick with the message that she must trust him in the games. The three have come to the conclusion that they're also in an alliance with Mags.
This year's arena is composed of salt water and dense jungle. Already there are dead bodies covering the ground and in the water (there's about six, but Katniss is unsure). It's not long before Katniss considers shooting Finnick. She believes their alliance will go no where because one of them with have to kill the other eventually and he's too valuable to let go loose in the games. She let's it pass for the time being and reminds herself that she could always kill him in his sleep.
Peeta slashes his sword unknowingly through a force field and is thrown to his back to the ground. He's unresponsive and Katniss is certain he's died of heart failure. Finnick tosses Katniss aside and begins to do CPR on Peeta and it's a miracle it's worked. Katniss's guilty conscious takes over when she realizes now she'll forever owe Finnick for saving Peeta's life. Finnick becomes curious as to how Katniss was able to know there was a force field there. She makes up a lie about how it sounds similar to the fence that surrounds her district when it's lit up, but the strange thing is, Katniss can only hear it out of one ear. Are the doctors who fixed her ear on her side?
After climbing a tree Katniss reports to her alliance that "the force field has us trapped in a circle. A dome, really...There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large." She doesn't see any other water source besides the salt water near the Cornucopia. Maybe the Capitol left out water to make these dreaded games go by faster?
Katniss goes off solo to find a water source and hunt. She gets a death tally of eight bodies. While she's out she manages to kill and animal. When she's skinning it she notices it's mouth is wet, so there must be water near by. Giving up for the day she returns to Peeta and the gang. The four have used the Gamemakers' force field to their advantage. They've set up shelter near it, hoping they could drive enemies into it, and they've begun to use it as their 'safe' source of fire since it produces zero smoke.
At night the dead tributes are projected into the sky and they learn that the men from 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are dead along with the women from 8 and 10. After the anthem a silver parachute comes bringing a gift. Once it's opened no one recognizes the the hollow metal tube. Given some time Katniss realizes it's a spile and tells the gang that it's used to get sap out of trees.
(These are the tools that they have so far, and since some of them are unfamiliar here are pictures. The first is an awl, which they used to drill a hole into the tree. The second and third are of a spile.)
They've hit the goldmine! Water comes streaming out of the tree and through the spile. Finnick takes watch over the camp and the other three while they sleep during the night, but Katniss wakes to the ringing of a bell, in fact, it rings twelve times. Finnick and Katniss have no idea what this could mean. It begins to rain and through it Katniss hears a cannon fire, another tribute is dead. When the rain stops Katniss notices the fog, but she notices its too uniform to be natural fog. She realizes the awful odor and her skin begins to blister...
Cliff hanger! Stay tuned to find out what it is.
The games have begun! Katniss can't focus on the game because she's too worried thinking about Cinna's beaten body, but she realizes she needs to suck it up because he risked his life for her making her mockingjay dress and now she's ready to fight.
Katniss takes off after the gong sounds and starts swimming towards the Cornucopia. With her first idea to being to grab a weapon, Katniss begins thinking like a Career now. She meets Finnick at the Cornucopia and he's got it in their mind that they're allies. Katniss thinks this is fishy and is ready to send an arrow whizzing through his heart when she sees he has Haymitch's golden flamed bangle on. She realizes that he has given it to Finnick with the message that she must trust him in the games. The three have come to the conclusion that they're also in an alliance with Mags.
This year's arena is composed of salt water and dense jungle. Already there are dead bodies covering the ground and in the water (there's about six, but Katniss is unsure). It's not long before Katniss considers shooting Finnick. She believes their alliance will go no where because one of them with have to kill the other eventually and he's too valuable to let go loose in the games. She let's it pass for the time being and reminds herself that she could always kill him in his sleep.
Peeta slashes his sword unknowingly through a force field and is thrown to his back to the ground. He's unresponsive and Katniss is certain he's died of heart failure. Finnick tosses Katniss aside and begins to do CPR on Peeta and it's a miracle it's worked. Katniss's guilty conscious takes over when she realizes now she'll forever owe Finnick for saving Peeta's life. Finnick becomes curious as to how Katniss was able to know there was a force field there. She makes up a lie about how it sounds similar to the fence that surrounds her district when it's lit up, but the strange thing is, Katniss can only hear it out of one ear. Are the doctors who fixed her ear on her side?
After climbing a tree Katniss reports to her alliance that "the force field has us trapped in a circle. A dome, really...There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large." She doesn't see any other water source besides the salt water near the Cornucopia. Maybe the Capitol left out water to make these dreaded games go by faster?
Katniss goes off solo to find a water source and hunt. She gets a death tally of eight bodies. While she's out she manages to kill and animal. When she's skinning it she notices it's mouth is wet, so there must be water near by. Giving up for the day she returns to Peeta and the gang. The four have used the Gamemakers' force field to their advantage. They've set up shelter near it, hoping they could drive enemies into it, and they've begun to use it as their 'safe' source of fire since it produces zero smoke.
At night the dead tributes are projected into the sky and they learn that the men from 5, 6, 8, 9, and 11 are dead along with the women from 8 and 10. After the anthem a silver parachute comes bringing a gift. Once it's opened no one recognizes the the hollow metal tube. Given some time Katniss realizes it's a spile and tells the gang that it's used to get sap out of trees.
(These are the tools that they have so far, and since some of them are unfamiliar here are pictures. The first is an awl, which they used to drill a hole into the tree. The second and third are of a spile.)
They've hit the goldmine! Water comes streaming out of the tree and through the spile. Finnick takes watch over the camp and the other three while they sleep during the night, but Katniss wakes to the ringing of a bell, in fact, it rings twelve times. Finnick and Katniss have no idea what this could mean. It begins to rain and through it Katniss hears a cannon fire, another tribute is dead. When the rain stops Katniss notices the fog, but she notices its too uniform to be natural fog. She realizes the awful odor and her skin begins to blister...
Cliff hanger! Stay tuned to find out what it is.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
Here's a new summary up through page 265 ending Part II: "The Quell"
Katniss can't stand the idea of training around any of these tributes because she's actually starting to like some of them and she knows that in order to save Peeta they'll have to die. Being the typical Katniss, she leaves her private session with a bang. She finds a target dummy, hangs it (practicing her knot tying skills), then paints the name Seneca Crane on the body in bloodred berry juice. Will this turn the Gamemakers completely against her during the games? Peeta and Kantiss decide that they'd rather play the game without allies which doesn't seem like a smart move now. They've both scored twelves in training therefore making them the biggest targets in the game. The two have come to the assumption that President Snow has given direct orders to the Gamemakers to kill them in the arena. Of course throughout this section Peeta's being the sweet guy he is and Katniss feels guilty having to listen to him dropping hints about his love for her.
The atmosphere between the team is changing. Effie is letting Peeta and Katniss take care of things on their own, the stylists are acting strange, Haymitch isn't coaching them for their interviews, and they all seem to have an "I don't care" vibe around them. President Snow required Katniss to wear her wedding dress to the interview. When Katniss is twirling and showing off her dress she notices smoke rising from somewhere. Courtesy of Cinna, Katniss's beautiful white dress goes up into flames and she is left wearing an exact replica design of her wedding dress, only now it's the color of coal and has added feathers. He's planned it so she now resembles a mockingjay....DUN DUN DUN!
Katniss remembers Cinna's words "Don't worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself." Katniss is so worried now because Cinna design could easily be considered an act of rebellion.
During Peeta's interview Caesar brings up the point that there will never be a wedding after the games because he and Katniss will be dead. Peeta reveals that the two are already married, well not offically, but they claim to have done a District 12 wedding ritual and told no one of it. The crowd in shocked and as they're recovering Peeta drops another bomb. He says that they would've waited until after the games if it wasn't for the baby! The question is now, is this true or did he make it up? I mean the two have been sleeping together a lot lately...
At the announcement of this everyone goes crazy and Peeta's interview is over. When the national anthem plays all of the tributes have joined hands, symbolizing unity between the districts, but little do they know they've staged their own uprising.
Anyway, it turns out Peeta's made up the pregnant thing. The two run into Haymitch after the interview and he tells them that the Capitol has sent everyone home and has cancelled the recap of the interviews on T.V. They begin to question whether or not the Capitol will stop the games. If they'd have to stop the games then Katniss and Peeta would have to make this rumor true, don't you think?
Realistically, the Capitol would never cancel the games, and they all know that. Since tomorrow begins the games they know they'll never see Effie again so they leave a verbal thank you and goodbye message with Haymitch, and they leave one for him as well. His last bit of advice for the couple is, of course, to stay alive.
The next morning it's the same situation as before: Katniss wakes up, gets sent to the hovercraft, has a tracking device in her arm, and takes off for the arena. Cinna leaves her with the reminder that he's still betting on her to win it again. The two part but before Katniss leaves the hovercraft she notices three Peacekeepers enter the room. They pin Cinna and hit him in the head causing him to fall to his knees and they continue to beat him.
In the arena Katniss notices the blue waves that seem to wash up over her boots and take over the area in every direction. She now realizes that "this is no place for a girl on fire." Ah best line yet, and who knows what the future holds?!
Katniss can't stand the idea of training around any of these tributes because she's actually starting to like some of them and she knows that in order to save Peeta they'll have to die. Being the typical Katniss, she leaves her private session with a bang. She finds a target dummy, hangs it (practicing her knot tying skills), then paints the name Seneca Crane on the body in bloodred berry juice. Will this turn the Gamemakers completely against her during the games? Peeta and Kantiss decide that they'd rather play the game without allies which doesn't seem like a smart move now. They've both scored twelves in training therefore making them the biggest targets in the game. The two have come to the assumption that President Snow has given direct orders to the Gamemakers to kill them in the arena. Of course throughout this section Peeta's being the sweet guy he is and Katniss feels guilty having to listen to him dropping hints about his love for her.
