Final Reflection

This semester, I have read (for this Etymology class) a total of 2500 pages.  At the start of this semester, I liked reading for fun when I had time, but I mostly just read books for class.  This semester, I got a chance to read the books I enjoy for school, which was really fun.  I loved reading fantasy, romance, and mystery books and I usually  read books during vacation when I had time.  This semester, it was very easy to find books that interested me.  My sister loves books and she has many shelves of books in her room and around the house.  Luckily, we enjoy the same kind of books, so there are always new books and series for me to read. 

I never had trouble meeting the weekly page quota and many times I read more than what I had to in the week.  The only problem I had was blogging those pages.  When I read, I tend to want to finish the book in a couple of days.  But then I had to blog the book so I would split up the pages of the book into sections for each blog post.  It was difficult for me because I would then have to reread the section to know which section I was blogging and also because I felt like I had to put every important detail of the book into my blogs.  I really had a hard time shortening my blogs and not including everything in my summary.

When I read, I usually read in my room on my bed.  I can't have music on and I always shut my door because I hate being distracted when I read.  I love losing myself in a good book.  I find it hard, though, to read during the school year some because if I'm reading a good book, I want to keep reading and then I don't get my homework done.  My favorite time to read is during the summer.  I love reading on vacations whenever my family goes to Florida when I can read on the beach or by the pool.  I have no worries or responsibilities so I can just read and read until I want to stop.  It's common for me to read a whole series over spring break or on vacation.

At the beginning of the semester, I really disliked poetry.  I never really understood some of it and I avoided reading it whenever possible.  However, over the semester I learned how it's more of an art form instead of just rhyming words.  The way the poet expresses his or her ideas is different from any other poet.  I really enjoyed how we read a poem a day and how we really looked into analyzing some poems.  Now, I actually sort of like poetry. 

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 367- 400

In chapter 26, while the group carries out Beetee’s plan, Katniss and Peeta get split up.  At the end, Katniss remembers what Haymitch told her before the Games – “you just remember who the enemy is.”  She has always known, deep down, who the enemy is – who starves and tortures and kills them in the arena.  She turns to the force field and sees a wavering square, the chink in the armor.  She shoots an arrow at the mark and it vanishes, pulling the gold wire connected to the lightning tree behind it.  Lightning then strikes just at that moment and the force field around the arena dissolves.  Then the explosions begin.

In chapter 27, the Gamemakers are bombing everything then.  But suddenly, a hovercraft materializes above her and she is pulled up into it.  She thinks it the Capitol, who has come to make her death as slow and public as possible.  The first face she sees is Plutarch Heavensbee, the Head Gamemaker.  She goes unconscious.  When she wakes up, she is in some sort of hospital and is next to Beetee.  When she truly wakes up, she finds Haymitch is there with Finnick and Plutarch.  They explain that they are the good guys and that Plutarch has been, for several years, part of an undercover group aiming to overthrow the Capitol.  They are part of a now full scale rebellion and the rumors about District 13 are absolutely true.  Finnick, Johanna, and Beetee were both in on the plan, but Katniss and Peeta were not told any of it.  She finds out that while she lives, the revolution lives.  She is the mockingjay – the symbol of the rebellion.  She also finds out that Peeta was picked up by the Capitol along with Johanna and Enobaria.  She freaks and is drugged and put back in the little hospital on the hovercraft.  Gale is somehow there and comes to see her.  He tells her that both Prim and her mother are alive.  He got them out of District 12 in time before the firebombs.  Katniss asks, “They’re not in District 12?” and he says softly, “Katniss, there is no District 12.”

Oh my gosh! That’s so horrible! I can’t believe District 12 was destroyed.  What about all of the people in there?  I mean, Gale made it sound like not everyone got out in time.  And what about Peeta!  The Capitol is going to just torture him and he doesn’t know any information.  They might even use Peeta as bait or something to catch and kill Katniss.  That is so intense.  He better not die, because I would not be very happy if that happened.  Over all, I really liked that book.  It wasn’t all about the Games because it was more of the start of a revolution, but it did have the Games in there.  I also really liked the new characters in this book.  I kind of wish there was more of Gale in this book and the first book.  But I think he’ll probably be in a lot of the third book because that has to be about the rebellion.  I wonder what role Katniss will play in the rebellion.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 298- 367

In chapter 21, they run away from the strange fog, but Peeta has to be carried by Finnick because it affects their nervous system. Mags cannot keep going on with them, so she dies in the fog. They escape the fog and are then attacked by monkeys. Before one of the monkeys attacks Peeta, one of the tributes from District 6, a drug addict, throws herself in front of the monkey to save him.  

In chapter 22, the District 6 tribute is killed by the monkey. Their skin starts to become infected because of the fog, and Haymitch sends them something to heal them. They make camp at the beach, where Johanna finds them. She has Beetee and Wiress with her, and Wiress keeps saying “tick tock, tick tock.” Johanna tells Katniss that she got them for her, in order to be in their alliance. Katniss figures out from Wiress’ tick-tocking that the arena is a big clock.

In chapter 23, they realize that each of the twelve sections of the arena has a different challenge for them to face. They try to figure out what horror is in each section, and take time to regroup and strategize.  During this time, Wiress unfortunately dies.  Then Katniss hears a scream coming from the jungle that sounds like her sister’s scream.

In chapter 24, Katniss runs and tries to find her sister, only to discover that it’s a jabberjay that is only mimicking her sister’s voice. Finnick finds her and tells her it’s not real, but then he hears a jabberjay that sounds like a girl that he likes named Annie. Katniss hear’s Gale’s jabberjay next, and they suffer for a while until the hour ends. Finnick and Peeta and Katniss talk and bond when they get back to their camp.

In chapter 25, they get up and strategize more. Beetee comes up with a really complicated plan that has something to do with the tree that gets struck with lightening every time the clock strikes 12.

I think the arena in this book is really cool.  I really like how it’s a clock so they have to figure out when and where each “attack” will be.  I think it kind of funny that Katniss is really confused about the environment.  All she’s ever seen was forest, but now she is in a jungle and it’s completely new to her.  She and Peeta don’t even know what monkeys are.  I also like the fact that they have an alliance.  I loved her alliance with Ruth in the first book, but that didn’t last very long.  And Katniss and Peeta have always really been together ever since the first reaping.  So this is the first time that there is actually a group working together for a common goal – to stay alive.  It going to be weird though, when all the other tributes are dead and they will have to start killing each other.  I will definitely not like it when the alliance has to break.  But I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens.

