Peeta and Katniss

After having read all three books in the trilogy and now having seen The Hunger Games, I have come to the conclusion that my dear partner Kate is sort of the Peeta to my Katniss.  The parallels are really quite remarkable.

Katniss and Peeta both grew up in the same area, District 12 of Panem.  Katniss was the rugged, introverted daughter of a coal miner; Peeta was the son of a baker.  Both were poor, but Peeta slightly less so.  Peeta did not reveal his feelings for Katniss until they “met” as tributes for the annual hunger games, but he had secretly pined for Katniss beforehand, unbeknownst to her.  Katniss was reserved and brusque; Peeta was more charming, and made people like both he and Katniss.  Eventually, after much struggle, Katniss chose Peeta and they settled down for a quiet life together.

That’s basically the story of me and Kate.  We both grew up in eastern Kentucky.  Kate grew up in Richmond, the daughter of a restaurant manager.  I grew up in a more rural setting near Hyden, the daughter of a coal miner.  I lived a more rugged life, but we were both poor, working-class kids.  Kate and I eventually met working 3^rd shift at a residential drug rehab facility, which always had that “we may not make it out of here alive” vibe, much like the hunger games.  Kate secretly began pining for me months before I noticed.  I tend to be slightly misanthropic.  I am an introvert who is slow to warm to people, and other people are usually even slower to warm to me.  Kate, on the other hand, is more of a people-pleaser.  She's cute and charming, and usually wins others over rather easily.  I'm also pretty sure even my friends like me more since I chose Kate.  Despite the odds, we’ve settled in to a quiet life together, too.  Unlike Peeta and Katniss, though, Kate and I were able to bypass the stage where she was brainwashed to assassinate me.

At least so far.