I am less than 70 pages from finishing Catching Fire. I am finding myself skipping homework assignments so that I can squeeze in a couple of chapters before I have to go to bed. This series has grabbed my interest in reading that I lost many years ago. I want to focus on Katniss and what I picture her as. I see a her as having dirty blonde hair with green eyes. She is athletic looking and is about 5 feet 7 inches. I envision Peeta the same as the book describes him: tall, bleach blonde, blue eyes. He reminds me of a knight who always looks gorgeous. Peeta would be any hero ready to sweep any girl off her feet. Gale always came off as a scruffy guy who was darker than the "knight" Peeta. I pictured Gale with dark brown hair, calloused, darker skin, and not as eye-catching, yet still cute. For Gale's eyes, I think of Edward's piercing eyes in Twilight, the auburn/yellow color that held the warmth of the sun.
if i were to choose actors of today to cast as these characters i would pick:
Katniss   Mary Kate Olsen
Peeta      Lucas Till
Gale       Shia Lebouf

Catching Fire

So it took me forever to get through Hunger Games but after I started Catching Fire, I felt like I could not keep myself from reading it. Instead of doing critical homework for school, I read. This has been a huge turning point in my reading career. I love this series. The second book through me for a loop when Gale was captured. His whipping reminded me of Jesus' crucifiction because He was also whipped before being nailed to the cross. I feel like Katniss showed that she was a strong competitor as well as a character that is not dependent on anyone but herself. I like this because she is a huge role model. But this her character changes a little, i feel, in the second book when her love triangle with Peeta and Gale begins to become more complicated. She has to tour the districts while trying to convince President Snow that she tryuly loves him whil also trying to balance her feelings for Gale which seem to be getting stronger. She shows her love for Gale after he is captured and almost killed by getting in the way of the whip. She gets hurt but instead of worrying about her physical appearance she only seems to care about the well-being of Gale. She kisses him while he wakes only for a short time because of all the medication he is on. He does realize that her feelings are becoming more vibrant. AHHHH! This is sooooooo good. I have to get to bed now. I'll get back to reading in the morning on my drive home from UNCW. :)