Our Hunger Games: Catching Fire Party

With the success of our Hunger Games Party last year, we couldn't resist doing a follow-up event when Catching Fire came out =D We featured some different activities, had a ton of people come down, and had a grand-old time. For those keeping score, many of my ideas came from the pins on my Pinterest Board, Hunger Games Party!!

Find Your Hunger Games Name

We wouldn't be able to start our event without knowing who we were, so we figured out what our "Hunger Games" names would be. We used one of those templates where you take pieces of your own name, throw in some funny sounding words, and wind up with a unique nomenclature. I'm Senpetra M. Standoak if you're wondering, and we used this picture from CatchMyParty as our template.

District Emblems

After we had our names we chose our district emblems. Bouncing by Michael's I found some small wooden discs we used as a back, printed out these district emblems, and then mod podged them together. Our finishing touch was self-adhesive clasps (that I also found at Michael's). This activity was inspired by g*rated.

Sustenance

Our tributes wouldn't have lasted long without some sustenance, so we had a crackers, cheese, and fruit spread,  served Arizona Iced Tea (because its delicious and seemed like a modern way to survive when you need energy lol), and also decorated Camouflage Cookies (granted, Peeta does more camouflaging in the first book, but the Morphlings do it in the second book, so I figured we were still legit).

DIY Bow and Arrows 

Once our introductions were out of the way, it was time for weapons training. One of our teen
members does some Live-Action Roll Playing (LARPing) in Spokane, WA, and he wanted to demonstrate the safety bow and arrows they use during combat. After his demonstration, we gave tributes a chance to make their own.

Inspired by this blog post from Sophie's World, we wound up using CPVC pipe I purchased at Lowe's for the bows themselves, and used bamboo stakes as the arrows. I was planning on using the bamboo for the bows, but they were too brittle. If you're going to do this activity, I would suggest using some of the elements from this Instructables (like cutting notches in the pipe to hold the string better).

The Arena

Finally, we actually had our tributes turn their skill and wiles against each other. Now don't panic too much. We didn't actually fight each other. We modified a game of Assassin to give it a more Hunger Games feel. We had everyone write a number on a piece of paper, and then they wore that number on a name tag. Every tribute drew a number that someone else wrote down, and that was the target they were tying to eliminate. As soon as they eliminated their target, they moved onto the tribute their target was targeting.

Instead of using Nerf weapons, we had everyone wear a construction paper bracelet secured with a single piece of tape. You eliminated your target by removing their bracelet (without touching any part of your target besides their bracelet, which leveled the playing field nicely). In keeping with the Hunger Games, after several eliminations we changed the rules so you could target anyone, not just the number you were assigned.

Mockingjay

I'm wondering what kind of fun we can have for the Mockingjay Pt. 1 debut...hhmmmm...

The Death Cure: No More Lies!

The Death Cure by James Dashner

Why did I read it?

My boss is an avid reader; she can go through several books in a week. But, sometimes she enjoys a series so much that she desperately needs someone else to discuss it with, and that is what happened with this series. I had read The Maze Runner for TeenBookWorms, but then she pushed me through The Scorch Trials and the prequel, The Kill Order, in addition to this title. I'm really glad she did.

What happened?

SPOILER ALERT

WICKED (World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department) has done terrible things to Thomas and his friends, and the more he remembers about his life before the Maze, the more he realizes that he was one of THEM! With solar flares and The Scorch threatening to destroy humanity, Thomas and others like him believed that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few.

But Thomas isn't so sure anymore. After surviving The Maze and The Scorch, friends dying around him, and his best friend betraying him, Thomas has had enough. WICKED might be saying the time for lies is over. They might be saying they will give him back his memory. They might be saying they are so close to developing a cure.

But Thomas no longer believes that "WICKED is good." He has seen the evil that has been perpetrated in the name of science, and he is not going to be a pawn in their game any longer.

What did I like or not like?

One of the awesome things about this series is the fast-paced action coupled with the slow revelation of what is going on, and this third installment is no exception. We have so many more pieces of the puzzle by the beginning of this book, but their are still many questions to be answered.

Have you ever gotten to the end of a series and thought, "I read through all of those pages and THAT is how you are going to end it? You have got to be kidding me!" I don't think that will happen with this one.

Its possible that you won't like it, but similar to my thoughts on Mockingjay (the third book in The Hunger Games series), I don't think the author could have ended it any other way. The ending is definitely bittersweet, but I think it was realistic for the world Dashner set up, and it was still way more hopeful than Mockingjay was =D

Mockingjay: When An Author Stays True to Her World...

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Why did I read it?

Because I literally had to start the third book once Catching Fire ended lol

What happened?

SPOILER ALERTS

Unbelievably, much to the chagrin of the capitol, both Katniss and Peeta once again survived their time in the Hunger Games. But, this time Katniss didn't escape by threatening to eat some poisoned berries. She escaped by destroying the force field encasing the arena, and was rescued by District 13 hovercrafts!

Unbeknownst to Katniss, and the rest of Panem, District 13 was not destroyed at the conclusion of the rebellion seventy-five years ealier. Instead, they moved completely underground, and have been waiting for their opportunity to once again challenge the Capitol. Katniss was just the figurehead they needed for all-out war on their persecuters.

There are only a couple of problems. Katniss isn't sure she wants to be a pawn in District 13 hands,  Peeta was captured by the Capitol, and with each step she takes, she is more unsure who she can really trust, and whether or not she, or anyone she cares about, will get out of this alive.

What did I like or not like?

Let me say here that this is NOT a happy trilogy. There is a semi-happy ending, but there is a lot of death, dying, suffering, questions, betrayals, and sacrifice that lead up to it.