The atmosphere between the team is changing. Effie is letting Peeta and Katniss take care of things on their own, the stylists are acting strange, Haymitch isn't coaching them for their interviews, and they all seem to have an "I don't care" vibe around them. President Snow required Katniss to wear her wedding dress to the interview. When Katniss is twirling and showing off her dress she notices smoke rising from somewhere. Courtesy of Cinna, Katniss's beautiful white dress goes up into flames and she is left wearing an exact replica design of her wedding dress, only now it's the color of coal and has added feathers. He's planned it so she now resembles a mockingjay....DUN DUN DUN!
Katniss remembers Cinna's words "Don't worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don't hurt anyone but myself." Katniss is so worried now because Cinna design could easily be considered an act of rebellion.
During Peeta's interview Caesar brings up the point that there will never be a wedding after the games because he and Katniss will be dead. Peeta reveals that the two are already married, well not offically, but they claim to have done a District 12 wedding ritual and told no one of it. The crowd in shocked and as they're recovering Peeta drops another bomb. He says that they would've waited until after the games if it wasn't for the baby! The question is now, is this true or did he make it up? I mean the two have been sleeping together a lot lately...
At the announcement of this everyone goes crazy and Peeta's interview is over. When the national anthem plays all of the tributes have joined hands, symbolizing unity between the districts, but little do they know they've staged their own uprising.
Anyway, it turns out Peeta's made up the pregnant thing. The two run into Haymitch after the interview and he tells them that the Capitol has sent everyone home and has cancelled the recap of the interviews on T.V. They begin to question whether or not the Capitol will stop the games. If they'd have to stop the games then Katniss and Peeta would have to make this rumor true, don't you think?
Realistically, the Capitol would never cancel the games, and they all know that. Since tomorrow begins the games they know they'll never see Effie again so they leave a verbal thank you and goodbye message with Haymitch, and they leave one for him as well. His last bit of advice for the couple is, of course, to stay alive.
The next morning it's the same situation as before: Katniss wakes up, gets sent to the hovercraft, has a tracking device in her arm, and takes off for the arena. Cinna leaves her with the reminder that he's still betting on her to win it again. The two part but before Katniss leaves the hovercraft she notices three Peacekeepers enter the room. They pin Cinna and hit him in the head causing him to fall to his knees and they continue to beat him.
In the arena Katniss notices the blue waves that seem to wash up over her boots and take over the area in every direction. She now realizes that "this is no place for a girl on fire." Ah best line yet, and who knows what the future holds?!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
A new summary up through page 238.
The tributes are being prepped and Katniss still hates this process. The stylists are an emotional mess crying over her. Her costume this time around appears simple. It's a tightly fitted black jump suit that covers her completely from her neck on down With a change of lighting the suit gives the idea that she is a "a glowing ember straight from our fireplace." This year they're trying to intimidate the other competitors. No smiling, waving, or cutesy stuff this time during the parade.
While waiting for Peeta and Haymitch to arrive for the parade Katniss catches the eyes of a male tribute named Finnick Odair. He's basically a legend. He won the 65th games when he was 14. He was a Career from District 4. She makes him out to be absolutely gorgeous. He's "tall, athletic, with golden skin and bronze-colored hair and those incredible eyes" (they're a perfect sea green). Sounds dreamy right? He survived his games by being able to fight with spears and knives and a trident. Basically he's today's version of Justin Beiber --YUCK!!-- all the girls have been swooning him since he turned sixteen.
Katniss admits that she's never found herself to be attracted to him. The two a flirting like crazy. But when Peeta shows up Finnick makes a strange comment. He tells her "sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you." Wow jerk. Peeta asks what Finnick wanted and she tells him that he wanted to know all of her secrets, which is true. They going backing and forth teasing each other about how they would be if only one person won.
They get ready for the parade by themselves because the stylists aren't anywhere to be found. Katniss wonders if they're supposed to hold hands during the parade again this year and Peeta assumes that the stylists have left it up to them. They decided to hold hands.
The crowd in the arena goes wild and the two act like nothing has phased them. They notice that other stylists from other districts have copied the idea of illuminating their tributes. After the parade they meet up with Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia who are talking to the tributes from District 11 (they're Haymitch's friends). Katniss asks about Thresh and Rue's families and they assure that they're still alive.
A tributes attempts to talk girl talk with Katniss and she fails....epically. In the elevator the girl unzips her costume entirely and talks to Katniss and Peeta while she's stark naked. Talk about an interesting conversation. Peeta claims every one of the tributes are acting like this because of her presence. He says that they're playing with her because she so pure, like she wouldn't look at him when he was half dead and half naked during their games. Being the sweetheart that he is he tells her that "for the Capitol you're pure, for me you're perfect." Oh man he's still a sweetie!
Katniss sees the same redheaded Avox girl from her first time in the games, only this time she's paired with a redheaded Avox boy. She instantly recognizes the boy. He's Darius, the old Peacekeeper from her District. Katniss believes President Snow has strategically made Darius her new Avox.
In her room Katniss spends her time picturing her old house in District 12. At dinner Katniss purposely knocks over a dish of peas in order to get close to Darius when Effie yells at her and tells her it isn't her job to be cleaning them up. When they watch the recap of the ceremony Katniss doesn't want to be anywhere near Peeta.
Katinss goes to bed and is trying to get Darius and Gale out of her head. Meanwhile she's battling another nightmare. When she gets up for the day the "team" begins to discuss their strategy. Katniss doesn't want to talk about it at all. While she's getting ready someone is pounding on her door. It's Haymitch and he's ordering her to the dining room asap!
She gets to the dining room and finds Peeta and Haymitch, he's wearing a solid gold bangle patterned with flames on his wrist. Haymitch reminds them that they must stay in love during their training today and that they need to make friends because in order for them to survive the competition they're going to need more allies. He believes that they will be the first targets because everyone else is already friends. Haymitch wants them to join the pack of Careers this time (that includes Mr. Gorgeous Finnick!!). But then he gives them the option to create their own pack.
When all the tributes are together Peeta and Katniss split up hoping to cover more ground when it comes to getting to know other people. Of course Finnick meets up with Katniss during their training. The tributes work their skills and mingle amongst each other. The tributes talk about the uprisings going on in the districts.
This year the Gamemakers are separated from the tributes by a force field thanks to Katniss's actions last year. Two tributes, Wiress and Beetee, let Katniss in on a secret that there is a "weak spot" in the force field. Katniss seems to consider these two in her alliance and she wonders if she'll be able to get Seeder to join their alliance.
Katniss and Peeta catch up finally over lunch. Katniss likes the District 3 victors (Wiress and Beetee) and Peeta says that the other tributes think the 3's are a joke. A tribute names Johanna, the one who was in the elevator naked, has nicknamed the 3's Nuts and Volts. Katniss doesn't care and she still wants the 3's as her allies.
Peeta catches on that she's upset and she's distracted by Darius. Peeta suggests that he and Katniss could fend for themselves again without an alliance. Peeta votes for Seeder and Chaff joing their potential alliance.
Katniss compared the tributes with the ones that died during her game. Katniss gives up on making friends and turns toward archery as her stress release. After training the team (Katniss Peeta Haymitch Effie) eat. Haymitch reveals that over half of the victors' mentors have been suggesting that their tributes team up with Katniss and Peeta. They don't promise to aline with anyone though.
What will happen next? Who will make the duo's alliance? We'll see.
The tributes are being prepped and Katniss still hates this process. The stylists are an emotional mess crying over her. Her costume this time around appears simple. It's a tightly fitted black jump suit that covers her completely from her neck on down With a change of lighting the suit gives the idea that she is a "a glowing ember straight from our fireplace." This year they're trying to intimidate the other competitors. No smiling, waving, or cutesy stuff this time during the parade.
While waiting for Peeta and Haymitch to arrive for the parade Katniss catches the eyes of a male tribute named Finnick Odair. He's basically a legend. He won the 65th games when he was 14. He was a Career from District 4. She makes him out to be absolutely gorgeous. He's "tall, athletic, with golden skin and bronze-colored hair and those incredible eyes" (they're a perfect sea green). Sounds dreamy right? He survived his games by being able to fight with spears and knives and a trident. Basically he's today's version of Justin Beiber --YUCK!!-- all the girls have been swooning him since he turned sixteen.
Katniss admits that she's never found herself to be attracted to him. The two a flirting like crazy. But when Peeta shows up Finnick makes a strange comment. He tells her "sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you." Wow jerk. Peeta asks what Finnick wanted and she tells him that he wanted to know all of her secrets, which is true. They going backing and forth teasing each other about how they would be if only one person won.
They get ready for the parade by themselves because the stylists aren't anywhere to be found. Katniss wonders if they're supposed to hold hands during the parade again this year and Peeta assumes that the stylists have left it up to them. They decided to hold hands.
The crowd in the arena goes wild and the two act like nothing has phased them. They notice that other stylists from other districts have copied the idea of illuminating their tributes. After the parade they meet up with Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia who are talking to the tributes from District 11 (they're Haymitch's friends). Katniss asks about Thresh and Rue's families and they assure that they're still alive.
