“Fire is catching!” These strong words were said by Katniss in both the book and movie versions of Mockingjay (Part 1). The trilogy was based on the concept of fire: Katniss being known as “the girl on fire” because of her incendiary leadership skill and how fire is “catching”, meaning you can’t control it nor can you fight it with itself. Katniss Everdeen now lives in the underground, militarized District 13. Coin, the leader of the rebellion and Plutarch, the game maker sees Katniss as the face of the rebellion and uses her in propaganda. In the first book, Hunger Games, Katniss was getting to know the games and how to use it for her own benefit. In Catching Fire, Katniss tried to find ways for the games to destroy itself. In the current Mockingjay novel, Katniss is all for destroying the system, including President Snow. Through the events that happen during the book, she realizes who the real enemy is and what she stands for. In comparing the novel to the movie, there were many differences. Though I am still very young, I am very old-fashioned. In my personal opinion, I feel that the book was better than the movie.
         The first difference between page and screen is that Katniss doesn’t demand to kill Snow (in the movie). In the book, when Katniss is asked to become their “Mockingjay”, she makes a list of conditions. One of the main things she demands is that she gets to kill Snow with her own hands. The next major difference was that Effie Trinket played a large role in the movie, while the book did not mention her until after the rebellion. Effie replaced Katniss’ prep team and played their roles such as when they were kidnapped from the Capitol and brought to District 13. The next difference is that Finnick is of less appearance in the movie, when on the other hand, he was a big character in the book, therefore making the emotional bond between he and Katniss unseen. The talk between the two victors about Peeta was cut out. This played a big factor for the part two movie because his death will be less effective. Another contrast was Peeta’s appearance on the Capitol’s interviews that was shown across Panem. In one of the main appearances, Peeta demands a cease-fire from 13 and warns Katniss that they are coming to attack the district. In the novel, Peeta is taken and beaten by Peacemakers, the camera still rolling and blood splattered on the screen. In the movie, Peeta is taken and the screen goes black. In my opinion, I think the director(s) should have added in that small clip because it meant for the rescue mission and showed how much Katniss longed for Peeta. In the final big difference, the Rescue Mission is shown to an audience, including Katniss. In the book, Collins simply writes that Gale, Boggs, and a crew go into the capitol and rescue Peeta. In the movie, they show the whole mission from the room where Peeta, Annie, and Johanna are tortured to a scene where Katniss and Snow have talk on the jumbotron. Snow and Katniss go head on, threatening each other while the Gale and the crew are shown live. In my viewpoint, the director could have made the movie as similar to the novel as possible because it’s simply respecting Suzanne Collins and her series. Also, people who do not like to read and/or have a hard time reading will watch the movie instead, therefore losing the purpose of the novel in the first place. The ending spot in the movie was a good place and made me want to watch more. Part two should include the action parts of the book.
         My recommendation to my peers and readers would be to read the novel of Mockingjay before you watch the movie. Doing this would not only get your imagination going, but you would fully understand the little details that can’t be shown on screen. Reading a book always thrills me because you can stop and try to predict what happens then read more to find out what actually happens. Collins is one of my favorite authors and Hunger Games is one of my favorite series. It will be worth sitting down and reading before you watch it on the big screen.