My Favorite Books As Movies: The Hunger Games Review

I absolutely loved the Harry Potter books. I started reading the series when I was in middle school, and read the last book when it came out during the summer before my senior year of college. I read every single book in that series just as soon as they hit the shelves, and I loved every minute of it.

In contrast, I have never once seen one of the Harry Potter movies. Yep, you read that correctly... I've never seen a Harry Potter movie. In fact, I even look away when they show previews or movie clips on television. It's okay, my husband thinks I'm crazy too. The thing is, I have an image of the characters in my head. I've created mental images of the surroundings and the people and the events. I don't want that image to be tainted with the views of a filmmaker.

Fast forward to The Hunger Games. I read all three books in The Hunger Games trilogy probably faster than I've read any other books. I loved them! The suspense in those books is unlike any other, and the author has a way of just pulling you along with every twist and turn. My husband read the books first and after seeing a very brief clip of the movie, I knew I just had to get these books! Because I saw a clip of the movie before I read the book, that images helped shape my view of the book; therefore, it was okay to see the movie!

So, last night I ventured out to the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games with high hopes of cinematic genius. We got to the movie early, armed ourselves with soda and popcorn, and placed ourselves front and center for the premiere. Lights dimmed, film started rolling... and two and a half hours later I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. The images in the film were spectacular and so true to the book, but I felt like it strayed from the book in some disappointing ways (nothing overly drastic... just things that make you say, "Hey! Wait a minute!" You'll know what I mean when you see it...)

Overall, I recommend the movie, but read the book first! There are many parts of the movie that would have made absolutely no sense to me had I never read the books first, and in two and a half hours it's difficult to cram in all the details that make the book what it is. Read the book, see the movie, judge for yourself!