I’m With the Mockingjay

This past weekend once again found my family and me in Lubbock.  You may or may not know this, but Lubbock and I… Well, we don’t really get along.  For some reason, every time I go out there, I have the worst luck.  I get abandoned at an airport, I get sick, the fire alarm goes off at my hotel (because there’s actually a fire), I get snowed in… I don’t know what it is.  Lubbock just doesn’t seem to like me.

I wasn’t going to let that get me down, however, because this weekend, my sister starred in an opera (as a demented eight-year-old) called The Turn of the Screw.  Y’all, this was a seriously creepy show with some incredibly talented singers.  We were all blown away by the performances. And I loved it, of course, because it was a ghost story!

As much as I enjoyed watching my sister act possessed, I think we were both really looking forward to the next morning, when we finally got to see the final installment in the Hunger Games series: Mockingjay Part 2.

Let me just say that I think they could have made Mockingjay into one exceptional movie and it would have been perfect.  I’m not really a fan of this new splitting the last book in a series into two movies.  But the Hunger Games movies are by far the best book-to-movie adaptations I’ve ever seen, so I can’t complain too much.  This last movie did not disappoint.

So, in the style of all my other movie reviews, I present to you… Mockingjay Part 2!

*** MAJOR SPOILERS. IT’S A BOOK. I’M NOT HOLDING BACK. ***

• OMG I’m going to cry so much.
• Peeta!  Poor baby!  😥
• Aw, Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I wish you were still alive.
• Commander Paylor!  Woo!  You go girl!  (And we all know you get to be President in the end so BOOYAH)!
• Hey…. It’s Brienne from Game of Thrones.
• It’s kind of scary how accurately this parallels what’s going on in today’s world.  I feel like our politicians have done just as good a job of dividing our country as the Capitol did dividing Panem.
• Aw, wedding!
• Finnick… 😥
• You know, I named Sam Morneau in Boy Band after Sam Claflin.  Because he’s adorbs.
• Wait, she’s stowing away in the delivery crate?  That’s not how it happened in the book.
• She’s already in the Capitol?  Is this the final siege?  That happened awfully fast.
• Oh hey, Liam Hemsworth.  I don’t like Gale, but I definitely like you. 😉
• Also, we totally almost have the same birthday.
• Okay, people, can we just talk about how seriously adorable Pollux is?  Look at his little man bun and his sweet, expressive eyes.  I think I have a new Panem crush.
• This is all happening so much faster than it did in the book.  I’m not sure I’m ready for this.
• Poor Peeta!  Oh, my poor sweet little baker!
• The siege hasn’t even started and I’m already scared of those sewer lizards.
• These pods are freaking me out.  Again, too many parallels for what’s actually going on in some parts of the world.  Can you imagine seeing your city, your home, war-torn and deserted?  It’s terrifying.
• Finnick, why are you smiling?  Is this fun to you?
• RIP Boggs.  I hate it when the only authority figure you can trust dies.
• Finnick’s face when he saw his image displayed on TV, just as if he’d died in the Hunger Games!  That boy is giggling!  Oh my goodness.
• Coin, you are so full of it.
• President Snow correcting her. HA.
• Down to the sewers. Nope, nope, nope! There are lizards down there!
• Oh, POLLUX!  It’s okay my baby!  Please, let me hold you!
• Oh no.  I can hear them.  Oh no.  They’re coming.  OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.
• I don’t know if I can watch this.
• OH MY GOD THEY ARE SO MUCH SCARIER THAN THEY WERE IN THE BOOKS.
• Oh, I am going to have nightmares for sure.
• Finnick’s final battle.  What a send-off.
• Seeing his face on that wanted poster… OMG that hurts…
• BUT SEEING POLLUX CRYING HURTS MORE!  HIS BROTHER DIED.  THIS IS SO SAD.  POLLUX SHOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED TO BE SAD!
• I think I officially care more about Pollux than I do about any other character in this entire series.
• Liam Hemsworth is doing a really good job of making Gale even more of a douchebag than he was in the books.  Wow.
• The march on the Capitol.  This is it.  We all know what’s coming.  Unless you haven’t read the books or have been living under a rock.  Then I guess you have no idea.  But we know.  We know.
• That little girl crying over her mom.  This movie is SO sad.
• There it is.  That lone hovercraft.  I have the chills just thinking about it.  We all know.
• That’s it.
• I wish I could say I cared more about Prim as a character.  Her death just didn’t impact me the way it did in the book.  I only care about what happens to her because Katniss cares.
• Coin is such a scary character, because she’s essentially Snow, but she acts as though she’s good and diplomatic and that she cares about the people of Panem.  She doesn’t.  She’s just as power hungry and evil.  And Julianne Moore does an excellent job of portraying that.
• Her speech.  HA.  We all know what’s coming.  This is perfect.
• BYE FELICIA.
• The letter from Plutarch.  This scene might be the saddest one of all, because he was supposed to deliver that speech.
• HAYFFIE KISS HAYFFIE KISS OMG.
• THIS IS THE SHIP I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED.
• Though to be totally honest, I don’t actually think they would ever work out together.  Still, it was an adorable moment because Effie has a huge crush on him and I think he really respects her even though he’d never admit it.
• I’m glad they made Haymitch more of a father figure and less of a damaged alcoholic.  He was still broken in a lot of ways, but he was much stronger in the movies than he was in the books.
• So… Haymitch and Katniss go back to their destroyed district… Totally alone… Amidst the rubble…  How depressing is that?
• BUTTERCUP. Oh no… Oh no… This is another scene I’ve been dreading.
• I’m sad for Katniss, of course, but OMG I AM SO SAD FOR THAT CAT.  That cat is making me BAWL.
• Saddest moment.  Sad animals.  Can’t handle it.
• Peeta!  PEETA!  EVERLARK FOREVER.
• REAL.
• REAL.
• REAL.
• Peeta is officially the world’s cutest dad.

