The Girl Who Was On Fire, Edited by Leah Wilson

This was an AWESOME read! For many of the sections, it was affirmation that I wasn't the only one viewing the books in a certain light ("for me the romance was a subplot" and a consistent comparison to George Orwell's "1984") and others while I don't see it the same way, I can respect their perspective and take from it what I will (which also made me think of things in a different way). And some introduced ideas that I had never entertained (the idea of "community" being a vital part of freedom). Since writing much more would be spoiling your read, I'll just leave the titles of each chapter/section-maybe a tidbit-but not more. This is DEFINITELY worth your time! Especially for those who may have viewed the Hunger Games triology as being a bunch of violent killing, it will help shed light on the more important message-that we know it was wrong and the citizens of Panem knew it was wrong, but many just didn't know how to go about stopping it. So here's the table of contents:

Why So Hungry for the Hunger Games?
Team Katniss
Your Heart is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist (love conquers all, right? But love of WHAT exactly?)
Smoke and Mirrors
Someone to Watch Over Me (Some of our most popular TV shows are a bit like the Hunger Games. Sure, nobody dies on our reality TV shows. But we still watch people suffer. We watch them endure physical and mental challenges on Survivor, subject them to isolation on Big Brother, tell them their dreams will never come true on Idol, and break their hearts on The Bachelorette. Reality TV is all about putting people in difficult situations and watching how they react. Some people come out stronger, richer, and healthier, facing a lifetime of success. Others are voted off the island early on, their failure broadcast all over the world. How many steps are there, between our own TV shows and the Hunger Games?)
Reality Hunger
Panem et Circenses (how a society can, will, and does trade political responsibility and therefore power in return for food and entertainment)
Not So Weird Science (did you know that scientists created a sheep/human hybrid? Mostly sheep with only a few specks of human DNA, but STILL! Its name is Polly, created shortly after the first successfully cloned sheep, Dolly)
Crime of Fashion
Bent, Shattered, and Mended
The Politics of Mockingjay
The Inevitable Decline of Decadence
Community in the Face of Tyranny

Ok, if you're not hooked by those chapter/section headings or the tidbits by some of them, you never will be. I extremely enjoyed this perspective filled book.