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 218- 297

In chapter 16, Katniss and Peeta train for the Games.  Haymitch tells them to make friends because they’ll need more allies this time around.  He tells them to make their own pack and choose who they like – who might be of some use to them.  When Katniss is at the knot-tying station, Finnick comes up to her and shows off, so she moves to another station. She meets the two tributes from District 6: Wiress and Beetee. They’re very strange, but she likes them because they seem nice. They see the Gamemakers and Katniss sees that Plutarch Heavensbee is the Head Gamemaker this year. Just above his head, Wiress and Beetee show Katniss that you can see a forcefield in between the Gamemakers and them. They tell her that most forcefields have a spot where you can penetrate them. During dinner, she talks with Peeta and he tells her that Johanna nicknamed Wiress and Beetee “Nuts” and “Bolts.” They meet up with some other tributes, including an elderly woman from District 4 named Mags. Katniss decides that she wants Mags on her team as well as Nuts and Bolts. Then they do the individual lessons, where they show the Gamemakers what they can do. I’m not going to say what Katniss and Peeta do, but it’s really intense.

In chapter 17, they talk about what they did for the Gamemakers. Then they see their training scores. They both pull a 12. Next, they have their interviews. I won’t say what goes on, but at the end of Katniss’ interview, Cinna has somehow managed to turn her dress into a mockingjay.

In chapter 18, during Peeta’s interview with the news, he shows Katniss up and tells the world that Katniss is pregnant, which is definitely not true. The crowd goes wild and people cry. At the end, each of the tributes hold hands and stand in one unbroken line, the first public show of unity among the districts since the dark days. Katniss gets ready to go into the games. Cinna is with her and gives her a prep talk before she is taken to the games, but just before she leaves, he is attacked and mugged by Capitol people, and taken away.

In chapter 19, the games begin. The tributes are on twelve spokes, each with two tributes on them, in water. They have to swim to the island where the cornucopia is. The cornucopia is filled with food, weapons, and other supplies. Finnick and Katniss cross each other and he tells her that they are allies, and he has the mockingjay wristband that Haymitch had. Katniss reluctantly agrees with him. They help Peeta and Mags and go find shelter away from the cornucopia. While walking through the jungle, Peeta unexpectedly hits the forcefield that surrounds the arena and is shot backwards onto the ground. Katniss listens for his heartbeat but just hears silence.

In chapter 20, Katniss freaks out because she thinks Peeta is dead. Finnick gives Peeta mouth-to-mouth and saves his life. They survive for a while. They find a way to roast meat by throwing it on the forcefield, because when it comes back, its cooked. When they can’t find water, Haymitch sends them a spial, which they stick in a tree to get water from. Then a fog comes and it has a weird smell, and then the team finds out that it blisters them when it touches their skin.

Wow, this is going really fast! This is a lot faster than the first book.  In the first book, there would be a whole chapter of Katniss just searching for water or something.  In this book, like 8 different things are happening in one chapter!  It’s only the first or second day, and yet so much has gone on in the Games and a lot of people have died.  I really like Finnick, especially because he saved Peeta.  He’s actually nice and not arrogant as he first appeared to be.  I like how Haymitch sort of just put him in Katniss and Peeta’s alliance.

I am so glad that last week is over.  It was such a busy week!  I had an AP test on Friday, the SAT on Saturday, dress rehersals all week until 9 each night, and then the musical Fri, Sat, and Sun.  Thank goodness its all done!  This show choir video really reflects how I feel now that its a new week.  (Plus I just love this song and its done by one of my favorite groups)

Anthology Project

Theme: Stars/Space

Poems:
"Winter Stars" by Sara Teasdale
"Naming the Stars" by Joyce Sutphen
"To the Moon" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
"The Sound of the Sun" by George Bradley
"Silent, Silent Night" by William Blake
"Bright Star, Would I were Steadfast as Thou Art" by John Keats
"The Starlight Night" by Gerard Manley Hopkins
"The House of the Sun" by Donald Davidson
"The Pieces That Fall to Earth" by Kay Ryan

Video poem:
"My Star" by Robert Browning

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 164- 218

In chapter 12, Katniss and Haymitch talk. Katniss has a photo shoot for her wedding dresses. Then President Snow comes on the television and talks about the Quarter Quell. When the laws for the games were made, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a “Quarter Quell.” On the twenty-fifth anniversary, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it. On the fiftieth anniversary, every district was required to send twice as many tributes. Now, for the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors. Katniss understands what it means: District 12 only has three existing victors to choose from, one female and two males, so she is going back into the arena.

In chapter 13, Katniss breaks down because she has to go back to the games. She goes to Haymitch and they get drunk. Peeta gets rid of the liquor. He talks to them and tells them that Effie is going to send them recordings of the living victors and that they are going to put on some weight to get strong and start acting like Careers. They train intensely for the games. On the day of the Reaping, Katniss is the only piece of paper for the girls so she gets chosen immediately. Then Effie picks Haymitch’s name, but Peeta volunteers to take his place. Finally, they leave District 12 without getting to say goodbye to their families and friends.

In chapter 14, Haymitch and Katniss decide that they will try to protect Peeta this time. They watch the videos of the past Hunger Games. Then Peeta and Katniss secretly watch the Hunger Games that Haymitch won back in the day. I won’t say how they went because I don’t want to spoil it (but it was intense).

In chapter 15, they get ready for the opening ceremonies. Cinna dresses Katniss in a vicious and killer-like costume made to look like deadly fire, because that’s her trademark. Cinna tells her to look straight ahead as if the entire audience is beneath her notice. Before the ceremonies begin, she meets some of the other previous victors, including Finnick Odair, who is very sexy. Peeta and Katniss decide to hold hands again when they are in the chariots, but they are angry at the Capitol. They are portrayed as star-crossed lovers from District 12 who suffered so much and enjoyed so little of the rewards of their victory. They don’t seek the fans’ favor, grace them with their smiles, or cast their kisses, and are unforgiving. After the ceremonies, they meet Johanna Mason, another victor. When they get up to their rooms, they find that Darius, the peace-keeper from District 12, is their new Avox. Sucks for him.