All in all, I still get emotional thinking about this movie.  Actually, the series in general.  It’s my favorite.  I love it.  I love everything about it.

Though I’ve got to tell y’all, as we were leaving the theater, all just completely wrecked and sobbing, some guy behind us starts singing at the top of his lungs, “SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU’RE TO BLAME!”  Yeah, that kind of killed the moment.  But it was pretty funny, I have to admit.

Well, I better be off.  I’m going to a NaNoWriMo event at a local library!   Talk to y’all soon!

Ultimate Book Tag!

I’ll be honest.  I love these surveys.  I think they’re so much fun.  This one, I found on Callum McLaughlin’s blog: http://callummclaughlin.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/ultimate-book-tag/ 

1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
Nope.  Though I’ve got to be honest, I rarely read in the car.  I like to listen to music and watch the world outside the window.  

2. Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?
That’s a tough one.  The one that has always stood out to me, however, is Madeleine L’Engle.  I remember the first time I read A Ring of Endless Light, she simply had me captivated.  Her writing, her thoughts, were just so incredibly beautiful.  This quote, in particular, has stayed with me for years:

If I’m confused, or upset, or angry, if I can go out and look at the stars I’ll almost always get back to a sense of proportion. It’s not that they make me feel insignificant; it’s the very opposite; they make me feel that everything matters, be it ever so small, and that there’s meaning to life even when it seems most meaningless.

3. Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer.
Is this even a question?  Harry Potter! 

1) Harry Potter is real magic.  It’s not just a story.  JK Rowling created an entire world, a society, a culture.  It’s intricate and brilliant and colorful and simply alive.

2) Harry Potter got me through the toughest time in my life.  I even wrote a whole blog post about it. https://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/i-believe-in-dragons/

3) Characters are always my favorite parts of any book and Harry Potter’s characters are all truly exquisite.  I wish several of them were my best friends.  Sadly, very few of my very favorite characters actually survived the series.  

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is it in (besides books…)?
I don’t have a book bag, per se, but when I need to carry a book with me, I use my giant orca purse.  It’s a bag with a lot of pretty embroidered killer whales and dolphins on it.  It also carries my phone, wallet, planner, and notebook.  

