Entry 6: Readers Responses

First Response:

I have up to and including chapter nine read of The Hunger Games. This is the first part of the novel called “The Tributes”.  I am really enjoying the book, it has a very exciting story line and so far I have not been bored at any point while reading. I have gotten up to the part when the Tributes are all getting their live interviews and Peeta, the other tribute from District 12, admits that he has had a crush on Katniss for as long as he can remember and that he does not think that winning the Hunger Games will really mean he ‘wins’ in any way because he will lose her.

After reading this the thoughts that were running through my mind were, was he being serious, does he really love her and he has just never told her? This could be possible because of the way he has treated her in the past, giving her the bread when she was starving, the dandelion after her father passes, and how nice he has been while they were just getting to the Capitol. Or is it just a part of his plan to make sure that one of the  District 12 tributes will win the game. He could just be giving them an edge. Something exciting that none of the other groups have, just so they will get more sponsors and so people will favor and cheer for them to win.  Later in the book, maybe in chapter ten I will get to find out the truth.

Another thing I have been thinking about a lot while reading this book is what The Hunger Games are really going to be like. I have a feeling that it is going to be non-stop fighting between the tributes but I wonder how long it will take until they are all dead and there is a winner. I wonder if all the rest of this book and the two books after that are all going to be of the actual games that are still continuing or if it will end, there will be a winner, and then the books continue on with a different part of the story.  Another thing is, I am confused about where they are going to get the weapons and things they need to survive the games. They have not explained that in the book yet. Maybe just before the games start they will all receive some weapons.

One of the things that I thought was very interesting is how Katniss describes her makeover artists and her stylists. She explains that they almost seem fake with all their tattoos and their coloured hair. It makes me want to see what they look like side by side. Katniss with her very natural look and them with their ‘improvements’. I also would really enjoy hearing how her mother, her sister and her friend Gale are doing, but I have a feeling that might not be until after the games are over. I feel that Gale will some how end up being a large part of the continuous story because his friendship wish Katniss is so strong. I am looking forward to reading on and finding out new things about the characters. Hopefully my questions will soon be answered.

Second Response:

I have now read up to and including chapter 18 of The Hunger Games.  This is the second part of the novel called “The Games”. In this part of the book the games begin. After numerous kills, there are now only six Tributes left. Including Katniss and Peeta, both Tributes from District 12.

A couple of the questions that I had asked in my first response have been answered. I still don’t know if the games are going to end in the first book or if Peeta really does love Katniss or if he is just pretending for the games. I have a feeling that he might actually love her because he saved her life once in the book already when he could have easily let her get killed. I now know that the games begin with weapons and other items needed to survive, available for the Tributes right at the beginning of the games, all they need to do is fight against the other tributes to get them. If I do recall one of the boys died trying to get more weapons. He probably would have survived if he did not risk it. The smarter Tributes grabbed what was close and ran off into the wilderness for safety.

There have been quite a few events in the book that have really surprised me. One thing is how simple it is for the Tributes to get killed. It almost seems like it has not been much fighting and now most of them have died. It could also seem like this because the book is from Katniss’s point of view and she has only been involved in a couple kills so far, most of the trouble she gets involved in is because of the Gamemakers. The two kills she was involved in included three people dead in two different situations. Once with the tracker jay’s hive, and the other time when she shot the boy with her bow and arrows after he kills her friend and ally, Rue. Another thing is that the “Gamemakers” the people who control the games, have the ability to kill anyone in the games they want. They do this when there has not been enough action and the games are being considered boring by the residents of the Capitol.  

Another thing I am surprised about is that at the end of this section of the book, a new rule was made in the games. This rule was that if two people from the same District end up being the last two survivors, then they can both win. Considering there has never been any speaking of rules other than waiting the sixty seconds until the horn signals the games to begin and not eating people, I was not expecting to hear a change in the games. I almost wonder why there would be a rule made now. It almost seems like that rule was made special for Peeta and Katniss, because everyone thinks they are in love with each other.

This is almost something that I thought would happen in the novel because I thought they would some how both live because they have been such a large part of the story so far and it would be a huge disappointment to see one of them die but, on the other hand I thought that something more would happen. Like they would refuse to kill each other and the rules would bend for them. My prediction for the future is that Katniss is going to find Peeta, they are going to help each other and both win the games. I also think that they will fall in love. Well Katniss will, because I think that Peeta already does love her, I think he always did.  

Third Response:


I have finished reading The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed this novel because it always kept me entertained. It was full of action, romance and even had some funny parts. The last section of the book I read was called “The Victor” it was from chapters 19 to 27. I would have to say that this was by far the most exciting part of the book. I really enjoyed the imagery that the author puts into the story. It makes it much easier to understand the situations that the characters are put into and gives me a better understanding of what the characters are feeling.

After making the rule that two Tributes can survive the games as long as they are from the same district, Peeta and Katniss end up working together. The Capitol’s audience loves this because of the romance that they have. As soon as the rule was made, Katniss knew she was going to team up with Peeta and maybe they would actually have a chance at winning the games if they worked together. When Katniss found Peeta he was in a mud puddle with his leg cut up and infected terribly. He could not even walk because the pain was to unbearable. Katniss cleaned him and his leg up and soon realized that he was slowly being killed by blood poisoning from his wound and his temperature was dangerously high. The only way he would survive any longer was if he had strong medication from the Capitol. So she put him to sleep with the liquid that they received as a donation from their sponsors and set off to get the medication to save Peeta’s life. She had to go and grab a backpack with her number on it and inside would be what she needed. Everyone of the Tributes needed something and so they had to go fight for their backpacks.

After saving Peeta, accidentally poisoning Fox face(one of the other Tributes) and watching their last enemy be eaten alive by mutant wolf monsters that were once the other competitors, her and Peeta were the last two Tributes in the games. They had thought that they had finally won but in the last minute another rule change was made. The rule was that once again, only one Tribute could survive. Peeta and Katniss did not fight. They kept the romance alive and they planned to both eat poisonous berries at the same time, so neither of them would win because they could not live without each other. Just as they were about to put the berries in their mouths and swallow a voice boomed over the arena saying that they could both win as long as they didn’t kill themselves.

They both won, Peeta got medical help, they aced the ‘after game’ interviews (which they had to be very carefully with because the Gamemakers and the Capitol were already very angry that they both won) and they were on their way home. Everything was going just perfect. Katniss admitted that she thought the whole time that Peeta was acting about loving her, but he tells her that it was all real for him. She tells him that it was acting for her but then she regrets it because Peeta will not talk to her anymore on the ride back home. Then the book ends.

My predictions for the next book are that Katniss will fall in love with Peeta for real this time. Even though she has Gale back home, her and Gale never really established themselves as anything other than very close friends. Also I  think that they are going to get into some trouble for both winning the games, whether it is having to pretend to be in love for the rest of their lives or having to go back in and fight until there really is only one winner. I am looking forward to reading on and I hope the other two books are just as exciting and action packed as this one has been.