Wow, that’s really sucks! I can’t believe she has to go back into the Games again! Making the old victors go back to the Games was no accident.  President Snow obviously picked that Quarter Quell just because of Katniss and the uprisings that are taking place.  This is the first time Katniss has really freaked out and she totally loses it.  I would too if I had endured the Games once and then found out that I had to go back to them.  It is literally Katniss’s worst nightmare.  I’m about half-way through the book now, so the Games must be shorter this time because they took up the entire previous book.  I wonder what Katniss and Peeta’s strategy will be now that they are acting like Careers.  It’s interesting that Peeta is all set on making sure Katniss wins, while Katniss and Haymitch are set on having Peeta live (which he is not aware of).  They are at a disadvantage in a way because they will be the youngest tributes this time.  However, that can also be in their favor because they will be strong and their heads have been in the Games recently.  It’s going to be interesting, though horrible, to see how the Games play out.

This show choir video is from Los Alamitos from this year.  They did a Harry Potter themed show, and it is completely amazing!  It's combining two of my favorite things: show choir and Harry Potter. :)

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 90- 163

In chapter 7, Katniss meets Gale out in the woods by a lake.  She tells him how President Snow personally threatened to have him killed and both of their families and asks him to run away with her.  He says he will and he tells her he loves her.  She is totally taken back by this and says “I know,” and then tells him that she can’t think about anyone that way now because she is too afraid.  She says that maybe if they could get somewhere safe, she would be different.  He is disappointed, but still agrees to run away.  Then, she accidentally says something about the uprising in District Eight.  Gale is affected immediately and thinks that they have to join the fight.  He has always hated the Capitol and has always wanted there to be a rebellion.  Now that it’s finally begun, he refuses to go with her.  They get into an argument and he leaves.  When Katniss gets back to the town, she runs into Peeta.  She asks him if he will run away with her.  He says that he will go, but he doesn’t think that she will.  They are talking when they hear a strange noise coming from the square – a whistling, the sound of an impact, the intake of breath from a crowd.  When she breaks through to the cleared space in the square, she sees Gale.  His wrists are bound to a wooden post and the wild turkey he illegally shot in the woods hangs above him.  He is being whipped by a man in the Head Peacekeeper uniform who is new to District 12.

In chapter 8, Katniss cries, “No!” and throws herself directly between the whip and Gale.  She takes the full force of the whip across the left side of her face.  Haymitch yells, “Hold it!” and trips over a Peacekeeper lying on the ground.  It’s Darius, a Peacekeeper who was always friendly to Katniss.  He is knocked out with a huge lump on his forehead.  Haymitch yells at the new Peacekeeper and tells him that she has a photo shoot next week modeling wedding dresses.  The man recognizes her, but says that she interrupted the punishment of a confessed criminal.  Haymitch tells him that it is a huge problem and that he will be calling the Capitol.  When he asks what business is it of hers, Peeta tells him that Gale is her cousin and she is his fiancée, so if he wants to get to Gale, he will have to get through both of them.  The villagers around tell him that, for a first offense, the required number of lashes has been dispensed – unless his sentence is death, which they would carry out by firing squad.  He lets them go and they take Gale to Katniss’s mother, who is a healer.  There, Gale’s crewmates Bristel and Thom piece together the story of what happened.  The new Head Peacekeeper is Romulus Thread.  By the time Katniss showed up, he’d been lashed at least forty times.  He passed out around thirty.  After about twenty lashes, Darius stepped in, saying that was enough.  He grabbed Thread’s arm and Thread hit him in the head with the butt of the whip.  Katniss’s mom fixes Gale up.  Katniss does some rethinking and thinks that the people in the district may be right to rebel.  When he comes to, she tells him that she’s not going anywhere.  She’s going to stay right there and cause all kinds of trouble.  Gale says, “Me, too.”

In chapter 9, Peeta wakes her up and says that he’ll look after Gale.  She starts saying, “About what I said yesterday, about running…” and he says, “I know. There’s nothing to explain.”  He tells her to go the bed.  When Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch meet up, Katniss says that she wants to start an uprising.  Haymitch tells her that it won’t work.  They come to the square and see that a lot has changed.  Peacekeepers, in white uniforms, march on the cleanly swept cobblestones.  Along the rooftops, more of them occupy nests of machine guns.  And an official whipping post, several stockades, and a gallows are set up in the center of the square.  They can see some streets away the Hob burning and going up in smoke.  They go check on their families.  The woods, of course, are absolutely forbidden, but one morning Katniss decides she has to get out for a few hours.  She makes it to the lake and hears an unmistakable click of a weapon behind her.  She spins around drawing back an arrow when the woman in the white Peacekeeper uniform drops her weapon, cries, “Stop!” and holds something out to Katniss in her hand.  It is a small while circle of flat bread with an image clearly stamped in the center – it’s her mockingjay.

In chapter 10, Katniss asks what it is and what does it mean.  A second woman appears behind her and says “It means we’re on your side.”  The two women are Twill and Bonnie from District Eight.  They stole the uniforms from the factory.  They are headed for District Thirteen.  Katniss is confused because District 13 got blown off the map, but they tell her that it got blown off the map seventy-five years ago.  Katniss takes them into the little cottage by the lake and cooks them some food.  Then they tell their story.  Katniss asks what they expect to find in District 13.  Every year the Capitol shows footage of District 13 which is nothing but rubble.  They say that the Capitol has been using the same footage for as long as anyone in District 8 can remember.  They say that if she looks very carefully when they show the Justice Building, up in the far right-hand corner there is a glimpse of a mockingjay as it flies by – the same one every time.  Back home, they think that the Capitol keeps reusing the old footage because it can’t show what’s really there now.  They think the people moved underground when everything on the surface was destroyed and that the people of District 13 managed to survive.  They think that the Capitol leaves them alone because, before the Dark Days, District 13’s principal industry was nuclear development.  When Katniss leaves, she thinks about what has happened.  “It means we’re on your side.”  That’s what Bonnie said.  Katniss questions what side, if she is unwittingly the face of the hoped-for rebellion, if the mockingjay on her pin became the symbol of resistance.  She stashes her weapons and then finds that the fence is alive with electricity.

