Panem’s Book Club - Weekly Book Recommendations

Hey Tributes! As Amber posted last week, we here at Panem Propaganda are putting together a series of book recommendations for life between Mockingjay films and ultimately, life after The Hunger Games.

This will be a weekly thing, our own little Panem Book Club! Hopefully, these other novels will hold you over until next year for Mockingjay: Part 2 and will be good breaks between re-reading the HG series.

This week’s recommendation features the dystopian series, Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Here is a synopsis of the book, from Amazon:

“In America after the Second Civil War, the Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies came to an agreement: The Bill of Life states that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, a parent may choose to retroactively get rid of a child through a process called "unwinding." Unwinding ensures that the child's life doesn’t “technically” end by transplanting all the organs in the child's body to various recipients. Now a common and accepted practice in society, troublesome or unwanted teens are able to easily be unwound.

With breathtaking suspense, this book follows three teens who all become runaway Unwinds: Connor, a rebel whose parents have ordered his unwinding; Risa, a ward of the state who is to be unwound due to cost-cutting; and Lev, his parents' tenth child whose unwinding has been planned since birth as a religious tithing. As their paths intersect and lives hang in the balance, Shusterman examines serious moral issues in a way that will keep readers turning the pages to see if Connor, Risa, and Lev avoid meeting their untimely ends.”

This dystology features four books with the epic conclusion, Undivided, having just been released in 2014. The story is intense and thought-provoking, begging the question of just what lengths society may go to. Shusterman provides a fascinating commentary on technology and mankind. It includes powerful characters and is told from varying points of view. Unwind is also being optioned for the big screen, tentatively to hit theaters in 2016. So get in on the action now, and get ready for a thrilling ride!

Follow Neal Shusterman on Twitter, @NealShusterman, and LIKE him on FaceBook for more information about the author, the Unwind dystology, and Shusterman’s other books!

Unwind can be purchased from Amazon here.

Or, you can spring for the boxed set of all four novels on Amazon right here.

Beautiful 'Mockingjay Part 1' Concept Art By Joanna Bush

Thanks to our friends at QuarterQuell.org we have a peek at some of the concept art from Mockingjay Part 1. The concept artist works closely with the Production Designer (Phil Messina) and the Director (Francis Lawrence) to achieve the look of the film. Joanna Bush has done concept art for both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (see it here). She was the one who actually created the concept for the painting of Rue that Peeta does on the training center floor in Catching Fire. 

You can check out Joanna Bush's other work on her website here. 

Katniss Everdeen is #7 on Time's Most Influential Fictional Characters List of 2014

Katniss Everdeen came it at #7 on Time's annual list of the year's most influential fictional characters, as Time puts it, a "ranking of the onscreen figures that made the biggest impact on the news and our lives this year, for better and sometimes for worse." 

7. Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games heroine (played by Jennifer Lawrence) has already secured her status as a feminist role model and a box-office powerhouse. But Katniss is more than a movie icon now: Her three-fingered salute, used in Mockingjay as a signal of rebellion against the Capitol, has become a rallying symbol among pro-democracy protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong.

What To Read After Mockingjay - Panem Propaganda's Book Recommendation

Tributes! Are you sitting around wondering what you are going to do with yourselves as you wait the next YEAR for Mockingjay Part 2 (besides reading the series over and over again)? We at Panem Propaganda are putting together a series of book recommendations for our followers to get you through the long drought.

We'd like to kick this off with our first recommendation Angelfall by Susan Ee. Several of our staff have read and LOVED this book. 

 

 Here is a quick summary from Goodreads: 

"It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for suvival.

Together, they journey toward the angel's stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again."

Don't let the fact that that there are angels or the fact that it's told from a female perspective fool you, this is not a fluffy "fallen angel" book. It's a gritty, intense and compelling dystopia novel that both guys and girls will enjoy. I have personally recommended this book to about 5 different people and every single one of them LOVED it.

The second book World After is already on the bookshelves, the third and final book End Of Days is going to be released May 12, 2015. Perhaps, most exciting is that Angelfall has already been opted for the big screen. Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spiderman, Oz the Great and Powerful), Rob Tapert and Good Universe acquired the rights. It's going slowly but it IS in the works! So as you sit around tracing the mockingjay symbol on everything and marking days off the calendar, go visit Susan Ee on Facebook and pick up her book, it's amazing!

