"What happens if we choose entertainment over humanity? In Collins's world, we'll be obsessed with grooming, we'll talk funny, and all our sentences will end with the same rise as questions. When Katniss is sent to stylists to be made more telegenic before she competes, she stands naked in front of them, strangely unembarrassed. “They're so unlike people that I'm no more self-conscious than if a trio of oddly colored birds were pecking around my feet,” she thinks. In order not to hate these creatures who are sending her to her death, she imagines them as pets. It isn't just the contestants who risk the loss of their humanity. It is all who watch."

--Publishers Weekly, Megan Whalen Turner, STARRED REVIEW

Questions for you to ponder for Monday

• What does the future hold for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale?
• What did you think of Heymitch? Troublemaker? Untrustworthy? Surprising savior?
• What do you think is the future of the political structure?
• Will there be a rebellion? If so, who will lead it? How do you think it will play out?
• Will there be retaliation against Katniss for her actions?
• Did you think it was fair for Katniss to get the rating that she did in archery?
• Did you think that Katniss had to face difficult moral decisions or where those tough choices ones she could avoid?
• What do you think was the inspiration for Hunger Games? One review says that it has ties to Rome.
• What role do you think Cinna plays?
• Which children were the worst off? The ones in the Districts where the children were raised to think that competing to kill other children and possibly die themselves was honorable as in Districts 1 & 2? Or the outlying districts which were so poor that the inhabitants had to forage for the smallest portions.
• Are there other books that reminded you of Hunger Games (because Jia and I want to read them).
• If you are an adult, why do these YA books appeal to you? Do you wish there were more books in the romance genre like this one?

And lastly, are you rooting for the K/G pairing or the K/P pairing? Choose sides and let’s rumble.

I have set up my rabbit snares, gathered my berries (the safe ones) and established a safe hideout for us to discuss The Hunger Games this Monday, march 29th at 7:30 Chez Hampton.

If you need directions, give me a holler!

Dress in a flaming costume for extra credit!

Elizabeth