In chapter 11, she climbs a tree and is able to jump over the fence, but she hurts her left heel and tailbone.  When she gets home, two Peacekeepers are standing in the doorway to her kitchen.  The woman remains impassive, but Katniss catches the flicker of surprise on the man’s face.  She is unanticipated.  They know that she was in the woods and should be trapped there now.  They say that Peacekeeper Thread sent them with a message for her and her mother adds that they’ve been waiting for hours.  Katniss knows they’ve been waiting for her to fail to return – to confirm she got electrocuted by the fence or trapped in the woods so they could take her family in for questioning.  They ask where she has been.  She crosses into the kitchen, forcing herself to use her foot normally, and says “Easier to ask where I haven’t been.”  Haymitch and Peeta are there playing chess and ask where she hasn’t been.  They have a little chat.  When she looks over at the Peacekeepers, the man’s smiling but the woman is unconvinced and asks what’s in her bag.  She is hoping for game or wild plants, but Katniss bought bandages and candy before she got home as an alibi.  She talks with her family and then looks at the Peacekeepers as if she’s suddenly remembered they’re there.  She asks what the message is for her.  The woman says that Head Peacekeeper Thread wanted Katniss to know that the fence surrounding District 12 will now have electricity 24 hours a day.  Katniss asks, “Didn’t it already?”  None of this has gone as planned for the Peacekeepers, but they have no further orders so they leave.  She tells her family that she was injured because she slipped and fell on some ice.  Her mom fixes her up and then Katniss talks to Peeta.  She takes some sleep syrup and then before she falls asleep, she asks Peeta to stay with her.  She hears him whisper a word back, but she doesn’t quite catch it.  For the next few days, she gets to relax.  Peeta comes everyday and begins to help her work on her family book of herbs.  It’s composed of page after page of ink drawings of plants with descriptions of their medical uses.  Her father had added a section of edible plants that was Katniss’s guidebook to keeping her family alive after his death.  The quiet, absorbing work helps take her mind off of her troubles.  One day, on the TV, they cut to what is supposed to be live footage of a female reporter, encased in a protective suit, standing in front of the ruins of the Justice Building in 13.  Through her mask, she reports that unfortunately a study has just today determined that the mines of District 13 are still too toxic to approach.  But just before they cut back to the main newscaster, Katniss sees the unmistakable flash of that same mockingjay’s wing.  The reporter has simply been incorporated into the old footage.  She’s not in District 13 at all – which begs the question, What is?

Sorry, that was a lot. But a lot of important things happened in those chapters.  I think it’s really cool that District 13 is coming into the series.  It was just barely mentioned in the first chapter of The Hunger Games, so I never really thought much about it until now.  The new policies and new Peacekeepers definitely show the change that is happening just because Katniss defied the Capitol.  I think it is cool that the Mockingjay is a symbol of hope now.  Although, that puts a lot of pressure on Katniss.  Whatever she does will affect the nation now.  I can’t wait to see where this is going.

I read an article called "Quality Time, Redefined."  It was about technology and how families may be in the same room together, but with everyone on a laptop, iPad, iPod, or watching TV, they aren't really together.  It also stated that "nearly 60 percent of American families with children own two or more computers, and more than 60 percent of those have either a wired or wireless network to connect to the Internet, according to studies by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. A third of all Americans log on from home multiple times a day, nearly twice the number that did so in 2004."  That is a really huge difference.  Family time is spent more with technology than with each other.  Some people have to e-mail their spouses in order to talk to them because everyone is so involved with their technology.  I think this is a little frightening and sad.  The new technology today can be useful as long as we don't let it take over our life.  I believe that families need to be less "wired."

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 45- 89

In chapter 4, Peeta and Katniss talk and they decide to just be friends again.  Peeta wants to get to know her more so he asks what her favorite color is.  Katniss’s is green and Peeta’s is sunset orange.  Then he shows her his paintings.  He painted scenes from the Games that he sees in his nightmares.  She knows exactly what he is talking about because she has had nightmares of the Games every night.  They arrive at District 11 and find its rules are more harshly enforced.  The mayor presents them and they give a little speech.  Then at the end, Katniss gives her thanks to the tributes of District 11, Rue and Thresh, and also for sending her bread during the Games.  Then, from somewhere in the crowd, someone whistles Rue’s four-note mockingjay tune.  She sees that it is a wizened old man.  Then, every person in the crowd presses the three middle fingers of their left hand against their lips and extends them to Katniss.  It’s the sign from District 12, the last good-bye she gave Rue in the arena.  Then, Peeta and Katniss are lead off into the Justice Building.  Katniss remembers that she forgot her flowers and goes back to get them.  Since they stopped, they got to see the whole thing that happened next.  A pair of Peacekeepers dragged the old man who whistled to the top of the steps, forced him to his knees before the crowd, and put a bullet through his head.

In chapter 5, Katniss and Peeta are pushing into the Justice Building.  There, they tell Haymitch, Effie, Portia, and Cinna what happened.  They hear two more shots.  Haymitch quickly takes them upstairs into the dome of the Justice Building.  There, Katniss explains everything to Peeta – about President Snow, the unrest in the districts, and how the whole country is in jeopardy because of her trick with the berries.  He is upset that they have been keeping secrets from him.  They promise to make sure Peeta is fully informed from now on.  They then go on to visit the other districts and finally make it to the Capitol.  In their interview with Caesar Flickerman, Peeta proposes to Katniss.  She, of course, accepts, and the Capitol audience is hysterical.  President Snow makes a surprise visit to congratulate them.  When she catches his eye to ask if she pulled it off, he gives an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

In chapter 6, she sees the end of hope and the beginning of the destruction of everything she holds dear in the world.  But instead of feeling utter despair, she feels a sense of relief.  She is relieved that she can give up this game, that the question of whether she can succeed in this venture has been answered – even if that answer is no – and that if desperate times call for desperate measures, then she is free to act as desperately as she wishes.  She gets the idea of running away into the wild with her family, Gale and his family, Peeta, and Haymitch.  They then have a huge feast at the Capitol.  Katniss gets introduced to Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamemaker.  They then go back to District 12 for a dinner at Mayor Undersee’s house and a victory rally the next day.  Katniss goes to Mayor Undersee’s house to see his daughter Madge, who is now friends with Katniss.  She sticks her head into the mayor’s study to say hello, but he is not there.  The television is on though, showing her and Peeta at the Capitol party.  Just as she is leaving the room, she hears a beeping noise and turn to see “UPDATE ON DISTRICT 8” flashing on the TV.  She knows this is not for her eyes, but is something intended only for the mayor.  She then witnesses a mob scene: the square’s packed with screaming people, their faces hidden with rags and homemade masks, throwing bricks, buildings burning, and Peacekeepers shooting into the crowd killing at random.  She’s never seen anything like it, but she can only be witnessing one thing.  This is what President Snow calls an uprising.

