*Spoiler Alert* If you’re not one of the more than 24 million Americans who has bought and read The Hunger Games or contributed $8 of the $155 million in estimated sales to see the film based on the book, please refrain from reading further. Or, go ahead and read on, I don’t care. None of the names will make sense anyway.

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CARIBOU COFFEE  – LATE MORNING

As she turns the last page of The Hunger Games, Claire, a 27 year-old civil engineer, has completely forgotten about her dark chocolate, skim milk, no whip mocha. Upon closing the back cover, her eyes narrow.

The closing of Claire’s book doesn’t go unnoticed by the couple sitting at the adjacent table – Amanda (25, waitress) and Aaron (24, medical sales). Amanda finished the book a few weeks ago and is already through the second installment. Aaron, through his girlfriend’s unwavering pressure, polished it off this morning before joining her at Caribou moments ago.

AMANDA

So, what did you think?

After glancing backward to confirm that this question is being directed at her, Claire turns her attention to Amanda.

CLAIRE

Uh…excuse me?

AMANDA

The Hunger Games! What did you think of The Hunger Games?

AARON

Jesus, Amy. Just leave her alone.

Aaron stands up from the table.

AARON (cont.)

What do you want? They better have Jones Soda at this fucking place.

AMANDA

Just get me a small Iced Chai Latte.

Amanda turns back to Claire.

AMANDA

Hi, I’m Amanda.

CLAIRE

Nice to meet you. Claire.

Claire cautiously reaches out to meet Amanda’s already extended hand.

CLAIRE (cont.)

And to answer your question, I’m not sure what I think about this book yet, to be honest. I just finished it.

AMANDA

Yeah, I saw. Do you read a lot?

CLAIRE

I have been lately. But I don’t typically read books like this – it’s a bit young for my taste. I hate to say it, but I bought it online because I didn’t want to go to the Young Adult section at Barnes & Noble.

Claire notices the slightest of twinges on the face of an obvious Hunger Games admirer – someone that doesn’t understand Claire’s shame. She reaches out and touches Amanda’s hand.

CLAIRE (cont.)

Not that I didn’t enjoy it. It was a really fun read.

AMANDA

Me too! I don’t read much for fun, so I was looking for something easy. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. And the best part is that so many people have read it that it’s as easy to talk about The Hunger Games as it is to talk about the weather.

CLAIRE

You’re actually the second person today that has asked me about this book. I guess I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

Aaron returns to the table carrying two drinks and a muffin.

AARON

Are you two still talking about the book?

AMANDA

We haven’t even started yet.

Amanda takes a sip of her beverage.

AMANDA (cont.)

Aaron, goddammit, what is this?

AARON

It’s iced tea!

Claire realizes that she is in the thick of one of those often sticky, social situations. This Amanda chick could be a sweet girl who likes talking to strangers about books at coffee shops. Or, after Amanda finds out her last name, Claire could have a friend request before she gets home with an attached message reading, “heyyyy…hope u don’t think im creepy lol. thought we could be friends and talk about catching fire soon.¹”

Being the trusting type, Claire decides to reluctantly forge ahead.

CLAIRE

So, Amanda, what did you like most about the story?

AMANDA

I just loved Katniss. She was such a strong young woman. From the very beginning of the story, she showed what women can do. She took care of her fatherless family, shot deadly weapons, and overpowered the men using, like, toughness and bravery.

AARON

(under his breath)

I knew she was going to say that. Sounds like a fucking recording.

CLAIRE

But, do you really think that she overpowered anyone during the games? To me, it seemed like she was constantly finding herself in precariously dangerous situations and a remedy fortuitously presented itself before her. She never seemed to figure out a plan of action beforehand.

Amanda is a little stunned by the comment.

AMANDA

Hmm…I guess I didn’t read it that way. Which scenes are you referring to?

AARON

This muffin is fucking dry.

CLAIRE

Like when she was stuck in the tree above the Careers and Rue points out the tracker jacker nest to drop on them. Or when she goes to the Careers’ camp to destroy their food and supplies only to stumble upon an active minefield and a sack of apples to do the job. I don’t know. It just seemed a bit coincidental each time. Did she even kill anyone personally during the games?

AMANDA

I can’t remember, but I thought so…

CLAIRE

All I’m saying is that in a game of kill-or-be-killed, Katniss’ hands remained pretty clean.