A tributes attempts to talk girl talk with Katniss and she fails....epically. In the elevator the girl unzips her costume entirely and talks to Katniss and Peeta while she's stark naked. Talk about an interesting conversation. Peeta claims every one of the tributes are acting like this because of her presence. He says that they're playing with her because she so pure, like she wouldn't look at him when he was half dead and half naked during their games. Being the sweetheart that he is he tells her that "for the Capitol you're pure, for me you're perfect." Oh man he's still a sweetie!
Katniss sees the same redheaded Avox girl from her first time in the games, only this time she's paired with a redheaded Avox boy. She instantly recognizes the boy. He's Darius, the old Peacekeeper from her District. Katniss believes President Snow has strategically made Darius her new Avox.
In her room Katniss spends her time picturing her old house in District 12. At dinner Katniss purposely knocks over a dish of peas in order to get close to Darius when Effie yells at her and tells her it isn't her job to be cleaning them up. When they watch the recap of the ceremony Katniss doesn't want to be anywhere near Peeta.
Katinss goes to bed and is trying to get Darius and Gale out of her head. Meanwhile she's battling another nightmare. When she gets up for the day the "team" begins to discuss their strategy. Katniss doesn't want to talk about it at all. While she's getting ready someone is pounding on her door. It's Haymitch and he's ordering her to the dining room asap!
She gets to the dining room and finds Peeta and Haymitch, he's wearing a solid gold bangle patterned with flames on his wrist. Haymitch reminds them that they must stay in love during their training today and that they need to make friends because in order for them to survive the competition they're going to need more allies. He believes that they will be the first targets because everyone else is already friends. Haymitch wants them to join the pack of Careers this time (that includes Mr. Gorgeous Finnick!!). But then he gives them the option to create their own pack.
When all the tributes are together Peeta and Katniss split up hoping to cover more ground when it comes to getting to know other people. Of course Finnick meets up with Katniss during their training. The tributes work their skills and mingle amongst each other. The tributes talk about the uprisings going on in the districts.
This year the Gamemakers are separated from the tributes by a force field thanks to Katniss's actions last year. Two tributes, Wiress and Beetee, let Katniss in on a secret that there is a "weak spot" in the force field. Katniss seems to consider these two in her alliance and she wonders if she'll be able to get Seeder to join their alliance.
Katniss and Peeta catch up finally over lunch. Katniss likes the District 3 victors (Wiress and Beetee) and Peeta says that the other tributes think the 3's are a joke. A tribute names Johanna, the one who was in the elevator naked, has nicknamed the 3's Nuts and Volts. Katniss doesn't care and she still wants the 3's as her allies.
Peeta catches on that she's upset and she's distracted by Darius. Peeta suggests that he and Katniss could fend for themselves again without an alliance. Peeta votes for Seeder and Chaff joing their potential alliance.
Katniss compared the tributes with the ones that died during her game. Katniss gives up on making friends and turns toward archery as her stress release. After training the team (Katniss Peeta Haymitch Effie) eat. Haymitch reveals that over half of the victors' mentors have been suggesting that their tributes team up with Katniss and Peeta. They don't promise to aline with anyone though.
What will happen next? Who will make the duo's alliance? We'll see.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
Back to the suspense of the Quarter Quell in Catching Fire. Here's my summary up through page 204.
In a rage of panic Katniss runs across the lawn of the Victor's Village looking for an escape. However she doesn't make it far; she ends up in an empty Victor's house. Everything that's been going on lately has been flashing through her mind. She's freaking out at the idea of having to kill either Peeta or Haymitch. She's determined that even if Haymitch gets picked Peeta will volunteer to go in his place to protect Katniss.
She leaves the empty house and goes to see Haymitch. He thinks she's there to ask him to take Peeta's potential place in the games and she asks him for a drink. She's afraid that he's actually right for once and that she'lll want Peeta to live. She settles on the idea that if she and Peeta get sent into the arena again that Haymitch will save him this time.
She wakes up with a hangover the next day. Katniss can't keep her act together now with this little surprise. She's crying all over the place. She goes back to Haymitch's bringing food and finds Peeta pouring out all of Haymitch's alcohol. Peeta admits that he's paid off the Ripper to not sell anymore alcohol to either Haymitch or Katniss. Peeta's in game mode planning out their strategies and getting the others heads in the game. He's determined they will once again win.
They spend the next few nights watching recaps of old games learning about the other tributes. They also begin training exercises during the day. New has been buzzing in the Capitol and people are already betting on possible victors. The three share all of their personal tricks and trades that could become useful in the games.
Katniss finally is able to talk to Gale. He admits it's impossible for him to hate Peeta. They begin thinking in "what ifs." What if Peeta died? Where would we be? Thinking on her toes she replies that they'd be hunting just like they did every Sunday. She's watching what she tells him because she's afraid that any emotional upset will cause Gale to start a riot in the mines.
It's the day of the reaping and Effie quickly announces the tributes, Katniss and Haymitch. As predicted Peeta volunteers to take his place. They're all stuffed into vehicles and driven away watching District 12 disappear on their way to the train station.
Worried about her last words, Peeta calms her in the idea of telling her they'll write letters home. Katniss feels awful and she can only think of how she'll manage to keep Peeta alive. At dinner Effie suggests that everyone on their team gets some sort of gold item to match Katniss's mockingjay pin. Effie's hair is now gold and she suggests that the boys should get ankle bracelets. Does Effie know about the uprisings? Is this her way of saying I'm on your side? Katniss doesn't think so. They watch more recaps of reaping and take more notes in hopes of maybe winning again. They discover the other victors from the various districts.
Peeta tells Katniss to go to bed but she knows she can't without him being there in bed with her. She can't take the nightmares anymore. She leaves her room in search for something to drink and finds Peeta who can't sleep either. The two are affectionate towards each other and Katniss seems to be loving it. Together they watch more tapes to learn different fighting techniques of the various tributes. They start watching Haymitch's tape. I would like to see this one, it'd be so interesting to see how he handled the games by himself. They watch it because it's their only tape from the Quell and they hope they're be able to see how these games vary.
Turns out Haymitch was in an alliance with his district tribute as well, however they split up when it came down to the final five. He ends up watching her die in a similar situation to Katniss when she watched Rue die. Haymitch was tracked down by the remaining tribute who died from her own weapon. She threw an ax over a cliff, but she didn't remember that there are forcefields at the bottoms of cliffs that prevent people from jumping and committing suicide. Anyway the ax came back and killed the girl. Also like Katniss's game this part was never shown again, similar to the berries.
What's in store for the new tributes in the Quarter Quell? I'll keep you posted!
In a rage of panic Katniss runs across the lawn of the Victor's Village looking for an escape. However she doesn't make it far; she ends up in an empty Victor's house. Everything that's been going on lately has been flashing through her mind. She's freaking out at the idea of having to kill either Peeta or Haymitch. She's determined that even if Haymitch gets picked Peeta will volunteer to go in his place to protect Katniss.
She leaves the empty house and goes to see Haymitch. He thinks she's there to ask him to take Peeta's potential place in the games and she asks him for a drink. She's afraid that he's actually right for once and that she'lll want Peeta to live. She settles on the idea that if she and Peeta get sent into the arena again that Haymitch will save him this time.
She wakes up with a hangover the next day. Katniss can't keep her act together now with this little surprise. She's crying all over the place. She goes back to Haymitch's bringing food and finds Peeta pouring out all of Haymitch's alcohol. Peeta admits that he's paid off the Ripper to not sell anymore alcohol to either Haymitch or Katniss. Peeta's in game mode planning out their strategies and getting the others heads in the game. He's determined they will once again win.
They spend the next few nights watching recaps of old games learning about the other tributes. They also begin training exercises during the day. New has been buzzing in the Capitol and people are already betting on possible victors. The three share all of their personal tricks and trades that could become useful in the games.
Katniss finally is able to talk to Gale. He admits it's impossible for him to hate Peeta. They begin thinking in "what ifs." What if Peeta died? Where would we be? Thinking on her toes she replies that they'd be hunting just like they did every Sunday. She's watching what she tells him because she's afraid that any emotional upset will cause Gale to start a riot in the mines.
It's the day of the reaping and Effie quickly announces the tributes, Katniss and Haymitch. As predicted Peeta volunteers to take his place. They're all stuffed into vehicles and driven away watching District 12 disappear on their way to the train station.
Worried about her last words, Peeta calms her in the idea of telling her they'll write letters home. Katniss feels awful and she can only think of how she'll manage to keep Peeta alive. At dinner Effie suggests that everyone on their team gets some sort of gold item to match Katniss's mockingjay pin. Effie's hair is now gold and she suggests that the boys should get ankle bracelets. Does Effie know about the uprisings? Is this her way of saying I'm on your side? Katniss doesn't think so. They watch more recaps of reaping and take more notes in hopes of maybe winning again. They discover the other victors from the various districts.
Peeta tells Katniss to go to bed but she knows she can't without him being there in bed with her. She can't take the nightmares anymore. She leaves her room in search for something to drink and finds Peeta who can't sleep either. The two are affectionate towards each other and Katniss seems to be loving it. Together they watch more tapes to learn different fighting techniques of the various tributes. They start watching Haymitch's tape. I would like to see this one, it'd be so interesting to see how he handled the games by himself. They watch it because it's their only tape from the Quell and they hope they're be able to see how these games vary.
