During lunch, students at Lincoln Middle School have been debating whether The Hunger Games book or movie is better. Most of them have only seen one version. But which one is better? That is a good reason to compare the two and see what opinions people have on this topic. But be careful! Spoilers for the book and movie are ahead.
The Hunger Games book came out on September 14, 2008. Four years later, on March 23, 2012, the movie was officially in theaters. Towards the beginning of both the book and the movie, Katniss Everdeen volunteers for her sister Prim when she gets reaped for the Hunger Games. When Katniss gets to have friends and family visit her before she heads off to the Capitol, Peeta’s dad visits her in the book, but in the movie he does not. Taking this small bit of the story away makes an enormous difference in the overall storyline. Peeta’s dad also gave Katniss a bag of cookies in the book, and she throws them out once she is on the train. Alison Donsbach, a sixth grader who has both read the book and watched the movie, said, “I liked that in the book you could read what was going on inside her head…”
There are a couple of differences that the movie left out of certain scenes. Thresh, who is a District Eleven tribute, seems meaner in the movie than how he seems in the book. Another example is how Katniss gets her Mockingjay pin from a vendor in the movie; however, in the book, she gets it from her friend, Madge. Those are just a small sample of differences between the book and movie, but after asking Alison Donsbach if she thought that the movie was a good representation of the book, she said, “I liked that the movie looked like how I pictured everything in the book.”
In conclusion, The Hunger Games book and movie are both excellent choices of something to watch or read. But when it comes down to which is best overall, without a doubt, the book is best. The author’s detailed descriptions help the readers visualize scenes. The intricate details that the book makes you notice make it all the better. You can also hear what Katniss is thinking in the book, and that is why The Hunger Games book is better than the movie. But this debate will likely continue as more Hunger Games content has been planned to be released this November.
