Boys have feelings too

As a teenage girl, I thought it wasn't possible for a boy to like a girl as much as a girl could like a boy. I still have moments where I believe this.

I also thought that the only thing boys wanted to read was shoot em up, knock em down kind of books. That they didn't like the emotional kind of stuff.

But I was wrong.

We went to see The Hunger Games on vacation and both my sons, who recently read the books, were so excited to see it.

Here's how the conversation went afterwards:

Oldest Son: That was pretty good.

Second Son: I hated it.

Oldest Son: What? Why?

Second Son: They left out so much. (Goes into details about all the things they didn't put in)

Mom: It's hard to put a whole book into a movie. There are going to be things they leave out.

Oldest Son: What else didn't you like about it?

Second Son: You didn't see how Katniss felt. And I'm not sure if I totally believed the relationship between Katniss and Peeta.

Oldest Son: That's hard to show on a screen. It's easier to read.

Second Son: I still didn't like it.

The conversation continues until we get home and get ready for bed.

I think this review of the movie says it all: And if the depiction of the death-by-death progress of the Games themselves, as Katniss struggles mightily to save her own life on behalf of her sister, doesn't match the psychological tension on the page, well, thems may be the rules of the adaptation game. The movie shows how, but the book shows why.