Turns out Haymitch was in an alliance with his district tribute as well, however they split up when it came down to the final five. He ends up watching her die in a similar situation to Katniss when she watched Rue die. Haymitch was tracked down by the remaining tribute who died from her own weapon. She threw an ax over a cliff, but she didn't remember that there are forcefields at the bottoms of cliffs that prevent people from jumping and committing suicide. Anyway the ax came back and killed the girl. Also like Katniss's game this part was never shown again, similar to the berries.
What's in store for the new tributes in the Quarter Quell? I'll keep you posted!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
A new summary of Catching Fire up until page 173. Will Katniss conquer the buzzing fence?
Freaking out Katniss vanishes back into woods with everything running through her mind: "What is going on? Has Thread turned on the fence as an additional security precaution? Or does he somehow know I've escaped his net today?" Katniss manages to climb up a tree and to jump over the fence landing on the District side, however, this results in a a sprain in her foot and a sensitive tail bone. While buying bandages she's thinking of possible alibis. She claims to have been fixing a leak in her original house's roof when she slid off.
When she gets home she sees two Peacekeepers who begin to question her about where she's been. Katniss is witty and stalls to get rid of the Peacekeepers. They inform Katniss that the fence surrounding the district will be electrified 24/7 as a warning to Gale. Without anything else to say the Peacekeepers leave.
Katniss continues to lie and tells her family that she slipped and fell on some ice and that is how she's all bent up now. Peeta carries her up to her room and before he leaves her side she stops him because secretly she wants him to climb into bed with her. Hmmm.... who's she going for now? Peeta tells her that he thought she had ran away when she went missing during the day.
Peeta visits her everyday and they work on her family's herb book together. Someone on her mother's side started a book about plants and their medical uses, but she and Peeta are adding things to the list of edible plants. They've decided that this is the only relatively normal activity the two have done together. Talk about some fun huh?
Later when Katniss is watching TV she begins to scan the channels for anything displaying her mockingjay symbol. She comes across the film of the Justice Building and seeks the mockingjay and now realizes that Bonnie and Twill have been telling the truth. This makes Katniss wonder what really is in District 13?
Ahh it's time for Katniss's bridal photo shoot! I love love love wedding dresses so I'd be ecstatic if I was her! They're soooo pretty to look at that's why I love the show 'Say Yes to the Dress!" Oh I can't wait to get married. The stylists are there all ready to go and Katniss realizes that she'll have to wear high heels- this is a major problem with a half almost broken foot! Katniss catches a vital bit of information in the madness of the make over. It's been impossible to get shrimp or any seafood lately because of "bad weather" in District 4. Could this be code for they're in the uprising as well? I mean it's a good excuse to occupy the other districts' minds. She learns that it's been hard to get electronic gadgets (District 3) and fabrics (District 8). Now she's aware of who's joined the revolt. She falls asleep after the photo shoot and has a nightmare. She's in a ragged bridal dress running through the woods being followed by the dog mutations.
Katniss goes to Haymitch to vent about everything going on in her life. He still doesn't believe that an uprising will happen in District 12 because it's half the size of the other districts. He believes that the Capitol will start killing off districts like 13 if the revolts get too serious. This leads into a conversation about the remains of 13.
A mandatory TV watching session is announced during the day and Prim's determined it's the photo shoot and she's right. Katniss thinks it's weird how interested people are in her future wedding. But that's not all, tonight is the night for the reading of the card for the Quarter Quell. The president gives a speech over the history of the games and blah blah blah. He announces that for this year's Quarter Quell the tributes will be drawn from the pool of existing victors ---CRAP! Katniss realizes that because there's only been three victors from District 12, one female and two male, she is for sure going into the arena once again.
Will Peeta or Haymitch be Katniss's new sidekick in the arena this time around? Who will win? Stay tuned!
Freaking out Katniss vanishes back into woods with everything running through her mind: "What is going on? Has Thread turned on the fence as an additional security precaution? Or does he somehow know I've escaped his net today?" Katniss manages to climb up a tree and to jump over the fence landing on the District side, however, this results in a a sprain in her foot and a sensitive tail bone. While buying bandages she's thinking of possible alibis. She claims to have been fixing a leak in her original house's roof when she slid off.
When she gets home she sees two Peacekeepers who begin to question her about where she's been. Katniss is witty and stalls to get rid of the Peacekeepers. They inform Katniss that the fence surrounding the district will be electrified 24/7 as a warning to Gale. Without anything else to say the Peacekeepers leave.
Katniss continues to lie and tells her family that she slipped and fell on some ice and that is how she's all bent up now. Peeta carries her up to her room and before he leaves her side she stops him because secretly she wants him to climb into bed with her. Hmmm.... who's she going for now? Peeta tells her that he thought she had ran away when she went missing during the day.
Peeta visits her everyday and they work on her family's herb book together. Someone on her mother's side started a book about plants and their medical uses, but she and Peeta are adding things to the list of edible plants. They've decided that this is the only relatively normal activity the two have done together. Talk about some fun huh?
Later when Katniss is watching TV she begins to scan the channels for anything displaying her mockingjay symbol. She comes across the film of the Justice Building and seeks the mockingjay and now realizes that Bonnie and Twill have been telling the truth. This makes Katniss wonder what really is in District 13?
Ahh it's time for Katniss's bridal photo shoot! I love love love wedding dresses so I'd be ecstatic if I was her! They're soooo pretty to look at that's why I love the show 'Say Yes to the Dress!" Oh I can't wait to get married. The stylists are there all ready to go and Katniss realizes that she'll have to wear high heels- this is a major problem with a half almost broken foot! Katniss catches a vital bit of information in the madness of the make over. It's been impossible to get shrimp or any seafood lately because of "bad weather" in District 4. Could this be code for they're in the uprising as well? I mean it's a good excuse to occupy the other districts' minds. She learns that it's been hard to get electronic gadgets (District 3) and fabrics (District 8). Now she's aware of who's joined the revolt. She falls asleep after the photo shoot and has a nightmare. She's in a ragged bridal dress running through the woods being followed by the dog mutations.
Katniss goes to Haymitch to vent about everything going on in her life. He still doesn't believe that an uprising will happen in District 12 because it's half the size of the other districts. He believes that the Capitol will start killing off districts like 13 if the revolts get too serious. This leads into a conversation about the remains of 13.
A mandatory TV watching session is announced during the day and Prim's determined it's the photo shoot and she's right. Katniss thinks it's weird how interested people are in her future wedding. But that's not all, tonight is the night for the reading of the card for the Quarter Quell. The president gives a speech over the history of the games and blah blah blah. He announces that for this year's Quarter Quell the tributes will be drawn from the pool of existing victors ---CRAP! Katniss realizes that because there's only been three victors from District 12, one female and two male, she is for sure going into the arena once again.
Will Peeta or Haymitch be Katniss's new sidekick in the arena this time around? Who will win? Stay tuned!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
Another summary for Catching Fire! This one goes up through page 150. What's going on with Gale?
Katniss has fallend asleep at Gale's bed, or actually Gale's table side. She's awakened by Peeta who tells her to go get some sleep. In her bed Katniss is haunted by nightmares from the Games. The swelling from Katniss's welt has gone down and she's able to see the blizzard going on outside. Katniss thinks of how the Peacekeepers won't be able to reach her in the blizzard. She contemplates her death by them and realizes that her family might suffer the same future as her.
She sees this as her opportunity and considers Gale's idea of starting their own uprising. Knowing that she'd need to be good with words, she hopes Peeta will help her. A side from her daydreaming, she goes down to check on Gale. Her mother has him in a 'snow coat' and it has so much effect that Katniss "can almost hear the sizzle of Gale's tormented skin meeting the snow mixture." At this point Katniss is admiring the one thing she thinks her mother can do right. She describes how her mother is a totally different human being when she's working with a patient. She apologizes to her mom for yelling at her the other day and her mom responds with: "I've heard worse. You've seen how people are, when some they love is in pain." This sends Katniss on a whirlwind of emotions trying to figure out if she loves Gale or not or what type of love it is.
Katniss calls Peeta's house to make sure he's made it home fine during the blizzard. They arrange to meet later in the day to talk about running away or starting an uprising. Now she's changed her mind and doesn't want to runaway. The two let Haymitch in on their ideas and he totally ignores them because he doesn't think it will work. While on their walk they observe the new changes that have been made to the district. The number and intensity of Peacekeepers have increase. The peacekeepers have set the Hob on fire.
After observing her neighbors she realizes a tragic flaw of all the people who live in District 12; none of them are willing to break the law, and without this an uprising would be a failure. The townspeople have shut themselves up in their houses and have stopped using Gale and Katniss's mothers' services by fear of association. Everyone's starving, the mines have been shut down, and more and more kids are signing up for tesserae but they don't receive their grain. The district's taken over by a temporary food shortage.
To help Gale's family, Katniss convinces Haymitch to hire Gale's mom as his housekeeper; this improves both of their lives. One day Katniss leaves the district and takes off for the woods where she carefully covers her tracks the entire way. She grabs her bow and arrow and heads off for the lake. One her walk Katniss hears the click of a gun behind her and instinctly draws her arrow. It's a Peacekeeper. It's a woman. Katniss thinks she's going to be taken into the Capitol for torturing, but the woman holds out a small circular piece of bread/cracker that's been imprinted with a mockingjay. This confuses Katniss, why has the mockingjay become such a popular symbol? Flashback to the man at the party from the Victory Tour with the pocket watch that had the mockingjay on it.
