Sunday, November 23, 2014

Mockingjay Part 1 + the Miami International Book Fair

My weekend has been very bookish so far. And it feels so refreshingly good.

I usually see any Hunger Games movie the night before it officially opens, whether it's midnight or 8pm. This year, though, I had to wait to see it on Friday night since my best friend, who I always go with, couldn't do it the night before. So not only did I have an extra day of pent-up excitement, but this is MOCKINGJAY. Does anyone understand this? This is part one of the most heartbreaking, stress-inducing, soul-crushing books ever.


They included direct quotes from the book, skipped a few parts (and twisted them around), and even added a few things. Like the other two movies, Mockingjay Part 1 had "behind the scene" type of scenes, what I like to call "background scenes." In the books, it's solely told by Katniss's perspective so we don't know anything except for what she tells us and thinks. However, in the movies, they can't portray that so they add scenes from the Capitol's perspective, District 13's perspective, and even gives us further insight into scenes we didn't have. SPOILER-ish: In the book, when they go rescue Peeta, all we do is wait with Katniss and rejoice when they're found. In the movie, Katniss and all of us watch them break in. The whole audience grows more tense, even though we've read the books, because we're waiting for what they find and the suspense grows. Personally, I LOVED this. END OF SPOILER. 


I tried looking up Mockingjay gifs, but the really good ones (like with Peeta) are too spoilery in my opinion. If you've seen the latest trailer, you'll know how he looks, but I think seeing his transition progress is the best way to really FEEL. I don't want to rob you of that. It's also possible that my heart broke all over again and I was feeling super emotional while looking at those Peeta pictures and gifs. 

Again, I say, if you're "Team Gale" this is for you:

He's a jerk and you obviously haven't read the 2nd half of Mockingjay
I tried to ignore any comparisons or critiques I had and watch it from a moviegoer's perspective. But there was one thing that I loathed entirely: Jennifer Lawrence's wig. It wasn't so bad when she wore her hair in a style, but when it was just down, it distracted me. (The guy who sat in my row and laughed during tense, emotional scenes visiting District 12 anyone? and whose cellphone went off didn't help either. He can go have an unhappy life.) 

And then I met some amazing authors the next day. 

My sister, her friend, and I went to the Miami International Book Fair on Saturday. First, we sat in on Robin LaFevers and Kami Garcia's panel. I recorded LaFevers, but the quality didn't turn out well and I'm too lazy. Basically, she gave us a rundown of her books (Garcia, too). But it was really interesting to hear about how she came up with the idea. She found Brittany, which is a region of France, and its cultural and historical roots. Also, Anne of Brittany is pretty cool, and she talked about her influence with the series so I suggest researching her up. As for Kami, she was hilarious and I could've probably listened to her for a long time.

Shae and Robin meet. I snatch a selfie with her. 

Shae is Ms. Robin's assistant and after the signing, she took us to the author's suite (a big room filled with all the authors from the HUGE event) to talk. 

This doesn't even do it justice for how many people were in here
Then we said our goodbyes and got in line to have Maggie Stiefvater sign our books. 


An hour or so later, we listen to Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Melissa Marr talk for their panel. They completely captured my attention. I inwardly begged to listen to more because I'm so intrigued by Barnes' psychology brain and Marr's insight from her own personal situations. 

 AND SHE RECOGNIZED ME! 

 Afterwards, the guy who was in charge of the HarperCollins booth made me a deal and gave me a brand spankin' new hardcover of Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley (one of my 2014 favorites) for only $5. I hugged it all the way to the car.

My $5 favorite and the three signed books! 
I'm feeling overwhelmed with school (my tweets are proof) and I'm trying to take advantage of being home for about 10 days, but having two days devoted to books (even if it's a movie adapted from a book) was worth it. I thank my friends for dealing with my fangirling tendencies before, during, and after Mockingjay Part 1. And I thank my sister for brining me to the book fair.

Have you seen Mockingjay Part 1 yet? Have you read any of the books above? 

8 comments:

  1. This is so awesome, Summer! I'm glad you and your sister got to meet so many authors and wow! That 5$ thing is insane, but so awesome! Thanks for sharing this with us, girl! <33 Hope school will get better soon :)

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  2. This sounds so exciting! I had no idea you were going to this Miami International Book Fair - or that it was even a thing - but you're so lucky that you got to meet all those authors and snag a hardcover for five dollars. (I wish books were always as cheap as they are at conventions and festivals.) And it's great that you liked Mockingjay so much - I was nervous about it since I didn't love the book and since it's in two parts (which never ends well, in my experience), but your stamp of approval makes me feel better. Enjoy the rest of your time at home! :)

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  3. I saw Mockingjay yesterday and liked it okay. I mean, it's my least favorite book of the three, and the first half of the book is worse than the second... sooooo I kinda figured I wouldn't LOVE the movie. They could have easily condensed this into 45 minutes and done just one movie, but oh well. I thought JLAW did a good job (but yes that wig was very distracting omg) and Elizabeth Banks as Effie was awesome. Peeta's physical transformation was easily the most memorable part. :(

    P.S. MAGGIE. I love her!

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  4. Eeeekk this sounds like the best weekend ever Summer! I tried getting tickets for Mockingjay this weekend, buy unfortunately our cinema was fully booked, so I'm going to try again for this weekend, I look forward to comparing notes! And how awesome does this book event sound? I wish we had more like this over here, where loads of authors attended! Thanks for sharing a great recap with us, I hope you enjoy the rest of your time at home!

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  5. Sounds like a great weekend! Feeling just a wee bit jealous that you got to meet Robin and Jennifer. And if Rites of Passage is one of your favorites of 2014, I really ought to read it soon...

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  6. Fun fun fun meeting authors and getting autographs and cheap books! So yes, I totally loved the rescuing Peeta scene! I remembered so little from the book that it was hard to remember what had changed, but I don't have any complaints about the movie except I did want the exchange with Haymitch and Katniss about both of them leaving Peeta in the arena. But maybe it comes later? I thought it was early on but I might be remembering wrong.

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  7. Ah! Sounds like you had such a FUN bookish weekend. I just got to watch Mockingjay Part 1 this past weekend, and I enjoyed it way more than I expected to. I really admire the acting caliber of most of the actors involved, and the way we were given extra insight as to what was happening AWAY from Katniss (as you pointed out) was really good. Also, I'm totally jealous you met Robin LaFevers! I love her series so, so much <3

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  8. I'm severely late, but congrats on a completely AMAZING weekend! It sounds like the perfect break from school. I hope the rest of the semester goes well. Take it easy and, as the South Jersey folk say, "Git 'er done!" ;)

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