But let me also say here that this trilogy blew me away with how awesome it was! I got done reading and all I could think was how amazing the storyline ultimately was. Each choice, each small circumstance affected everything else, and the characters were absolutely realistic and true to the last page.

Many people I have talked to about the trilogy say the third book was violent just for the sake of being violent, and that Suzanne Collins didn't have to make many of the choices that she did. More people could have survived!

But, this is my take on it: Suzanne was just being true to the world that she created. From the very first chapter of The Hunger Games, Suzanne created a dangerous, violent, unfair and chaotic world, and when the stakes went up, these things took their affect as well; with disatrous consequences.

I've also had friends who disagree with the books themselves. They don't agree with the thought of young adults killing each other being seen as entertainment.

Here is my take on that: While The Hunger Games are entertainment, and are hugely popular, they don't view death and killing as entertainment, and they also don't condone it. The characters in Suzanne's world have to deal with these realities, but with every chance they get, they strive to remove these atrocities from their world.

So, those are my quick thoughts on an awesome trilogy. If you have other ideas, hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, or leave a comment below. Or, you could track me down at the Hayden Library, and I'll be more than willing to spend a very long time chatting about this series with you :)

Catching Fire: Need I Say More?

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Why did I read it?

With the huge success of The Hunger Games movie that just hit theatres ($253,006,396 in 11 days according to Box Office Mojo) everyone is talking about The Hunger Games right now. I originally read The Hunger Games in 2010, but because of a crazy schedule and other books, I wasn't able to finish the series. So, when I heard the movie was coming out, I reread the book, and this time, I couldn't stop until I had finished Mockingjay.

What happened?


SPOILER ALERTS
(Not a ton, but its hard to do a synopsis of a second book without giving some stuff away)

Both Katniss and Peeta survived the 74th Hunger Games! This is a situation unheard of in Panem history and there will be consequences. The Hunger Games were designed to give the illusion of hope while demanding respect and fear and exacting control. With the stunt that Katniss pulled, this control has been called into question and the scent of rebellion is in the air.
Preparing for the Victory Tour, a quick trip around the districts designed by the Capitol, Katniss is approached by President Snow himself. Snow makes it clear that he isn't forgetting her defiance, and that he isn't afraid to destroy everything she holds dear if she steps out of line. Okay, don't mess things up on the tour, got it!

But, the choices that Katniss made have taken on a life of their own, and she soon realizes that nothing she did or didn't do on the tour could change where Panem is heading. In an effort to stamp out this fire that is quickly catching across Panem, President Snow issues a special edict for the 75th Hunger Games, and no one could have seen it coming.

What did I like or not like?


Holy moly and pandemonium, I love these books! The Hunger Games was amazing, but the way Suzanne was able to build the scope of the story while remaining so true to the original world is spectacular.

So many trilogies suffer in their second book because the author doesn't want to give away too much of the story. They almost drag along until the third book. But, this is something that Suzanne doesn't have a problem with. There is so much story to tell that this story will glue you to your seat and not let you up.

Suzanne also does a great job giving us new revelations in each character, but never changing who the characters are. It is no wonder why these books are so popular, and if you haven't read them, I would highly suggest them.

Next Book Blurt I'm going to be chatting about Mockingjay, and a little bit more about the ideas behind the trilogy. Stay tuned!

Coliseums and Costumers

Imagine the gladiators of ancient Rome, fighting to the death in the Coliseum. Now imagine the Olympics: sponsors, competition from every area of the world. Now imagine a runway model show: make-up, costumers. Now imagine Dancing with the Stars: competitors, judges, audiences. Now imagine a mixture of all of these events where fights to the death are televised for all to see. Such is the world of Panem, the home of Katniss Everdeen.

Set many years in the future, Panem is located in what used to be called North America. The capitol keeps an iron grip on its population which is divided into 12 districts. Having crushed a rebellion many years in the past, the capitol is loath to crush another one. Striving to keep the districts in check, the capitol instituted the Hunger Games to show just how weak and powerless the districts were. Every year, two “tributes” from every district, one boy and one girl, are “reaped” to participate in the Hunger Games. These twenty-four young souls will fight to the death while the rest of Panem watches.

Katniss is a strong, self-sufficient teen who grows up in District 12. After her father died when she was ten, she has been the sole provider and defender of her mother and younger sister. At the reaping this year, she is shocked and dismayed when her younger sister is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games. Without thinking, driven by her love for her sister, Katnisss volunteers to go in her place. So starts Katniss’s adventures in the Hunger Games, which are everything but normal. Katniss started with something almost unheard of, volunteering to take the place of someone else, and she keeps knocking the socks off of the viewing audiences, and the Gamemakers.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books by Suzanna Collins. The second book is Catching Fire, and the third book is called MockingJay. Throughout the book, Katniss struggles to find a way to show the capitol that she isn’t just a piece in their game; that she is a human being that they will have to deal with. She starts this trend in training, and continues it throughout the competition. This book is very exciting to read and keeps you interested in how Katniss will survive throughout the games. Twenty-four other competitors are out to kill her, not to mention the elements, wild animals, and anything else the Gamemakers want to throw at her.

As the subject matter implies, this book is pretty violent. It doesn’t get into too gory details, but the types of deaths of some twenty-two people are talked about and explained. Despite this factor, I devoured the book. What would a society look like that had to send their children to battle to their deaths? What would the process of training, competition, and elimination look like? Collins does an excellent job looking at the consequences and culture that would come from this kind of system. Collins also does an excellent job looking at our own fascination with competition, and applying that to the world of Panem. This book is expertly written, and it is no wonder that it is so popular. The only issue I have with it is the high violence content, but this story wouldn't be complete without this violence content. If you have a problem with violence this book most likely isn't for you. But, if you don't mind fantasy violence, then this is a very interesting story.