Katniss asks what the cracker means and the woman simply says: "It means we're on your side." She finds the other woman's partner in the little concrete house. Turns out the two, Twill and Bonnie, are from District 8 and have ran away and hope to reach the remains of District 13. They explain how they stole two Peacekeeper uniforms and picked up the gun from a dead Peacekeeper. She shares her food with the starving women as they continue to share their stories. They admit that the whole whistling salute from the Victory Tour ceremony was planned by everyone. The people planned to take over the centers of power, like the Justice Building etc. Because everyone in District 8 was require to get together to watch Katniss and Peeta's proposal interview, it was the perfect time for them to meet and arrange the uprising.
All hell broke loose in District 8 and the two women made a run for it. The townspeople were hoping for word of the uprising to spread to the other districts as well. However, this didn't look to good. Peacekeepers came in swarms all over the area and bombed a ton of rebel strongholds. The area went on lockdown for a week, but eventually everything went back to normal. There was an explosion in the textile building and the women managed to steal some goods from the dead workers.
They women explain that they're running to District 13 because they believe that it's not really rubble like the Capitol has been showing. The two suspect that the Capitol has been using the same footage from the area year after year. They think that the people from 13 survived, and have been left alone because they used to specialize in nuclear development.
Katniss takes Twill out and teaches her the basics of hunting. She also makes a new crutch for Bonnie and gives her an extra pair of socks. Then she tells them what's going on in District 12, but only because they're dying to know. The ladies talk about how Katniss is well liked by the entire district and Katniss realizes that President Snow has been playing her for a fool. His threats were obvious distractions to keep her from influencing the uprising.
She hears a mockingjay and thinks back to the pocket watch and the cracker and what they could possibly mean. She takes off for home, but when she reaches the fence it's buzzing with electricity.
Stay tuned for a new summary. Who's on Katniss's side? What will become of the uprising? Will Katniss ever make it into the district again?
Katniss has fallend asleep at Gale's bed, or actually Gale's table side. She's awakened by Peeta who tells her to go get some sleep. In her bed Katniss is haunted by nightmares from the Games. The swelling from Katniss's welt has gone down and she's able to see the blizzard going on outside. Katniss thinks of how the Peacekeepers won't be able to reach her in the blizzard. She contemplates her death by them and realizes that her family might suffer the same future as her.
She sees this as her opportunity and considers Gale's idea of starting their own uprising. Knowing that she'd need to be good with words, she hopes Peeta will help her. A side from her daydreaming, she goes down to check on Gale. Her mother has him in a 'snow coat' and it has so much effect that Katniss "can almost hear the sizzle of Gale's tormented skin meeting the snow mixture." At this point Katniss is admiring the one thing she thinks her mother can do right. She describes how her mother is a totally different human being when she's working with a patient. She apologizes to her mom for yelling at her the other day and her mom responds with: "I've heard worse. You've seen how people are, when some they love is in pain." This sends Katniss on a whirlwind of emotions trying to figure out if she loves Gale or not or what type of love it is.
Katniss calls Peeta's house to make sure he's made it home fine during the blizzard. They arrange to meet later in the day to talk about running away or starting an uprising. Now she's changed her mind and doesn't want to runaway. The two let Haymitch in on their ideas and he totally ignores them because he doesn't think it will work. While on their walk they observe the new changes that have been made to the district. The number and intensity of Peacekeepers have increase. The peacekeepers have set the Hob on fire.
After observing her neighbors she realizes a tragic flaw of all the people who live in District 12; none of them are willing to break the law, and without this an uprising would be a failure. The townspeople have shut themselves up in their houses and have stopped using Gale and Katniss's mothers' services by fear of association. Everyone's starving, the mines have been shut down, and more and more kids are signing up for tesserae but they don't receive their grain. The district's taken over by a temporary food shortage.
To help Gale's family, Katniss convinces Haymitch to hire Gale's mom as his housekeeper; this improves both of their lives. One day Katniss leaves the district and takes off for the woods where she carefully covers her tracks the entire way. She grabs her bow and arrow and heads off for the lake. One her walk Katniss hears the click of a gun behind her and instinctly draws her arrow. It's a Peacekeeper. It's a woman. Katniss thinks she's going to be taken into the Capitol for torturing, but the woman holds out a small circular piece of bread/cracker that's been imprinted with a mockingjay. This confuses Katniss, why has the mockingjay become such a popular symbol? Flashback to the man at the party from the Victory Tour with the pocket watch that had the mockingjay on it.
Katniss asks what the cracker means and the woman simply says: "It means we're on your side." She finds the other woman's partner in the little concrete house. Turns out the two, Twill and Bonnie, are from District 8 and have ran away and hope to reach the remains of District 13. They explain how they stole two Peacekeeper uniforms and picked up the gun from a dead Peacekeeper. She shares her food with the starving women as they continue to share their stories. They admit that the whole whistling salute from the Victory Tour ceremony was planned by everyone. The people planned to take over the centers of power, like the Justice Building etc. Because everyone in District 8 was require to get together to watch Katniss and Peeta's proposal interview, it was the perfect time for them to meet and arrange the uprising.
All hell broke loose in District 8 and the two women made a run for it. The townspeople were hoping for word of the uprising to spread to the other districts as well. However, this didn't look to good. Peacekeepers came in swarms all over the area and bombed a ton of rebel strongholds. The area went on lockdown for a week, but eventually everything went back to normal. There was an explosion in the textile building and the women managed to steal some goods from the dead workers.
They women explain that they're running to District 13 because they believe that it's not really rubble like the Capitol has been showing. The two suspect that the Capitol has been using the same footage from the area year after year. They think that the people from 13 survived, and have been left alone because they used to specialize in nuclear development.
Katniss takes Twill out and teaches her the basics of hunting. She also makes a new crutch for Bonnie and gives her an extra pair of socks. Then she tells them what's going on in District 12, but only because they're dying to know. The ladies talk about how Katniss is well liked by the entire district and Katniss realizes that President Snow has been playing her for a fool. His threats were obvious distractions to keep her from influencing the uprising.
She hears a mockingjay and thinks back to the pocket watch and the cracker and what they could possibly mean. She takes off for home, but when she reaches the fence it's buzzing with electricity.
Stay tuned for a new summary. Who's on Katniss's side? What will become of the uprising? Will Katniss ever make it into the district again?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
A new summary of Catching Fire up until page 120. What's going on with this uprising?!
After the Harvest Festival Katniss heads out into the woods to the usual meeting place. She leaves Gale a leather ball of food, a flask of hot tea, and a nice pair of gloves that Cinna left behind. She keeps going leaving a trail he can follow, only the trail leads to the lake. Katniss is planning on telling Gale everything, but she can't decided if he'll show up or not. This part is confusing because it's an awkwardly place flashback, but Katniss returns (mentally) to the mayors office, when she finds Madge. They talk about the mockingjay pin and the species history. Katniss is constantly reminded of Rue every time she sees or hears a mockingjay. So, she's walking through the woods and reaches a one room, twelve feet square, concrete house. Inside she starts a fire and clears away all the snow that's managed to accumulate under the windows.
Shortly, Gale appears with a bow and a dead turkey. He won't accept her gifts because he's mad at her; at first he rejects the gloves thinking they're Peeta's, but takes them back when he learns they're Cinna's. Katniss can tell he's hurt and feels betrayed because she's now engaged to Peeta. She explains to him how President Snow threatened to have him killed and how she now has an escape plan. Katniss spills her guts out to Gale telling him everything from the moment she and Peeta were crowned winners till now. Her plan, as mentioned in the last reading log, is to gather all the people that mean most to her and to runaway. Gale thinks she's crazy but he says he'll still go with her even though it's going to be hard. Then, after saying that Gale drops the "l" word, that's right he finally tells Katniss he loves her. Aw he's such a good guy too! And being an idiot and confused about her feelings, Katniss only responds with 'i know.'
They sit trying to work out all the kinks in Katniss's plan. When she tells him of the uprising in 8, he immediately gets excited and asks for all the details. It's clear Gale's had enough crap from the Capitol because he begins to talk about starting his own uprising. The previous conversation was a total setback and she still plans to escape, with or without Gale.
On her way back home Katniss bums into Peeta and he offers to walk her home. He's such a gentleman! She tells him about the uprising and asks if he'll run away with her, and because he loves her, he says yes, but then he says he doesn't think Katniss will actually run away herself. In the square there's a whole lot going on. Peeta finds out first and tells Katniss to get out of there because a Peacekeep is whipping Gale. He's been bound to a wooden post, his clothes are torn away, he's unconscious, and his body is a "bloody slab of meat." Except it's not the normal Peacekeeper doing the whipping.
Katniss runs to Gale in protest and gets whipped on the cheek. Haymitch arrives pissed at the Peacekeeper because in a week Katniss was supposed to be modeling wedding dress and her welt won't heal by then. Turns out Gale was being whipped for poaching. He didn't say he was hunting outside the fence, instead he claimed the turkey slipped underneath the fence into the district and he killed it. A by-stander informs the Peacekeeper that the punishment for first offense doesn't receive whippings. People scoop Gale up onto a board and take him straight to Katniss's house so her mother can heal him.
At Katniss's house, her mother puts snow on both Katniss and Gale's wounds. She issues Gale an herbal concoction combined with sleep syrup to help ease his pain. Her mother and Prim bandage Gale's wounds while Katniss worries over him. Madge arrives with a cardboard box full of little vials that contain morphling. Mrs. Everdeen gives some to Gale. At the moment with everything going on Katniss wishes nothing had happened or that she had been killed in the games. Fora brief second Gale comes to and says a few words to Katniss, nothing special don't worry, and he's taken over by the drugs.
