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Well, I'm back from my trip to Denver, CO (in which I learned how the F-word has evolved into a noun, adjective, and a verb due to this lovely t-shirt I saw) and during the trip I managed to read the whole Hunger Games series.
That was a depressing series.
I felt the writing was mediocre (mostly in the first book). There were a lot of cliches used, and I felt that the main character's first POV gave a whiny, depressing, angsty teenage feel to the series, which was a turn-off. However, in the later books, you grow attached to the characters and feel it when they get killed off in violent ways. Also, when the book started to talk about suicide and how humanity is self-destructive, it made me feel dispirited and doubt humanity (why are we living)? The book, since death is thrown at you all of the time, also made me question whether death is the answer. It seemed easier to just die when things were going wrong, and yet the main character's will to live was so strong, she pulled through. I suppose the book is realistic in the way the main character deals with what's thrown at her, and why the tone is so depressing.
I liked how the book commented on TV shows now days (how everything is a competition), and how strong the media can be (the propaganda battle, and the constant posing for the cameras). One of my favorite parts was when the book commented on the Capitol accent "high pitched and ending their sentences as if they're asking a question" (ahemahem...) But at times, I felt like the author was doing that to follow a trend.

ANYWAYS

I just saw the Hunger Games movie, and I surprised myself.
I thought I would like the movie better than the book, but it turns out that both forms complement each other well. Seeing the characters helped me realize how young they are (which made it hard to see Prim in the beginning because *SPOILERALERTshediesahorribledeathlaterSPOILERALERT*) and I liked seeing all of the designs of the houses and outfits (although they showed that rather quickly in the movie, while in the book there was more emphasis on the styles.)

Also, I have more faces to draw:

Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire

edit: after reading the series, I needed something cheery.