The Hunger Games and Two Reasons I Cried

Photo from hungergamestrilogy.net

My husband and I had the rare movie date this past weekend to see The Hunger Games.  I had not read the books before seeing the movie, though I knew the basic premise of the story.  I was a bit reticent to see the movie as I am a complete lightweight about violence and a total wreck when it comes to children dying in movies.  Case in point, I will never, ever watch The Titanic again even though it was an excellent film.  Given that this story is all about children killing other children, you can see why I hesitated.  But I had heard so many great things about this film that I just couldn't resist.
First, for other lightweights out there, don't worry and go see it.  Any violent scenes are dealt with extreme discreetness.  This story moved me in so many ways.  These characters are layered and well drawn out.  Suspense through conflict keeps you riveted from beginning to end.  While there were many predictable things, I never felt annoyed by that because they were given such life and complication.  The main character, Katniss draws you in immediately.  She is one of the strongest female characters I've encountered.  Her relationships with other kids in the story have great range.
Of course the movie had a crying moment.  I knew it would be there, just didn't know when or what to expect.  I did cry, I sobbed and struggled to keep it quiet.  How embarrassing.  But for me, another crying moment happened during the credits.  I cried because the story as a whole captured me, dug into my writer's heart and stabbed.  I wish to someday move others with a story like this, to have that much power with storytelling.  And for that reason, I will be adding The Hunger Games trilogy to my reading list.