More coming soon, I promise! What will happen to Gale? Will everyone run away?
After the Harvest Festival Katniss heads out into the woods to the usual meeting place. She leaves Gale a leather ball of food, a flask of hot tea, and a nice pair of gloves that Cinna left behind. She keeps going leaving a trail he can follow, only the trail leads to the lake. Katniss is planning on telling Gale everything, but she can't decided if he'll show up or not. This part is confusing because it's an awkwardly place flashback, but Katniss returns (mentally) to the mayors office, when she finds Madge. They talk about the mockingjay pin and the species history. Katniss is constantly reminded of Rue every time she sees or hears a mockingjay. So, she's walking through the woods and reaches a one room, twelve feet square, concrete house. Inside she starts a fire and clears away all the snow that's managed to accumulate under the windows.
Shortly, Gale appears with a bow and a dead turkey. He won't accept her gifts because he's mad at her; at first he rejects the gloves thinking they're Peeta's, but takes them back when he learns they're Cinna's. Katniss can tell he's hurt and feels betrayed because she's now engaged to Peeta. She explains to him how President Snow threatened to have him killed and how she now has an escape plan. Katniss spills her guts out to Gale telling him everything from the moment she and Peeta were crowned winners till now. Her plan, as mentioned in the last reading log, is to gather all the people that mean most to her and to runaway. Gale thinks she's crazy but he says he'll still go with her even though it's going to be hard. Then, after saying that Gale drops the "l" word, that's right he finally tells Katniss he loves her. Aw he's such a good guy too! And being an idiot and confused about her feelings, Katniss only responds with 'i know.'
They sit trying to work out all the kinks in Katniss's plan. When she tells him of the uprising in 8, he immediately gets excited and asks for all the details. It's clear Gale's had enough crap from the Capitol because he begins to talk about starting his own uprising. The previous conversation was a total setback and she still plans to escape, with or without Gale.
On her way back home Katniss bums into Peeta and he offers to walk her home. He's such a gentleman! She tells him about the uprising and asks if he'll run away with her, and because he loves her, he says yes, but then he says he doesn't think Katniss will actually run away herself. In the square there's a whole lot going on. Peeta finds out first and tells Katniss to get out of there because a Peacekeep is whipping Gale. He's been bound to a wooden post, his clothes are torn away, he's unconscious, and his body is a "bloody slab of meat." Except it's not the normal Peacekeeper doing the whipping.
Katniss runs to Gale in protest and gets whipped on the cheek. Haymitch arrives pissed at the Peacekeeper because in a week Katniss was supposed to be modeling wedding dress and her welt won't heal by then. Turns out Gale was being whipped for poaching. He didn't say he was hunting outside the fence, instead he claimed the turkey slipped underneath the fence into the district and he killed it. A by-stander informs the Peacekeeper that the punishment for first offense doesn't receive whippings. People scoop Gale up onto a board and take him straight to Katniss's house so her mother can heal him.
At Katniss's house, her mother puts snow on both Katniss and Gale's wounds. She issues Gale an herbal concoction combined with sleep syrup to help ease his pain. Her mother and Prim bandage Gale's wounds while Katniss worries over him. Madge arrives with a cardboard box full of little vials that contain morphling. Mrs. Everdeen gives some to Gale. At the moment with everything going on Katniss wishes nothing had happened or that she had been killed in the games. Fora brief second Gale comes to and says a few words to Katniss, nothing special don't worry, and he's taken over by the drugs.
More coming soon, I promise! What will happen to Gale? Will everyone run away?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
Here's another summary on Catching Fire. I'm really starting to like this book and I think you'll see why. This one goes through page 90.
President Snow and Katniss are finishing up their meeting about her expected behavior on the tour and all she can think about is, how is she going to fake being in love with Peeta all over again. To cover up her fear, Katniss tells her mother that the meeting was typical of the Game's victor. She explains that although they never see it on TV, the president always goes to the victor's house to wish them luck before the tour. She would have never told her mother the truth, and she probably wouldn't have told her the lie either if it wasn't for the Games. Since she's been home, Katniss has been trying to fix her relationship with her mom. Katniss is attempting to forget all the things in the past her mother has messed up on and starting fresh. Her mom saved her, at least a little bit, from interviewers by telling the press that Katniss "wasn't old enough to have a boyfriend at all."
Meanwhile, Katniss is still struggling over the residue of her meeting with President Snow. Who should she tell? Better yet, who could she tell? She knows telling her family, Gale, and Peeta are out of the question; especially Peeta because saying wouldn't be best for the situation: "Hey, Peeta, remember how I told you I was kind of faking being in love with you? Well, I really need you to forget about that now and act extra in love with me or the president might kill Gale," After eliminating everyone else in her life, she decides that Haymitch is the only one she can tell.
Cinna and the rest of the stylists arrive to primp Katniss before she has to leave for the tour. In the midst of beautifying her, the stylist begin talking about the Quarter Quell. This event happens every twenty-five years of the Hunger Games, and it's full of new twists, the twist being that twice the number of tributes fill the arena. Not only has Cinna been helping her with her looks, but he's also been helping her with her talent. Ok, this whole process is starting to resemble a complete beauty pageant. This onto of everything else that happened in the first book while they were prepping for the Games. A victor's "talent is the activity you take up since you don't have to work either in school or your district's industry." Obviously Peeta's talent is painting/frosting (remember how good he was at camouflaging in the arena? well frosting is the same thing just on food and it's just like painting!), but Katniss doesn't really have her own talent, so she 'borrows' Cinna's. There's no surprise that his talent happens to be designing clothes. He's promised her that he'd help and basically take care of everything for her talent; he made clothes, sketches, and even brought fabric for her.
The Everdeen house is buzzing with the stylists running around, Cinna dressing Katniss, Effie Trinket trying to hurry everyone up, and Prim being interviewed by the Capitol. When Katniss is watching Prim being interviewed, she can't help but think about Rue and how she didn't save her. Before she heads out, Katniss's mother pins Madge's mockingjay pin onto her scarf for good luck. Katniss leaves her house to find Peeta doing the same. With a big smile on her face she takes off running towards Peeta, he catches her but slips as a result of his artificial leg, and the two fall into the snow to have their first kiss in a long time (this entire scene is of course because EVERYONE is watching).
Families, stylists, and all, they make it to the station to send Peeta and Katniss off on their way for the tour. A little while later, Katniss heads down to Haymitch's room on the train. Paranoid that President Snow is watching her, Katniss hints that the "train's so stuffy", then she and Haymitch walk down the hallway where he opens a door leading to the outside. I have to get it to Haymitch for being clever. He opened the door hoping the loudness of the roaring snow would cover up their conversation. After she tells him everything, "about the president's visit, about Gale, about how [they're] going to die if [she] fails," he simply tells her that now, she can't fail. This made me think of everything that I've seen imprinted with the slogan FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! She begs Haymitch to help her get through this last trip but he tells her that it's not just 'this last trip,' but that she'll have to go on 'fake loving' Peeta for the rest of her life. He reminds her that "Even if [they] pull it off, they'll be backin another few months to take [them] back to the Games. [She] and Peeta, [they'll] be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they'll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you'll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy." DUN DUN DUN! If I was Katniss right now I'd totally be freaking out. Having to spend my life pretending to be in love with someone I'm not doesn't sound like any fun to me!
Walking back to their rooms, Haymitch says to Katniss:" You could do a lot worse, you know." He's totally right. She could've gotten stuck with some ugly guy who doesn't care about her. Trying to fall asleep, she thinks about Haymitch's words and how one of her rights in District 12 is to marry who she wants or no one at all. She's determined President Snow will make them have children, and then their children will become tributes.
The trains headed for District 11, the first stop on the Victory Tour. Katniss is dreading this one because it's Rue's district. Once again, Katniss gets an entire makeover and a new outfit for today. At breakfast its announced that the train will be stopping because there's a mechanical problem with the train. This sends Effie into a frenzy because she's a schedule nut who has to always have her days outlined. Katniss starts yelling at Effie that "no one cares," and everything in the room stops and she leaves. She gets off the train and starts wondering around when Peeta finds her. They have a civilized conversation about how they can't help what they did in the games, how Peeta is jealous of Gale, and how they "should take a shot at just being friends."
Peeta provides a comic relief from everything going on when he asks: "Isn't it strange that I know you'd risk your life to save mine...but I don't know what your favorite color is?" Katniss talks of how she's never seen one of Peeta's paintings. He tells her to follow him, because there's a ton of them on the train. When they get back, Katniss apologizes to Effie, she politely accepts, and then the friends go see the painting. Katniss was expecting pictures similar to the ones that Peeta puts on baked goods, but instead Peeta paints scenes from the games. Her first reaction is to say she hates them, which she does, but it's because they're so realistic and all she's trying to do is forget about them. He explains that he gets his inspiration from his nightmares and that if he paints them he's "a little less afraid of going to sleep at night" or he pretends to be anyway.
District 11 is approaching and from the window they see a huge, barbed wire fence alive with electricity, armed watchtowers, and a field of wildflowers. Strange how the tough and frightening fence and towers can be a midst a pretty field of flowers right? Effie tells the victors to get dressed and they do as they're told. Cinna puts Katniss in a pretty orange frock, and she thinks how much Peeta will love it because it's his favorite color.