Oh shoot! I guess there might a revolution after all.  I’m all for that.  They desperately need a new government system and some civil rights.  I wonder if Katniss will keep trying to pretend to be in love and try to cool things off, or if she will join the uprisings.  I think that there would have been a revolution anyway without her little berry incident.  I just think that she was the spark that lit the flame.  I really hope no harm come to her family or Gale - especially her little sister, because I really like Prim.

Reading – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, p. 1- 44

In chapter 1, Katniss is enjoying life back in District 12 when the time for the victory tours come.  At the end of the chapter, Katniss finds President Snow in her house.

In chapter 2, Katniss talks with President Snow, a white-haired man with snakelike eyes who smells like roses and blood.  The first thing they do is to agree not to lie to each other.  He tells her that he has a problem – one that started the moment she pulled out the poisonous berries.  In several of the districts, people viewed her little trick as an act of defiance, not an act of love.  And if a girl from District 12 can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to stop them from doing the same? What is to prevent an uprising?  President Snow threatens her family and Gale.  He wants her to convince everyone that she is in love with Peeta.  The tour will be her only chance to turn things around.  He tells her to aim higher in case she falls short – meaning he wants her to convince him.

In chapter 3, her prep team comes to get her ready for the tour.  They are also excited because since she is now a victor, she gets to be a mentor in the next Hunger Games.  This is the year of the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games, and that means it’s also a Quarter Quell.  They occur every 25 years, marking the anniversary of the districts’ defeat with over-the-top celebrations and, for extra fun, some miserable twist for the tributes.  For the second Quarter Quell, the Capitol demanded that twice the number of tributes be provided for the arena – that was the year Haymitch won.  The old team – Peeta, Katniss, Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia – get on the train and leave for the victory tours.  On the train, Katniss tells Haymitch everything that has happened with President Snow and how they’re all going to die if she fails.  She asks if he could just help her get through the trip, but he tells her it’s not just this trip.  He tells her that even if she pulls it off, they’ll be back in another few months for the Games in which she and Peeta will be mentors now and every year from here on out.  And every year, they’ll revisit the romance and broadcast the details of their private life, and she’ll never, ever be able to do anything but live happily ever after with Peeta.  The full impact of what he’s saying hits her.  She will never have a life with Gale, or never be allowed to live alone.  She will have to be forever in love with Peeta.  If she wants to keep those she loves alive and stay alive herself, she’ll have to marry Peeta.

That is really unfortunate for Katniss.  To be forced into something like marriage would be really horrible.  Although I do really like Peeta and I kind-of hope they get back together, I like Gale a lot.  I’ve thought from the beginning of the series that Katniss and Gale would be together, but now it’s of course a complicated love triangle of sorts.  I wonder who she will choose.  I also think the Quarter Quell will have something to do with this book because Katniss and Peeta will be mentors.

So, I just went and saw Memphis the musical.  It was the original broadway show that was made into a movie and it was playing in select theaters.  Lucky for me, one of the theaters was in Fort Wayne so I went to see it with some friends.  It was so cool!  It won 4 Tonys in 2010 including Best Musical.  Here is one of the songs which I really love:

Reading – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 346- 374

In chapter 26, they spit the berries out and flushed their mouths with water.  They can hear the roar of the crowd in the Capitol that’s playing live over the speakers.  The hovercraft materializes and they get taken up into it.  Peeta goes straight into surgery for his leg.  They are taken back to the Training Center.  She is a little crazy and wants to stay with Peeta, but she gets jabbed with a needle.  When she wakes, she is clean and in her old bed.  She also has several tubes attached to her arm.  When the redheaded Avox girl comes to bring her food, she asks if Peeta made it out alive.  The girl nods.  Katniss is relieved that Peeta is okay and it hits her that she can go home now to Prim and her mother and Gale.  When she is allowed to leave her room, she meets up with Effie, Haymitch, and Cinna.  She hugs them and asks where Peeta is.  Haymitch says that he’s fine and the Capitol wants to do their reunion live on air at the ceremony.  She goes with Cinna to get ready.  She is still the “girl on fire” in her yellow dress.  The sheer fabric softly glows and even the slight movement in the air sends a ripple up her body.  In the dress, she gives the illusion of wearing candlelight.  She looks very simply like a girl – a young, innocent, and harmless girl.  When she asks about it, Cinna says carefully that he thinks Peeta would like it better.  But it’s not about Peeta, it’s about the Capitol and the Gamemakers and the audience.  It’s a reminder that the Games are not quite finished.  She senses a warning in his reply.  When she is ready, she is taken into an area under the stage and put on a metal plate that will transport her upward.  Haymitch comes to talk to her and when they hug, he begins talking very fast and very quietly in her ear with her hair concealing his lips.  He tells her that she’s in trouble.  The word is that the Capitol’s furious about her showing them up in the arena.  He says that her only defense can be that she was so madly in love and she wasn’t responsible for her actions.  She asks if he told Peeta and he says that he doesn’t have to because Peeta’s already there.  She’s feels like she’s never been in such a dangerous place in her life.  In the arena, she could only die.  But now, Prim, her mother, Gale, the people of District 12, and everyone she cares about could be punished if she can’t pull this off.

