Theory Linking the Fault in Our Stars, Divergent, and the Hunger Games

                     By Lil’ Leia

Hi guys! This is a theory that came to me the other day— that potentially links The Fault in Our Stars, the Divergent  and The Hunger Games trilogy together, even though they each have different authors. It may not seem that geeky to you, but it is to me— because I am a huge bookworm!  There is going to be a huge amount of parentheses and stuff, so bear with me. Anyway, there are MAJOR SPOILERS for each of these books, so if you haven’t read these books yet, you can either proceed at your own risk or stop reading altogether.  If you did read them, good for you! I present my theory now:

So in TFIOS, as most of you may know already, Hazel and Gus did the thing when they were staying in Amsterdam (as seen partially in the trailer). When Gus died later on, (this would take place directly after the novel) Hazel realized she was pregnant. Nine months later, she gave birth to a girl and nearly died in labor (due to the tumors in her lungs), but in life-saving surgery after the baby’s birth, the doctors decided to take all of her tumors out and make an emergency lung transplant (yes, her cancer was THAT severe).  After the surgery she was cancer-free. Later on she marries Isaac and raises her daughter healthily and happily. Her daughter grows up, gives birth, and the cycle goes on and on until (here we enter the Divergent part of the theory) Amanda Ritter (Edith Prior, Tris’s paternal ancestor) is born. 

The Purity War occurs, the Bureau of Genetic Welfare is established, and an older Amanda Ritter volunteers to participate in the experimental implementing of factions in Chicago.  She makes the video that is shown in Erudite headquarters at the end of Insurgent (book 2 of the Divergent trilogy), erases her memory with a serum, joins Abnegation, and reinvents herself as Edith Prior. One of her offspring joins Erudite, and then about two generations later, Andrew Prior (Tris’s father) is born into Erudite. Soon after, he falls in love with Natalie Wright from Dauntless in school (Tris’s mother, who later uses Prior as her last name), and they transfer to Abnegation together. They marry and, about 10 years later, have Tris and Caleb (Tris’s brother).  

Then the events in Divergent and Insurgent occur.  When in Allegiant (book 3 of the Divergent trilogy) it’s revealed that Chicago was an experimental city for the Bureau, (entering the Hunger Games part of the theory) it is also possible to assume that Panem was also an experimental city that just went awry and declared independence from the US government. (Based on current world news it is implied that sea level rises and global warming continues at their current pace.) That would account for the description of life before Panem (war, global warming. etc.). The US government barely holds power 45-75 years later and collapses; Panem conquests what was left of US possessed land, expands the district systems and its culture, and the events of The Hunger Games trilogy take place.

So… What do you think? I think it’s possible, given that this is totally fictional. I’m going to sign off early, so you can think about the possibility of this. See ya next week!

The Fault in Our Stars Movie Review

                           

By Lil Leia 

                         

              "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

Hi guys! In this post I will be reviewing "The Fault in Our Stars", a movie you may have heard of, based on the novel by John Green. I will first proceed to explain the quote above. The quote is from the play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, and it's the source for the title of both the book and the movie. As you can probably see, EVERYBODY (including me, had to admit it at some point) is going absolutely crazy for the movie and has prompted everyone who hasn't read the book to read it before they see the movie. The movie stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort (which play brother and sister in Divergent, weird right?), Nat Wolff, Willem Dafoe, Laura Dern, among others, with Josh Boone directing. You probably know the basic plot, which is about two teens (Hazel and Augustus), Hazel with cancer and Augustus in remission, and that fall in love in a cancer support group. You're probably imagining a boring, unfunny cancer story, but it's not. Actually, it's a funny, romantic love story that almost doesn't talk about cancer until certain points of the movie. So, on to the review part. I'll *try* to make it as spoiler-free as possible, but I don't make any guarantees, so here we go:

Having read the book a LOT of times, I expected the movie to live up to the standards of the book (obviously, who doesn't?!?), and it DEFINITELY did. Have Kleenex (preferably a whole box, 'cause you'll need them all) ready, because the movie is VERY EMOTIONAL, especially nearing the end of the movie. If you don't like emotional movies, this is certainly not the movie for you. You're going to cry, and by cry I mean UGLY CRY, but you can burst into tears at any moment randomly for many reasons, especially because you see the love between the characters progressing through the movie. Shailene (Hazel) and Ansel’s (Augustus) acting is spot on! They perfectly capture the emotion and the love between Hazel and Augustus, and couldn't imagine anyone OTHER than Shailene and Ansel in their respective roles. Overall, all acting was well done, and there were no plot holes. I like movies based on books to be very true to the book, but some movies either don't achieve it or do it very badly, but The Fault in Our Stars does it almost perfectly. It captures the true spirit of the book beautifully, which is that you have to learn to embrace whatever time you have, with all its pain and wonder, because... "Some infinities are bigger than other infinities" - John Green, The Fault in Our Stars.

The movie was awesome! It really lived up to my expectations, and boy did I cry! I wasted an insane amount of tissues (don't judge, I'm a pre-teen who's hormonal) :P I loved the book, and now I love the movie just as much... I think I'm gonna go see it again. See ya next week!