Once they arrive they're all treated rudely and are getting pushed around. At the ceremony, the anthem plays, Peeta and Katniss act coupley, the mayor gives a speech, the victors give a thank speech to the Capitol, and then the unexpected. Peeta adds that Thresh and Rue kept Katniss alive in the games, therefore keeping him alive, and how he can never repay them; so, he promises their families one month of their winnings until they (Katniss and Peeta) die. This whole time Katniss has been noticing Thresh and Rue's families, especially Rue's. Katniss gives a speech about Tresh and how great of a player he was in the games, and then about Rue and how great of friends they had become, and she thanks them for the bread they (the district) sent her in the games. In response someone whistles Rue's mockingjay tune and everyone, literally everyone in the square, touches their fingers to their lips and reaches them out towards Katniss and Peeta (remember this is District 12's sign). In media res, Katniss forgets her flowers on the stage, but when she and Peeta go back to get them they see two Peacekeepers dragging an old man, the one who whistled Rue's song, to the stage, they force him onto his knee, and then they shoot him in the head. Is this a warning that the Capitol is already pissed off this early in the tour?
When the two get into the Justice Building, Haymitch orders them to follow him up into the dirty dome of the building. He forces Katniss to tell Peeta about her meeting with President Snow. Peeta feels bad because he thinks he's made the situation worse by giving the dead tribute's families money and he's mad that Katniss and Haymitch have been keeping secrets from him. Haymitch admits that he did favor Katniss in the arena because he could only get one of them to the end. This sends Peeta into a rage. They promise to keep Peeta in on things from now on.
Before the ceremony dinner Effie is complaining about how they're all being treated terribly in District 11 and how she can't wait to leave. Peeta apologizes to Katniss for yelling at her and she forgives him. At the dinner they "are borderline delirious in [their] love for each other."
The team travel all through out the districts to make their way towards their home, District 12. After discussing their 'love,' Katniss suggests that they have a public marriage proposal. Preeta agrees but sees to keep to himself because even though he wanted this to happen, he didn't want it to be forced. He proposes to Katniss during an interview when Caesar Flickerman asks them about their future. President Snow makes a guest appearance on the interview to congratulate the two and his body language makes Katniss feel like she's messed up and it's the end of the world. Isn't it crazy how someone doesn't even have to say something to let us know somethings wrong? We're so adapted to other people that we can sometimes just sense it.
Now thinking she's in trouble, Katniss devises a runaway plan to save her life. She wants her family, Gale and his family, Peeta and his family, and Haymitch to hop (or in this case go under) the fence and escape to the woods. At the ceremony Katniss decides she wants to taste all of the amazing food at the dinner, but she quickly becomes full. The stylists give her this drink that make her throw up so she is able to eat even more food. She thinks it's ridiculous that people eat food just to throw it up when there are some districts that are starving to death. I totally agree with her on this part. I feel awful when people throw away things of food that are perfectly fine when there are kids that have to go without food daily.
During the dinner/party Katniss meets Plutarch Heavensbee, he was one of the Gamemakers during Kantiss's time at the Hunger Games, and now he's been promoted to Head Gamemaker. The two dance, talk, and laugh, but when he pulls out his watch to leave Katniss noticed something strange about it. On his pocket-watch theres a glowing image of a mockingjay, but it quickly disappears. Foreshadowing possibly?
When they leave the party they all have tea back on the train. After tea they all go to bed because they have the Harvest Festival in District 12 the next day. Katniss wakes up and Peeta tells her she didn't have any nightmares, he knows this because one they're still sleeping together and two she slept like she was happy instead of screaming. Katniss tells him that she had a dream though; she saw a mockingjay and she followed it through the woods. Katniss believed this mockingjay to be Rue. Then Katniss asks Peeta why he never wakes her up when he has a nightmare and he replies: "My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here." Oh man how precious! Katniss really couldn't do any better!
Ah home at last. At District 12 the victors get ready at the mayor's house. Katniss goes out on a search through the house to find her friend Madge. While looking she hears a TV turned on in the mayor's office. It's saying something about an "update on district 8" and then they show footage of a huge mob scene and screaming people. Katniss knows this can only be what President Snow calls and uprising.
And the suspense continues! Be ready for more Catching Fire soon!
President Snow and Katniss are finishing up their meeting about her expected behavior on the tour and all she can think about is, how is she going to fake being in love with Peeta all over again. To cover up her fear, Katniss tells her mother that the meeting was typical of the Game's victor. She explains that although they never see it on TV, the president always goes to the victor's house to wish them luck before the tour. She would have never told her mother the truth, and she probably wouldn't have told her the lie either if it wasn't for the Games. Since she's been home, Katniss has been trying to fix her relationship with her mom. Katniss is attempting to forget all the things in the past her mother has messed up on and starting fresh. Her mom saved her, at least a little bit, from interviewers by telling the press that Katniss "wasn't old enough to have a boyfriend at all."
Meanwhile, Katniss is still struggling over the residue of her meeting with President Snow. Who should she tell? Better yet, who could she tell? She knows telling her family, Gale, and Peeta are out of the question; especially Peeta because saying wouldn't be best for the situation: "Hey, Peeta, remember how I told you I was kind of faking being in love with you? Well, I really need you to forget about that now and act extra in love with me or the president might kill Gale," After eliminating everyone else in her life, she decides that Haymitch is the only one she can tell.
Cinna and the rest of the stylists arrive to primp Katniss before she has to leave for the tour. In the midst of beautifying her, the stylist begin talking about the Quarter Quell. This event happens every twenty-five years of the Hunger Games, and it's full of new twists, the twist being that twice the number of tributes fill the arena. Not only has Cinna been helping her with her looks, but he's also been helping her with her talent. Ok, this whole process is starting to resemble a complete beauty pageant. This onto of everything else that happened in the first book while they were prepping for the Games. A victor's "talent is the activity you take up since you don't have to work either in school or your district's industry." Obviously Peeta's talent is painting/frosting (remember how good he was at camouflaging in the arena? well frosting is the same thing just on food and it's just like painting!), but Katniss doesn't really have her own talent, so she 'borrows' Cinna's. There's no surprise that his talent happens to be designing clothes. He's promised her that he'd help and basically take care of everything for her talent; he made clothes, sketches, and even brought fabric for her.
The Everdeen house is buzzing with the stylists running around, Cinna dressing Katniss, Effie Trinket trying to hurry everyone up, and Prim being interviewed by the Capitol. When Katniss is watching Prim being interviewed, she can't help but think about Rue and how she didn't save her. Before she heads out, Katniss's mother pins Madge's mockingjay pin onto her scarf for good luck. Katniss leaves her house to find Peeta doing the same. With a big smile on her face she takes off running towards Peeta, he catches her but slips as a result of his artificial leg, and the two fall into the snow to have their first kiss in a long time (this entire scene is of course because EVERYONE is watching).
Families, stylists, and all, they make it to the station to send Peeta and Katniss off on their way for the tour. A little while later, Katniss heads down to Haymitch's room on the train. Paranoid that President Snow is watching her, Katniss hints that the "train's so stuffy", then she and Haymitch walk down the hallway where he opens a door leading to the outside. I have to get it to Haymitch for being clever. He opened the door hoping the loudness of the roaring snow would cover up their conversation. After she tells him everything, "about the president's visit, about Gale, about how [they're] going to die if [she] fails," he simply tells her that now, she can't fail. This made me think of everything that I've seen imprinted with the slogan FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! She begs Haymitch to help her get through this last trip but he tells her that it's not just 'this last trip,' but that she'll have to go on 'fake loving' Peeta for the rest of her life. He reminds her that "Even if [they] pull it off, they'll be backin another few months to take [them] back to the Games. [She] and Peeta, [they'll] be mentors now, every year from here on out. And every year they'll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of your private life, and you'll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with that boy." DUN DUN DUN! If I was Katniss right now I'd totally be freaking out. Having to spend my life pretending to be in love with someone I'm not doesn't sound like any fun to me!
Walking back to their rooms, Haymitch says to Katniss:" You could do a lot worse, you know." He's totally right. She could've gotten stuck with some ugly guy who doesn't care about her. Trying to fall asleep, she thinks about Haymitch's words and how one of her rights in District 12 is to marry who she wants or no one at all. She's determined President Snow will make them have children, and then their children will become tributes.
The trains headed for District 11, the first stop on the Victory Tour. Katniss is dreading this one because it's Rue's district. Once again, Katniss gets an entire makeover and a new outfit for today. At breakfast its announced that the train will be stopping because there's a mechanical problem with the train. This sends Effie into a frenzy because she's a schedule nut who has to always have her days outlined. Katniss starts yelling at Effie that "no one cares," and everything in the room stops and she leaves. She gets off the train and starts wondering around when Peeta finds her. They have a civilized conversation about how they can't help what they did in the games, how Peeta is jealous of Gale, and how they "should take a shot at just being friends."
Peeta provides a comic relief from everything going on when he asks: "Isn't it strange that I know you'd risk your life to save mine...but I don't know what your favorite color is?" Katniss talks of how she's never seen one of Peeta's paintings. He tells her to follow him, because there's a ton of them on the train. When they get back, Katniss apologizes to Effie, she politely accepts, and then the friends go see the painting. Katniss was expecting pictures similar to the ones that Peeta puts on baked goods, but instead Peeta paints scenes from the games. Her first reaction is to say she hates them, which she does, but it's because they're so realistic and all she's trying to do is forget about them. He explains that he gets his inspiration from his nightmares and that if he paints them he's "a little less afraid of going to sleep at night" or he pretends to be anyway.