In chapter 27, Katniss reunites with Peeta at the Closing Ceremony in front of the Capitol.  During the ceremony, everyone watches a 3 hour recap of the Games.  Afterwards, President Snow crowns them as the victors.  Then Caesar Flickerman interviews Katniss and Peeta.  The next day, Katniss and Peeta get on the train back to District 12.  They barely have time to say good-bye to Cinna and Portia, but they’ll see them in a few months when they tour the districts for a round of victory ceremonies.  It’s the Capitol’s way of reminding people that the Hunger Games never really go away.  As she changes into normal clothes on the train, she begins to transform back into herself – just a girl who lives in the Seam, who hunts in the woods, and who trades in the Hob.  When the train makes a stop for fuel, Katniss and Peeta take a walk along the track.  She tells Peeta about how the Captiol didn’t like their stunt with the berries and how Haymitch has been coaching her so she wouldn’t make things worse.  Peeta realizes how she could communicate with Haymitch and that the way she acted was all for the Games.  He becomes very cold to her then.  She is really confused about her feelings when they finally arrive back home.

That was a little sad.  I really wanted Katniss and Peeta to stay together.  Well, hopefully they will make up in the next book.  I don’t like the Capitol at all.  They are really cruel and I think there should be a rebellion or something because it would be just terrible to live in that world.  Over all, I really liked the book.  I thought it had a lot of action and mystery and romance at the same time.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because I really enjoyed it.

Reading - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 303- 345

In chapter 23, Peeta and Katniss talk about Haymitch.  They conclude that he won the Games because he outsmarted the others.  When the anthem plays, Peeta watches and sees that Thresh is dead.  Now there are only 4 tributes left: Peeta, Katniss, Cato, and Foxface.  Katniss and Peeta go out hunting, but Peeta is really loud so they decide to split up.  Katniss hunts and Peeta gathers some berries and roots.  When they get back, she notices that someone has eaten some of the food.  She thinks Peeta ate, but he was collecting berries down by the stream.  She notices that they aren’t Ruth’s berries, but she has seen them before.  She remembers her father telling her not to eat those berries.  They are called nightlock and that she’d be dead before they reached her stomach.  Just then, the cannon fires and a hovercraft appears a hundred yards away and picks up Foxface.  Peeta thinks Cato has killed her, but Katniss tells him that he killed Foxface with the berries.

In chapter 24, Katniss explains to Peeta how Foxface stole the food from the supply pile before she blew it up and how she tried to take enough to stay alive but not enough that anyone would notice.  She wouldn’t have questioned the safely of berries that they were preparing to eat.  She tells him that the berries are called nightlock.  He feels bad, but it’s good because they are one step closer to home.  Before he gets rid of the berries, Katniss fills a leather pouch with a few handfuls.  She thinks that if it fooled Foxface, then it might fool Cato as well.  They make a fire, cook the meat, and eat.  Then they go back to the cave.  The next day, they think that it is probably going to be their last day in the arena.  They find that the stream has been drained and that the Gamemakers probably want to drive them to the lake.  It’s evening when they make it to the lake.  They wait a little while, and then Cato smashes through the trees and runs straight for them.  Katniss tries to shoot him with an arrow, but he has some sort of body armor.  He runs right by them.  He hasn’t been running toward them, but from something.  Katniss sees the first creature leap onto the plain from the woods and as she’s turning away, she sees another half dozen join it.  She runs after Cato with no thought of anything but to save herself.

In chapter 25, the creatures are mutations – huge wolves that can land and balance easily on their hind legs.  One wolf waves the rest of the pack forward with its front paw as though it had a wrist.  Cato has made a beeline for the Cornucopia and they follow him.  The tributes climb the Cornucopia.  At the top, Katniss can see the mutts up close.  They have four inch and clearly razor-sharp claws.  Each has a thick coat and the colors vary from jet black to blond.  There is something unsettling about the mutts, but Katniss can’t put her finger on it.  One of them, a good-sized mutt with silky waves of blond fur leaps onto the horn.  Then Katniss figures it out.  The green eyes glowering at her are unlike any dog or wolf she’s ever seen.  They are unmistakably human.  That revelation has barely registered when she notices the collar with the number 1 inlaid with jewels and the whole horrible thing hits her.  The blonde hair, the green eyes, the number… it’s Glimmer.  Katniss shrieks and shoots the mutt.  She examines the pack, taking in the various sizes and colors.  Peeta asks Katniss what it wrong and she tells him that it’s them, all of the other tributes.  Peeta gasps in recognition.  They try to shoot the mutts down and in the process they have a confrontation with Cato who has regained his strength.  I can’t say anything else because I don’t want to spoil it, but Cato ends up getting mauled to death by the mutts.  Finally the cannon fires.  A hole opens in the plain and the remaining mutts bound into it, disappearing as the earth closes above them.  They wait for the hovercraft to take Cato’s remains and for the trumpets of victory that should follow, but nothing happens.  They get down from the horn and go to the lake.  A hovercraft then appears and takes Cato’s body away and Katniss thinks that now they will take her and Peeta, now they can go home.  But again there’s no response.  Then, Claudius Templesmith’s voice booms into the arena: “Greeting to the final contestants of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games.  The earlier revision has been revoked.  Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed.  Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.”  Katniss stares at Peeta in disbelief as the truth sinks in.  They never intended to let both of them live.  It has all been devised by the Gamemakers to guarantee the most dramatic showdown in history.  Peeta tells her to kill him but she won’t.  He tells her that they both know that there has to be a victor and it can only be one of them.  Katniss then has an epiphany.  Yes, they have to have a victor.  Without a victor, the whole thing would blow up in the Gamemakers’ faces.  They’d have failed the Capitol – might possibly even be executed.  If she and Peeta were to both die, or if the Gamemakers thought they were going to die… She gets out the pouch and tells Peeta to trust her.  She then pours a few spoonfuls of berries into his palm and then into her own palm.  She says, “On the count of three,” and they stand, backs pressed together with their empty hands locked tight.  She tells Peeta to hold them out so everyone can see.  Then they count down.  On “Three!” they put the berries into their mouths and the trumpets begin to blare.  The frantic voice of Claudius Templesmith shouts “Stop! Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you – the tributes of District Twelve!”

Wow, a lot happened in those 3 chapters.  I’m so glad that Katniss and Peeta both won!  That was a cool twist at the end with the berries.  I wonder what will happen to them now.  I seriously doubt that they will just be allowed to go home and live a normal life.  Plus, there are two more books after this one.  I thought the mutts were really disturbing.  I wonder if they actually had the other tributes eyes or if they were just made to look like them.

