Re-reading The Hunger Games

Hello all, hope you are well! It has almost been 2 months since The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins was released (I really don’t know how)! I read that book within a couple of days of its release and the fear I had of spoilers definitely helped me read it quicker. But, as soon as I finished reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes I had an urge to re-read the entire Hunger Games series, so that is exactly what I did. I thought today I’d discuss my thoughts on what it was like to re-read The Hunger Games almost 10 years since my first read through.

I started out this re-read by actually going and finding my original copies of all three books which I had stored away in my room. I had forgotten how damaged they all were especially my copy of Mockingjay which is almost completely destroyed due to me spilling something on it. It was so nice to see a set of book that I’d loved so much look well read. So, I got started with reading The Hunger Games.

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As soon as I started The Hunger Games I had immediate flash backs to the first time I read the series and how I just couldn’t put the books down. This re-read wasn’t much different. I got started one night and less than a day later I had finished the first book.

I completely forgot how quickly this book gets right into the games themselves and I loved it. I felt like I was back to being a teenager again and falling in love with Peeta Mellark all over again. There were so many little things in this book I had somehow completely forgotten. Like the fact that Foxface dies after eating the nightlock berries Peeta was picking (this is such a massive plot point so I have no idea why I forgot this.)

The night that I finished the book I decided to watch the film too. I always find it fascinating how much is changed when a book is adapted to a film. There is one thing I really wish they had kept as part of the story when adapting it though and that it Madge Undersee giving Katniss the Mockingjay pin. This is such an important part of the books and I really wish they’d kept it in the movie series.

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The next day I got started on my re-read of Catching Fire. Now, this is my favourite book in the series. Always has been and always will be. The characters we are introduced to in this book will forever be some of my favourites (Finnick I’m looking at you here) and the development of Katniss and Peeta is one I always enjoy reading. I also find the games in this book more action-packed and entertaining. I remember in my first read through trying to figure out the clock system in the arena and this read through I loved all the hints to it and how it is set up. I flew right the way through the second book in the series and my love for it grew bigger.

Did I cry when I read this quote?

“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you.” Peeta replies.

Yes, yes I did. It made me remember reading this book as a teen thinking no one will ever love me like that it just won’t happen and I had a little cry before I kept reading.

Once again, as soon as I had finished the book I got straight to watching the film adaptation. This again is my favourite film in the series for a number of reasons. Mags is a joy, Joanna is such a character and the subtle details throughout the film that hint towards the rebellion that is happening really make it a great movie for me. That scene in the elevator is one of my favourite movie scenes and always makes me laugh.

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Now, the first time I read this series I really struggled getting through Mockingjay. I thought this time would be different but sadly it wasn’t. There is something about this book that just made me feel really let down the first time round and this time too and made me have no desire to read it quickly. This is where my re-read slowed down and it took me a while to get through this book.

I enjoy the plot and characters but I have issues with the pacing and the way characters are killed off in the most odd and seemingly unthoughtout ways. SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK COMING UP. Personally I think the way that Finnick is killed just feels like an easy way out of keeping his character alive and so does the way that Primrose dies. I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but, I really wish that Gale had been killed off rather than Finnick because let’s be honest Finnick deserved a lot more. I grew to hate Gale more than I did in the first read through this time. I am not a fan of him at all and I will forever be a Peeta girl.

This book doesn’t ruin the series for me at all but I just wish it had ended the series in a bit of a different way that what it did.

I finished my Hunger Games re-read by watching Mockingjay Part One and Part Two. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed these two movies. I remember not really enjoying them in the cinema but re-watching them at an older age changed my mind. Watching Peeta suffer from PTSD whilst walking through the Capitol still breaks my heart to this day and always will.

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Over the course of 2 weeks I read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the entire The Hunger Games series. It had been 10 years since my first re-through and not only have I grown up but I look deeper into books now and this was no different. I had so much fun doing this and looking back on what was a favourite series of mine when I was younger. It still is a favourite series of mine and I am sure it always will be. If you haven’t re-read the series recently I highly recommend you do or even just re-watch the films because there is so much I had forgotten.

There you have it, that was my experience re-reading The Hunger Games. Have you re-read this series or any other series recently? Let me know in the comments below.