District 11 is approaching and from the window they see a huge, barbed wire fence alive with electricity, armed watchtowers, and a field of wildflowers. Strange how the tough and frightening fence and towers can be a midst a pretty field of flowers right? Effie tells the victors to get dressed and they do as they're told. Cinna puts Katniss in a pretty orange frock, and she thinks how much Peeta will love it because it's his favorite color.
Once they arrive they're all treated rudely and are getting pushed around. At the ceremony, the anthem plays, Peeta and Katniss act coupley, the mayor gives a speech, the victors give a thank speech to the Capitol, and then the unexpected. Peeta adds that Thresh and Rue kept Katniss alive in the games, therefore keeping him alive, and how he can never repay them; so, he promises their families one month of their winnings until they (Katniss and Peeta) die. This whole time Katniss has been noticing Thresh and Rue's families, especially Rue's. Katniss gives a speech about Tresh and how great of a player he was in the games, and then about Rue and how great of friends they had become, and she thanks them for the bread they (the district) sent her in the games. In response someone whistles Rue's mockingjay tune and everyone, literally everyone in the square, touches their fingers to their lips and reaches them out towards Katniss and Peeta (remember this is District 12's sign). In media res, Katniss forgets her flowers on the stage, but when she and Peeta go back to get them they see two Peacekeepers dragging an old man, the one who whistled Rue's song, to the stage, they force him onto his knee, and then they shoot him in the head. Is this a warning that the Capitol is already pissed off this early in the tour?
When the two get into the Justice Building, Haymitch orders them to follow him up into the dirty dome of the building. He forces Katniss to tell Peeta about her meeting with President Snow. Peeta feels bad because he thinks he's made the situation worse by giving the dead tribute's families money and he's mad that Katniss and Haymitch have been keeping secrets from him. Haymitch admits that he did favor Katniss in the arena because he could only get one of them to the end. This sends Peeta into a rage. They promise to keep Peeta in on things from now on.
Before the ceremony dinner Effie is complaining about how they're all being treated terribly in District 11 and how she can't wait to leave. Peeta apologizes to Katniss for yelling at her and she forgives him. At the dinner they "are borderline delirious in [their] love for each other."
The team travel all through out the districts to make their way towards their home, District 12. After discussing their 'love,' Katniss suggests that they have a public marriage proposal. Preeta agrees but sees to keep to himself because even though he wanted this to happen, he didn't want it to be forced. He proposes to Katniss during an interview when Caesar Flickerman asks them about their future. President Snow makes a guest appearance on the interview to congratulate the two and his body language makes Katniss feel like she's messed up and it's the end of the world. Isn't it crazy how someone doesn't even have to say something to let us know somethings wrong? We're so adapted to other people that we can sometimes just sense it.
Now thinking she's in trouble, Katniss devises a runaway plan to save her life. She wants her family, Gale and his family, Peeta and his family, and Haymitch to hop (or in this case go under) the fence and escape to the woods. At the ceremony Katniss decides she wants to taste all of the amazing food at the dinner, but she quickly becomes full. The stylists give her this drink that make her throw up so she is able to eat even more food. She thinks it's ridiculous that people eat food just to throw it up when there are some districts that are starving to death. I totally agree with her on this part. I feel awful when people throw away things of food that are perfectly fine when there are kids that have to go without food daily.
During the dinner/party Katniss meets Plutarch Heavensbee, he was one of the Gamemakers during Kantiss's time at the Hunger Games, and now he's been promoted to Head Gamemaker. The two dance, talk, and laugh, but when he pulls out his watch to leave Katniss noticed something strange about it. On his pocket-watch theres a glowing image of a mockingjay, but it quickly disappears. Foreshadowing possibly?
When they leave the party they all have tea back on the train. After tea they all go to bed because they have the Harvest Festival in District 12 the next day. Katniss wakes up and Peeta tells her she didn't have any nightmares, he knows this because one they're still sleeping together and two she slept like she was happy instead of screaming. Katniss tells him that she had a dream though; she saw a mockingjay and she followed it through the woods. Katniss believed this mockingjay to be Rue. Then Katniss asks Peeta why he never wakes her up when he has a nightmare and he replies: "My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here." Oh man how precious! Katniss really couldn't do any better!
Ah home at last. At District 12 the victors get ready at the mayor's house. Katniss goes out on a search through the house to find her friend Madge. While looking she hears a TV turned on in the mayor's office. It's saying something about an "update on district 8" and then they show footage of a huge mob scene and screaming people. Katniss knows this can only be what President Snow calls and uprising.
And the suspense continues! Be ready for more Catching Fire soon!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Reading: Catching Fire
So once I finally finished The Hunger Games I immediately put the second book, Catching Fire on hold at the library. I've been reading along and here's a summary up through page 29...
Katniss is in the woods alone, not hunting, but reflecting on everything that's going on in her life post-games. She, Peeta, and their families have moved into Victors Village with Haymitch. It's time for Katniss to go on the Victory Tour throughout the districts, even though she wishes desperately that she could forget everything about the games. The tour is placed strategically in between the start of each of the games so no one can forget the games.
Gale has a job working in the mines now, so Katniss spends her time hunting for Gale's family. However, he doesn't like the idea of her doing this, probably because he feels that he owes her now, like Thresh owed Katniss and Katniss owed Peeta. No one likes the feeling of having to pay anyone back. Since the games, everything is different between the once best friends and Katniss knows that things will never be the same. When Katniss goes to drop the meat off at Gale's house, she tells Hazelle, Gale's mom, that she will take Rory, one of Gale's younger brothers, out hunting one day. Possible foreshadow? Could Rory be a star hunter like Katniss or Gale? Could he get picked as a tribute and survive off his skills like Kantiss? Who knows, but it doesn't hurt play around an guess a little.
Before she has to leave for the Victory Tour, Katniss makes a stop at the Hob, where she realizes she owes the 'Hob regulars.' I think it's interesting how this whole owing people thing is playing out to be quite a theme in this trilogy so far. Katniss was told, by Gale, that Greasy Sae (the soup lady) started a collection while she was in the games. These donations were used to sponsor her and Peeta during the games. At the Hob she buys some liquor for Hamymitch and a bowl of soup for herself. Sae asks her if Gale is going to see her off for the tour, but Katniss replies no. This shocks Sae because Gale and Katniss are "cousins." Ok, so while she was at the games, the Capitol began asking people about Katniss's friends, and of course everyone sent them to Gale. However, the Capitol decided he would now be Katniss's cousin because "he was too handsome, too male, and not the least bit willing to smile and play nice for the camera."
On her way home to Victor's Village, she makes a quick stop at the sleepy Haymitch's house. She describes his house as being dirty and reaking off liquor and vomit (hmm, I wonder why?). She wakes him up and sees Peeta in the house. Things are pretty fragile between Peeta and Katniss, and Haymitch tells them that they better be falling back in love again for the tour. Once she finally reaches her home, she's greeted by her mother...and a man from the Capitol who would like to see her. Uh-oh is this about the suicidal berries from the last day in the games? The man leads her into the office in Katniss's house to find President Snow sitting inside. When I read this I totally got the image of someone, who's usually innocent, going into the principal's office for something 'bad' that they did, you know wondering 'what the heck did i?'
President Snow informs Katniss that she's made the Capitol look foolish in result of her outsmarting in the Hunger Games. He's worried that she'll be difficult during the tour and will try to outsmart the Capitol once again. Although this is not partially true because he brings up the fact that he knows she wouldn't to do anything to risk her family's future. At this point President Snow totally knows that Gale is not her cousin and that they have a little fling going on between them. In fact during this whole meeting Katniss flashes back to the only romantic moment between her and Gale.
Here's the story: One day after the games, Katniss headed out early one Sunday to the woods. She went to the spot where she and Gale always meet and waited for him for two hours. Depressed that he hadn't showed up yet, Katniss begins to think that things with Gale are hopeless. To her surprise, he showed up, then she attacked him crying and he held her in his embrace (for quite some time too). Eventually they ate and talked about 'thing's literally the book says they talked "just about other things." Now Katniss thinks everything is going to be fine between them when BAM! Gales kisses her! She loved the experience, but unfortunately he left her undecided with her feelings for him and Peeta. Later in the week Katniss made this huge speech about how she doesn't want a boyfriend, let alone to get married, but she didn't get to tell Gale because he acted as if the whole thing never even happened. What a classic scene from books and movies that everyone experience, or knows someone who's experienced it at some point. The end of the love story. However, the whole time she's thinking about him she asked President Snow not to hurt Gale. She reminds him that they've been friends for years and that's it and that the public thinks they're cousins now.
Back to the big story, President Snow tells her that because of this the Capitol is afraid of a potential uprising from all or any of the districts. It's made known that Katniss has embarrassed the entire Capitol by making them look stupid. The president knows that her love for Peeta was just an act used in the games, but he reveals that not all of the people from the other districts bought their story either. Even though she claims she didn't mean to start anything, Katniss is sorry that she has brought about this problem in the government.
President Snow concludes their conference by telling Katniss she'll have to be crazy in love with Peeta again for the Tour for the uprising to be avoided. She replies that she'll convince everyone she's crazy in love, but he said that she needs too "aim higher in case [she] falls short." So now Katniss must aim to convince President Snow himself that she loves Peeta. President Snow leaves Katniss with the words, "by the way, I know about the kiss." Oh, shoot! What's going to happen now if he knows about the kiss with Gale? Will he use Gale's life as Katniss's quid pro quo for all of his little games?
Thanking for reading this time. I promise for another summary update very soon!
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