The girls look away from each other briefly. Claire mimes taking a sip of her mocha that now looks more like coagulated chocolate milk than what she originally ordered. Amanda contemplates pouring her iced tea down Aaron’s back and leaving the place all together.

Aaron is kind enough to break the silence and tension.

AARON

I just couldn’t stand Peeta.

CLAIRE

Why do you say that?

AMANDA

Here it comes…

AARON

He just acted like such a love-struck bitch the whole time! Dude’s sitting in a cave – a fucking cave – with the girl of his dreams and he’s happy about a couple kisses? There are a bunch of blood-thirsty high school kids stomping around the forest waiting to cut his nuts off seconds before slitting his throat and he’s not trying to at least sneak in some heavy-petting before that happens?

CLAIRE

I guess I hadn’t thought about it.

AMANDA

I thought the cave scene was romantic. Katniss finally shared her real feelings about Peeta and forgot about what everyone across the country was going to see on their screens at home.

CLAIRE

I’m sorry, but I just have to disagree with you. I thought that at no time during the games did Katniss stop being a confused 16-year-old girl. Throughout the story, she doubted Peeta’s true intentions. Which was really disappointing to me. I thought her character was set up to be a woman beyond her years; someone who could keep her family fed through quick, decisive action; a girl who, put in a situation she presently found herself in, could out-fox her opponents. Instead, she shrank in the face of danger and didn’t allow her superior training take full advantage of the other tributes.

AMANDA

But she still won! I don’t think you can completely attribute that to Katniss refusing to get her hands dirty and relying on tricks and luck.

Claire is somewhat taken aback by this retort. Up until now, she thought that this discussion had a teacher-student feeling to it.

CLAIRE

Maybe not. What do you think?

AMANDA

I think that the friends she made during the games led to her success.

CLAIRE

Interesting.

AARON

Are you ladies about done? I am so goddamn bored.

AMANDA

Think about it. An unspoken bond is formed with Rue before she drops that nest. They both realized that neither of them had a good shot of winning the games when going up against a group of trained tributes. I know that she saw a little bit of her younger sister in Rue and felt obligated to save her just like she saved her sister when her name was called. If Katniss weren’t willing to make friends with some of the other competitors, she wouldn’t have won, I know it.

CLAIRE

But don’t you see how contradictory that is? She was introduced as a take-charge young woman. This is a girl that despised her widowed mother for becoming completely incapable of raising two girls on her own. I thought Katniss was a girl who put her neck on the line in order to save the people she loved.

AARON

I thought Katniss sounded pretty hot, myself.

CLAIRE

This, coming from a guy who would bang a door if the handle were removed. I swear to god, Aaron, if you interrupt one more time, we’re not getting Doritos Locos tacos on the way home.

AARON

Fine. Fuck.

Amanda turns back to Claire.

AMANDA

So, it sounds like you didn’t like the book very much. I feel silly for defending it so much – it is a ‘young adult’ novel after all and I guess I’m no ‘young adult’ anymore.

CLAIRE

No, no, I did enjoy it! Like I said, it was a really fun read. There were just some inconsistencies that I couldn’t overlook. And I wish it were a bit darker. I thought it could have played up the whole post-apocalyptic thing a bit more. And the fact that the de facto government thought it prudent to force a bunch of prepubescent kids into the woods to kill each other to preserve public rule was completely bonkers to me.

AMANDA

Right!? Well, maybe you’ll get some clarification in the next book…

As the conversation comes to its natural conclusion, Claire is pleased that Amanda spoke up. Too often Claire closes a book, sets it on a shelf and never talks to anyone about it. Sure, she may think about a book critically in her mind, but it’s important to talk. This is the only way to truly synthesize something read and form a viable opinion. Even if it involves strangers in a coffee shop and results in unwanted friend requests, it’s better to talk to someone about something than to talk to no one about nothing.

Both Claire and Amanda, not so much Aaron, exit Caribou knowing that The Hunger Games is a book that can be read and enjoyed by dramatically different people. Whether it is Conrad or Collins, reading books – much like viewing art or seeing a film – is a universal yet entirely individual activity.

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¹Whenever someone prefaces something with, “Hope you don’t think I’m creepy,” they’re creepy 100% of the time.

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