This video is SO awesome! For one thing, it's a Disney medley, and who doesn't love Disney?! Secondly, it's Nick Pitera, who is an awesome singer with an incredible range.  He can actually sing songs normally sung by women and sound just like them.  It's crazy.  So, I hope you like this video. :)

Reading - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 244- 302

In chapter 19, Katniss now knows that Peeta, who’s been wounded, is now her ally.  She thinks about how they are supposed to be “star-crossed lovers” and thinks that Peeta must have been playing that angle all along.  Looking back, Peeta, it turns out, has never been a danger to her.  She follows the river, trying to find Peeta.  She finds him camouflaged in the mud and plants along the river.  He is wounded pretty badly – Cato cut him on his left thigh. He can barely move.  It’s a miracle he’s still alive, actually.  Katniss washes him off, treats his wounds, and feeds him.  Finally, when Peeta’s able to stand, Katniss half-guides, half-carries him to a cave nearby.  Since they are supposed to be madly in love, she kisses him.  She steps outside and a parachute floats down from the sky with a pot of hot broth.  She realizes that Haymitch couldn’t be sending a clearer message: one kiss equals one pot of broth.  If she wants to keep Peeta alive, she has to give the audience something more to care about – romance.

In chapter 20, they manage to survive for a while in the cave.  She tends to his minor wounds and then she unwraps his leg.  It’s much worse.  There’s no more pus, but the swelling has increased and he now has blood poisoning.  Unchecked, it will kill him for sure.  They decide that they are just going to have to outlast the others.  Then, doctors will cure it back at the Capitol once they win.  When Katniss asks if he wants anything, he asks for her to tell him a happy story.  She tells him how she got Prim’s goat.  After her story, there is another announcement.  There will be a feast at the Cornucopia; however, this is no ordinary feast.  The announcer says “Each of you needs something desperately.  Each of you will find that something in a backpack marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn.  Think hard about refusing to show up.  For some of you, this is your last chance.”  Katniss needs something to heal Peeta’s leg, but as soon as it’s over, Peeta says, “No. You’re not risking your life for me.”  She promises that she won’t go, but she isn’t happy about it.  She goes down to the stream to wash up and get a parachute with sleep syrup.  That vial could knock Peeta out for a full day, and that’s more time than she needs.  She mashes some berries and adds the medicine.  He realizes that is syrup just as he takes the last spoonful.

In chapter 21, Katniss goes down to the feast.  I won’t tell what happens because I don’t want to spoil it.  But she gets the medicine and makes it back to the cave.  She jams the needle into Peeta’s arm.  Then, she falls over, unconscious.

In chapter 22, when Katniss wakes up, there is a thunder storm.  Peeta has bandaged her head wound and helps her get better.  They just focus on eating and staying alive.  She realizes that in order for Haymitch to send them food, she must continue her and Peeta’s romance.  (Note that Peeta does not know about this at all.)  They actually share a real romantic moment, during which they kiss and Katniss feels something stirring inside her chest.  Haymitch then sends them a feast.

All I can say is, “Awww!” That was a really sweet and cute romantic moment.  I really like the relationship that is developing between them.  I also think its clever how Haymitch and Katniss are sort of communicating in a way.  I think Peeta truly loves Katniss though.  I don’t think it’s just an act like she still does.

Reading - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 195- 244

In chapter 15, Katniss finally comes to her senses.  She thinks about how Peeta saved her life and she is confused.  After nursing herself back to health, she encounters Rue again and they form an alliance.  Rue then teaches her how to heal her stings.  They talk about their different districts.  Rue also tells Katniss about the Careers, who she has been spying on.  They have all the supplies and food from the Cornucopia.  Katniss asks what if they didn’t, what if the supplies were gone – how long would they last.  “I mean, it’s the Hunger Games, right?”  Rue says, “But, Katniss, they’re not hungry.”  For the first time, Katniss has a plan, an offensive plan.  She says, “I think we’re going to have to fix that, Rue.”

In chapter 16, they figure out a plan.  In the meantime, Katniss finds out that what Rue loves the most in the world is music – that’s why she loves Katniss’s mockingjay pin.  She tells Katniss how she’s usually the first to see the flag that signals quitting time, so she sings a little four-note run and the mockingjays spread it around the orchard.  That way, everyone knows to stop working.  She tells Katniss that her pin is how she decided that she could trust her.  Before they split up to complete the plan, Rue teaches Katniss her mockingjay signal.  If Katniss hears the mockingjays singing it, she’ll know that Rue is okay, only that she can’t get back right away.  The rest I won’t say, but Katniss ends up losing her hearing in one of her ears.  They do succeed though. 

In chapter 17, she goes to the place where she was supposed to meet Rue.  By late afternoon, Katniss goes to look for her.  A little while later, she hears Rue’s song from the mockingjays.  She figures that Rue has been singing to them recently so she must be somewhere close.  Katniss sings back and then she hears Rue scream.  Rue cries out for Katniss.  When Katniss breaks into the clearing, Rue is on the ground, hopelessly entangled in a net.  She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say Katniss’s name before the spear enters her body.

In chapter 18, Katniss shoots the boy from D1 before he can pull out the spear.  Katniss frees her from the net.  One look at the wound and she knows that it’s far beyond her capacity to heal.  Rue’s hand reaches out and Katniss clutches it.  Rue asks if she blew up the food and Katniss tells her yes.  She then says to Katniss, “You have to win.” Katniss tells her that she will - she’s going to win for both of them now.  Katniss stays with Rue.  Rue asks her to sing.  Katniss hasn’t sung since her father died, but she sings a song that she remembers.  The words promise that tomorrow will be more hopeful than this awful piece of time we call today.  Everything’s still and quiet.  Then, almost eerily, the mockingjays take up her song.  Rue’s cannon fires.  Rue’s death forces her to confront her own fury against the Capitol’s cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon them.  For the first time, Katniss understands what Peeta meant when he said that he wanted to be more than just a piece in their Games.  She gathers some wildflowers and slowly decorates Rue’s body in the flowers, covering the wound and wreathing her face and weaving her hair with bright colors.  She says goodbye and turns to go.  She hears the hovercraft behind her as she walks.  That night, Katniss finds the there are only 6 tributes left.  Then, there is an unexpected announcement.  There’s been a rule change in the Games.  Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive.  The news sinks in, and before she can stop herself, Katniss calls out Peeta’s name.