You can also purchase Angelfall on Amazon:

Angelfall Kindle Edition

Angelfall Paperback

Harva & Margo Interview the 'Mockingjay Part 1' Cast on the Red Carpet for The Ellen Show

Ellen sent Harva and Margo, the mom and aunt of you tubers “The Kloons” to report live from the red carpet of the Mockingjay Part 1 premiere in Los Angeles. These two need their own talk show, or at least a regular segment on Ellen, they are hilarious!

Sam Claflin Stars in Ciroc's New Campaign

All photos by Mario Testino 

Sam Claflin was hand-picked by photographer Mario Testino to star in the new 'On Arrival' campaign for Ciroc Premium Vodka and he spoke with Bazaar about what made him choose Sam for the campaign. For this shoot, Testino hosted a party at the London Edition Hotel to celebrate Claflin's ascent to fame.

We also get a little behind-the-scenes interview and a peek at the gorgeous pics. 

On why he chose Sam for the campaign:

For this campaign we decided to celebrate talent, but talent that is ‘On Arrival’; just about to hit the big time. Sam represents this really exciting wave of young British talent that you just know is on the way to greatness.

What is Sam like to work with?

I worked with Sam for Burberry a few years ago. It's always great to go back and work with people again and see how they have grown. Sam is great fun, confident, but open and collaborative. 

Behind the scenes:

Sam says of the campaign:

“I’ve been lucky enough to have been given some amazing opportunities to be able to do what I love in life. Of course, I have had to prove myself in a lot of ways as an actor which puts a lot of pressure on me, so this campaign appealed as it allows me a moment to celebrate.”

Panem Propaganda Goes to the 'Mockingjay Part 1' Premiere + Our Reactions to the Film

Molly and Angie from PP with Josh Hutcherson. Thanks for taking the time, Josh! We were lucky enough to be invited to the Mockingjay Part 1 premiere and after party in Los Angeles and wanted to share some of our photos and the experience with all of you. Molly, Dan and Angie from the site attended this year and it was an experience we'll never forget. 

Our Leader The Mockingjay outside the JW Marriott in Los Angeles

We got into Los Angeles on the Saturday before the premiere on Monday, November 17th, so we were able to watch the transformation of Nokia Plaza into the red carpet area for Mockingjay Part 1 over the course of the weekend:

Setting up the red (white) carpet area at Nokia 

A look at the after-party tent preparation. Click for larger image.

Molly and Dan from PP in front of a great Mockingjay mural near L.A. Live

One of the best parts about the whole weekend was meeting up with other fans and our followers. We had a little Mockingjay meet-up at Starbucks Sunday morning. 

Monday the premiere festivities began! Angie from PP was covering the red carpet area. It was a beautiful set-up - all gleaming white and very Capitol-esque. Here's a look at it as the press was setting up and before all the arrivals began:

Angie from PP on the white carpet

I spy Kimmy and Camille from Mockingjay.net and Aldrin from Down With the CapitolThe press getting set up to interview the celebrities

The madness began as the stars started to arrive. Angie was taking pictures for us on the red carpet - it was pretty chaotic!

Our follower Chelsea Buyce with Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in the background! 

Can you spot Jena talking to Grant from Jabberjays.net in the chaos?

Elizabeth Banks & Jeffrey Wright share a hug

 

After the red carpet, it was time to see the movie! We all got to our seats inside the Nokia Theater and then got to watch the celebs come in and take their seats - Suzanne Collins, Willow Shields, Stef Dawson, Wes Chatham, Elden Henson and more walked right in to take their seats among everyone. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed (other than professional and select press) so we couldn't snap any pictures. 

The cast came out with director Francis Lawrence, and producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik to introduce the movie:

Click for full size images

Then the lights went down and the movie began! See our staff reactions to the film at the end of this post.

After the complete shock (in a good way) of the movie, the huge crowd was hustled right from the theater to the after party, which was held on the top of the parking structure (sorry, the Event Deck) adjacent the theater. 

After party photos and much more after the jump! 

Click to read more ...

New 'Mockingjay Part 1' Still of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

The Hunger Games social media accounts posted a new look at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen from Mockingjay Part 1 across all platforms today:

Click for full size“My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12.”

You can follow The Hunger Games on twitter, facebook, tumblr, instagram and pinterest.