Disclosure: “I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Lions Gate. I received a book, products, and a promotional item to thank me for participating.”
I like books.
Those are three of the first words I ever spoke to the man I was eventually to marry. And I wasn’t lying. I do like books. Love them in fact. I actually have a stack of books beside my bed. Some I’ve read. Some I haven’t. One of my most recent reads, or rereads, was the Mockingjay novel, written by young adult author Suzanne Collins.
In addition to my love for books, I also love to watches movies based on books. I love to watch onscreen interpretations to see if they live up to or fall short of my favorite reads. Up until this point, I’ve been very impressed with The Hunger Games movies. And that’s a high compliment coming from me because I’ve been known to pick apart movies.
What I love about Mockingjay, as well as the other books in the series, is how relatable Katniss is for young, impressionable teenage girls.
She’s someone for them to admire and look up to…someone who is strong and resilient despite the poor hand she’s been dealt. She’s far from perfect. She’s not infallible and often gets hurt, both physically and emotionally.
Like many girls her age, Katniss resists authority, and often goes against what’s expected of her, even if it may put others or herself in imminent danger.
Katniss also doesn’t like to be manipulated and doesn’t like to conform to societal norms or expectations. (This side of her reminds me of my 12-year-old daughter who goes against the grain and doesn’t apologize for being who she is. If others don’t like her, that’s their problem, not hers. It’s probably why she loves The Hunger Games books as much as I do.)
And I admit, I’m kind of hoping I can convince my husband to go watch Mockingjay – Part 1 with me tomorrow night. Without kids. We haven’t had a real date night in awhile and it would be kind of nice to have one.
About Mockingjay – Part 1:
In the third Hunger Games movie, 17-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen finds herself living below-ground in District 13…long believed to have been destroyed by the Capital. With help from fellow district residents, including childhood friend Gale Hawthorne, Katniss steps forward as The Mockingjay and fights the Capital’s tyrannical hold on their nation, while finding a way to rescue Peeta Mellark from the clutches of President Coriolanus Snow.
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay by: Danny Strong and Peter Craig
Produced by: Nina Jacobson’s Color Force and producer Jon Kilik
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sullivan, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, Robert Kneppner, and Jena Malone.
If you haven’t seen The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 trailer, stop by YouTube and check it out!