That was a rollercoaster of emotions for me.  I loved that Katniss and Rue were allies.  Rue is so cute and she just snuggled in next to Katniss when they slept and completely trusted her.  She had such interesting stories about her own district, 11 which does agriculture.  Most of all, I loved that she loved music.  Music is so great and I loved how she would sing to the mockingjays and they would pick up on her song.  It was really suspenseful when they did their plan to get rid of the Career’s food supply.  I had to read that part really fast to see what happened.  Then, I was really sad and upset when Rue died.  She was definitely one of my favorite characters.  I loved how Katniss sang her “to sleep” as she died and then decorated her with flowers.  But I started crying when Katniss did her District’s goodbye symbol (pressing her three middle fingers of her left hand against her lips and then holding them out in Rue’s direction).  It’s what the people of D12 did to Katniss at the reaping when she took Prim’s spot.  I actually had to stop, put my book down, and cry for a bit until I could start reading again.  It’s not the first time I’ve had to do that with books, but that shows that it touched me on an emotional level and I just love that.  But anyway, then when we found out that both Katniss and Peeta could live, I was really happy! This section was just great.

The cartoons, toys, stuff animals, and random furniture portray an animated, lighthearted tone of Pharrell Williams modern home. A good friend of Pharrell's created the term "kidalt," a combination of kid and adult, to describe Pharrell. This is a very fitting description of this house. The house is very modern with vibrant colors and interesting objects, such as a ball of carnival flowers, "Family Guy" posters, and a chair with human looking legs and feet. He seems to have a fun and silly sense of humor. The hugeness of the house, beautiful ocean view, and glass dome in his living room make me think that this is an extremely expensive house.

Reading - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, p. 148- 195

In chapter 11, the Games begin.  I can’t say much because I don’t want to ruin the plot, but she survives the first day.  Eleven other tributes aren’t as lucky.  She manages to get a backpack full of supplies, including a sleeping bag, from the Cornucopia.  She is sleeping in a tree when she hears some Careers talking beneath her.  They kill a girl who was foolish enough to start a fire.  Then, Katniss hears Peeta’s voice.

In chapter 12, Katniss almost falls out of the tree. She is so surprised that Peeta is with the Careers.  When Peeta goes to get something, she hears the Careers talking about him.  She finds out that the reason they haven’t killed him yet is because he is their best chance of finding her.  When they leave, she continues on searching for water.  She gets severely dehydrated and assesses her options: she would never make it to the lake, there’s not a cloud in the sky so rain is improbable, so her only option is to keep looking.  Then, another thought hits her – Haymitch could send her water.  Press a button and have it delivered to her in a silver parachute in minutes.  She knows she must have sponsors so she says “Water,” and waits but nothing comes.  She becomes distressed and eventually figures out that he is sending her a message.  There’s only one good reason Haymitch could be withholding water from her and that is because he knows she’s almost found it.  By afternoon, she thinks she’s going to die and collapses into mud.  Then she realizes that if there is mud, there must be water and sure enough, there is a pond 5 yards from where she fell.  She fills her flask with water and adds a few drops of iodine to purify it.  By the time the anthem plays, she feels remarkably better.  There are no faces on the huge screen above the arena, so no one died that day.  She falls asleep and a few hours later she wakes to find a wall of fire descending on her.

In chapter 13, she scrambles out of the tree and follow the rabbits and deer in running from the fire and smoke.  Katniss knows that this fire wasn’t an accident; it was made by the Gamemakers.  Things had been too quiet that day and the audience in the Capitol might be getting bored, claiming that these Games are verging on dullness, which is one thing the Games must not do. The fire is designed to flush the non-Careers out of that area and drive everyone together.  Then, fireballs start blasting at her.  She keeps zigzagging and diving and leaping to avoid the fireballs because she knows from watching previous Hunger Games that certain areas of the arena are rigged for certain attacks.  She just needs to get away from that section.  Unfortunately, however, a fireball skids across her right calf and crashes into the ground at her side.  She can hear Cinna’s voice saying, “Katniss, the girl who was on fire,” and imagines that the Gamemakers are having a good laugh over that one.  The attack is then over, but she now has server burns on her calf and hands and they are covered in blisters.  She finds a spring-fed pool and tries to treat her burns somewhat.  As evening begins to fall, she hears the Careers.  She picks a high tree and climbs up 20 feet.  All six Careers come, but they are heavier than her and can’t climb the tree.  They decide that since she’s not going anywhere, they will deal with her in the morning.  During the night, she sees a pair of eyes peer at her from the neighboring tree.  At first she thinks they are a possum’s eyes, but then she realizes that it is Rue, the little 12-year-old girl from 11, who is watching her silently from the branches.  Then, without even rustling a leaf, she points to something above Katniss’s head.

In chapter 14, Katniss realizes it’s a wasp nest that is about 15 feet above her.  More than that, they are one of the Capitol’s mutations, tracker jackers – killer wasps with a sting that raises a lump the size of a plum on contact.  Most people can’t tolerate more than a few stings and some die at once.  If you live, the hallucinations brought on by the venom have actually driven people to madness.  I’m not going to tell what happens next because I don’t want to spoil the plot.  But during the action, Katniss gets her first gift from a sponsor – really expensive burn medicine.  She also finds out the Rue has survived because she has been jumping from tree to tree.  The Careers flee to the lake.  Glimmer, District 1, dies and Katniss takes her bow and arrows.  Katniss is stung, but Peeta comes back and tells her to get up and run and then fights off Cato (D2) while she escapes.

That was really cool.  I didn’t think that she was going to find a way out of that situation, but she did.  Of course, she had some surprising help.  That was really cool that Rue just popped out of nowhere and basically saved her life.  I think I like Rue.  She’s a little mysterious, but I think it’s funny that she’s been jumping from tree to tree.  That’s probably why she got such a high score in training.  I also loved that Peeta came and saved Katniss.  I wonder if he cares for her after-all.  I hope he survived Cato because I think he is a very interesting character.