Tag: The Hunger Games

Banned Books Focus: And Tango Makes Three, The Hunger Games, and Eleanor and Park

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Brittany, our Community Outreach Supervisor, shared a few of her favorite banned titles below:

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

What more is there to love than two adorable daddy penguins who are in love and raise a cute little baby penguin?! Honestly, I cry every time I read this adorable book, I love it so much!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If you are looking for a strong female protagonist, this series has you covered. I devoured this whole series when I read it and still often think about it!

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

This was such a sweet young love story.

Want to know more about these books? Check out descriptions provided by their publishers below.

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own. – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun …

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. – Scholastic

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under. – St Martin’s Griffin

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

- Bianca Leave a comment

You may have noticed advertisements for the new Hunger Games movie and wondered when, why, and how is there another movie in the beloved Hunger Games series? Suzanne Collins released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to The Hunger Games series we all know and love, quietly in May of 2020. That’s right. Collins’ book released in the early days of the pandemic and most people didn’t even notice, including yours truly, a number 1 Hunger Games fan. Embarrassingly, I didn’t pick up the book until 2022 and that was only after hearing buzz that a movie was in the works.

So, what is this book about? This story is about Coriolanus Snow, known better as President Snow, as he embarks on his final year at a prestigious academy in the Capital. Snow is at the top of his class and destined for great things, but he has a secret. Though once one of the wealthiest and well-respected families in Panem, the war with the districts, which ended ten years previously, has taken everything from them, including both of Snow’s parents. He lives with his grandmother and cousin Tigris in near poverty, barely able to maintain their apartment which is the last remnant of their previous life. As the 10th Hunger Games approaches and Coriolanus is named mentor in the games, he must secure a win to ensure his future in the Capital.

Enter Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. The original Hunger Games series alluded to District 12’s first Hunger Games winner but they are never named. In fact, all records of the 10th Annual Hunger Games were removed. As you may have deduced, Lucy Gray is assigned Snow for a mentor and the two must work together if Lucy is to survive and Snow is to once again be on top. What follows will become one of the Capital’s and Snow’s biggest secrets.

The story unfolds much the same way as the original Hunger Games, but with a much different arena, plenty of unexpected twists, and the last third of the book is like nothing we have seen from Collins before. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, I highly recommend reading the book and watching the movie, which premieres November 17, 2023, or you can wait until it comes out on DVD and check it out from the library! Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage star in the movie along with Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on DVD

- Bianca Leave a comment

 

Mockingjay part 1The third motion picture in the Hunger Games franchise will hit the library in March, but you can reserve your copy today. Watch Katniss as she takes on the Capital in this action packed dystopia phenom.

Mockingjay Part 1 was  released into theaters November of last year and has 333 million dollars in sales in the United States! Due to the high demand of this title, the Davenport library has ordered 30 copies on DVD and will order 3 additional copies on Blu Ray when they become available. The quickest way to get a copy of this title in your hands is to place a hold in the online catalog as soon as possible. Once you make a hold, your name will be added to the list of holds. A copy of this title will be sent to the Rivershare library location of your choice when it is your turn.

Don’t want to wait your turn? Well you are in luck! When the library can anticipate a high demand for a title, we set aside what are called BROWSE copies. These are copies of a title that live only on the New shelves. They cannot be reserved. Every time you visit the library check out the New Books and New Movies shelving to see what BROWSE items are on the shelf. They will have a green tag that says BROWSE. You might just get lucky and find that Mockingjay Part 1 is sitting on the shelf.

Also available at all three Davenport libraries are the The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the first and second movies in the franchise.

The Verdict: Mockingjay will not disappoint! Three yeas ago I was one of the many Katniss crazed readers that devoured all three Hunger Games books in the weeks leading up to the first movie release, and I have patiently waited year after year as each new movie slowly hits the big screen. Mockingjay was great! The movie follows the book well but includes insight to things happening in other districts that aren’t as clear to visualize while reading the first person perspective of Katniss in the books.

Award Watch: Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) is nominated for best actress in an action movie by Broadcast Film Critics Association. For a list of other awards and nominations visit IMDb Mockingjay.

Fun Fact: Jennifer Lawrence also plays the mutant Mystique in X-Men First Class and X-Men Days of Futures Past and won an Oscar for Best Performance by a Female Actress for Silver Linings Playbook in 2013.