5. Do you smell your books?
Oh yes.  

6. Books with or without little illustrations?
I haven’t read a book with illustrations in a while (unless Harry Potter counts with the little pictures at the beginning of every chapter), but I don’t mind them.  In fact, I like seeing what the author or illustrator had in mind.  It’s always interesting to see others’ interpretations.

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing?
Every Nicholas Sparks book ever.  I love them all.  I read each one the day it comes out.  However, in the end, they all kind of end up being the same book.  Except The Guardian.  That is one heck of a good book! 

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share!
I started wearing glasses when I was in first grade.  I didn’t mind really, except that I really, really wanted to be a Disney Princess and none of them wore glasses.  So I went through all of my big Disney picture books and drew glasses on all the princesses.  

9. What is the thinnest book on your shelf?
Either Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard or a book of Episcopal Haikus.  Yeah, I’m that kind of person. 

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?
Either The Complete Works of William Shakespeare or The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.  

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?
Now that you mention it…

12. When did you get into reading?
I can’t remember a time I wasn’t into reading.  My mom was reading to me from the day I was born.  

13. What is your favorite classic book?
This is going to sound nerdy, but I really love Beowulf.

14. In school was your best subject Language Arts/English?
Yep.  That and Biology.  I really love animals and nature.  

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated…what would you do?
I would act like I loved it and then sell it to Half-Price Books.  

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to
Harry Potter or the Hunger Games?
I recently discovered the Inescapable series by indie author Amy A. Bartol and I’m kind of loving it.  However, it’s probably more similar to Twilight than it is to Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.

17. What is your favorite word?
Ergo.  I love it so much.  

18. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above?
I prefer fangirl. Or Ravenclaw.

19. Vampires or Fairies? Why?
I actually haven’t read many Fairy books (unless Midsummer Night’s Dream counts) so I guess I’ll have to go with Vampires. 

20. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why?
Angels.  Because I secretly wish I had wings.  

21. Spirits or Werewolves? Why?
Spirits.  Because Cemetery Tours.  

22. Zombies or Vampires? Why?
Depends what I’m in the mood for.  If I’m in the mood to be scared then ZOMBIES.  If I’m in the mood for dark, supernatural romance (or Twilight), then vampires.

23. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love?
Forbidden love. If a girl is going to have two hot guys fighting over her, she’d better be pretty darn awesome.  

24. AND FINALLY: Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in?
Oh gosh… I read both and I enjoy both.  Again, it depends!  If I’m sick or in a particularly girly mood, I’m going to choose romance.  Usually, however, I do prefer a bit of action.  

To whoever has read this… I tag you!  Only if you want to, that is.  I hate internet peer pressure.

A Personal Message to My Sister on Her Birthday

I am so grateful that you made it to 19 without being selected for the Hunger Games. As you can guess, this comes as a huge weight off of my shoulders, as, due to our seven year age difference, I would not have been able to volunteer for you had your name been drawn at the Reaping. I’m not sure either one of us would have actually survived in the arena, but maybe we could have at least made it past the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about the Games much longer now that the Revolution is in full swing. Regardless, I am happy to have you alive and safe. See you in District 13!

Happy Birthday And May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor.

Back before even I was old enough for the Reaping.

You were always such a happy kid.

Even as you got older, you never let the Capitol or the Peacemakers stop you from doing the things you love… be it reading…

Singing…

Or eating. Had to enjoy those meals when we could, considering how lousy the districts are treated.

You’ve always been so beautiful, inside and out…

Which I’m sure is why you were voted “Most Likely to Get Sponsors for the Hunger Games” at school.

That time we went shopping for homes in District 12.

That time we went to District 4 and you had a thing with that cute sailor… What was his name? Billy? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Anything Goes! 😉

Then there was the time you snuck into the Capitol and stole Effie Trinket’s wig…

And you discovered that the Capitol has been breeding a new kind of Mutt Plant! I think I’d take a swarm of Tracker Jackers over whatever the heck that is.

We’ve had a lot of fun these past nineteen years, but I think the best is still yet to come! Happy Birthday, KJ! I love you!