'Mockingjay' Is A Lot Like The Book ... Mostly

It always makes me super nervous to see movies that have been adapted from books, especially books I really, really love. But I feel like that's something that The Hunger Games has done exceptionally well so far. Of course, it helps that author Suzanne Collins is a consultant on the movie and is heavily involved when the scripts are written, but I've always been impressed to see how well the books translate on screen, and Mockingjay: Part 1 is no exception. That said, after seeing the movie, there have been a few changes made from the original plot line, but none of them alter the message of the story. So how, exactly, does Mockingjay the movie differ from the book?

A few details have been changed, timelines have been swapped around, and a lot of the exposition from the book (especially from the first chapter) has been changed out for dialogue since we can't read Katniss' thoughts on-screen the way we can in a book. My favorite thing about the Hunger Games movies is that they don't limit us to just seeing Katniss' point of view the way the books do. This calls for a few artistic liberties here and there, but they're usually improvements I can agree with.

Here are all the ways the terribly heartbreaking Mockingjay movie differs from the book — and whether those changes are for the better or not. And in case you haven't picked up on this by now, there are definitely spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen the movie yet and want to be surprised when you do, quit reading now!

Katniss doesn't feel like eating

This is a tiny detail, but it changes something important to the novel. In the book, Katniss notes that the former District 12 residents seem perplexed by the food rations here — they're used to having way less food than this. Katniss, however, is always starving, and Gale ends up sharing his portions with her. In the movie, Katniss is too distressed to eat.

Effie is there to help Katniss instead of her prep team

In the book, Katniss' prep team from the Games is there to help get her ready for the propos. In the movie, they don't appear at all — instead, a rough looking Effie Trinket is on hand. Makes sense, since her character is so beloved, and who doesn't want more Elizabeth Banks?

Katniss returns to hunting because of Gale.

When Katniss makes her list of demands in exchange for being the Mockingjay in the book, she requests that she and Gale be allowed to hunt for two hours every day. In the movie, she leaves that out, and later on, Gale comes to her, announcing that he's convinced Coin to let them hunt.

The emergency nightlock pill doesn't exist

In the book, Plutarch Heavensbee gives Katniss a nightlock pill that will allow her to commit suicide if she's captured while filming the propos in District 8. Totally doesn't happen in the movie.

There's less friction between Gale and Katniss

Of course, that dreadful ill-timed kiss still takes place, because who can resist turning a story of revolution into a story about a love triangle? If you couldn't tell, that was me rolling my eyes. Anyway, in the book, Katniss gets pissed at Gale for siding with Coin on so many issues, and debates whether or not she should trust him. In the movie, this is not so, but that's probably because who wouldn't trust Liam Hemsworth?

Peeta's rescue is totally different

When the team of soldiers from District 13 goes into the Capitol to rescue Peeta, Annie, and the other victors, everyone back at 13 finds out that Snow was onto their plan all along. In the book, the soldiers get Peeta, Annie, and Johanna out pretty flawlessly, with no evidence at the time whether or not Snow realized what was happening until their rescue was complete.

Images: Lionsgate, Giphy (6)