Submissions for #FirstLineFriday are officially closed now. My thanks to all who emailed me with their guesses. This is one of my favorite opening lines, and well deserving of being included in this list, in my own opinion. Sadly, wonderful as it is, many of us who’ve read the book seem to have forgotten it. Happily, two folks remembered. Congratulations to our winners:
Hope you two will enjoy the books you selected!
And now, here’s the answer to today’s quiz:
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.” is the opening line from The Hunger Games, a series of young adult dystopian novels written by the American author Suzanne Collins. The series is set in the Hunger Games universe, the first three novels being a trilogy following teenage protagonist, Katniss Everdeen.
The novels in the trilogy are titled The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010). These novels were all turned into films starring Jennifer Lawrence, with the film adaptation of Mockingjay split into two parts. The first two books in the series were both New York Times best sellers, and Mockingjay topped all US bestseller lists upon its release. By the time the film adaptation of The Hunger Games was released in 2012, the publisher had reported over 26 million Hunger Games trilogy books in print, including movie tie-in books.
The Hunger Games universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games.
The novels were all well received. In August 2012, the series ranked second, exceeded only by the Harry Potter series in NPR’s poll of the top 100 teen novels, which asked voters to choose their favorite young adult books. On August 17, 2012, Amazon announced the Hunger Games trilogy as its top seller, surpassing the record previously held by the Harry Potter series. As of 2014, the trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the U.S. alone (more than 28 million copies of The Hunger Games, more than 19 million copies of Catching Fire, and more than 18 million copies of Mockingjay). The Hunger Games trilogy has been sold in 56 territories in 51 languages to date.
WHAT AMAZON SAYS:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.
BUY THE HUNGER GAMES HERE
And that wraps up this week’s #FirstLineFriday quiz. Thanks for playing everyone! Hope to see more winners next time, but for now, congratulations again to Bob and Harmony! Happy Reading, you two!
The Write Stuff 
I’ve read the whole trilogy but that line escaped me. I think the books are better than the films – but I suppose part of that is down to having to cut so much of the written word to fit the celluloid one.
Congratulations to the two winners! Looking forward to the next one of these. Thanks, Marcia!
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Glad you enjoy them, Trish. I think I’ve only seen 2 films in my life that were better than the book, and maybe only 3 that were even “just as good.” I generally think Hollywood miscasts most books terribly, using whoever’s popular at the moment, instead of the right actor for the role. I saw the Hunger Games movies too, and thought they were decent, but not nearly as well done as the books.
Funny how that first line, brilliant as it was in setting mood and tone, escaped so many of us who’d read these books. I’m learning a lot from these little quizzes. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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I haven’t read the books or watched the movies so I would have never guessed. Well done to those who did!! I look forward to the next opening line.
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Thanks, Darlene. I’m happy to have two winners, since so many of the folks who’d read this one didn’t recognize that line, including me. 😦 Strange how hard it is to place the lines, even in books we’ve read fairly recently, much less the “classics.”
Thanks for stopping by today! 🙂
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I absolutely loved that series, but I can’t remember lines of anything, much less a book I read years ago. I honestly can’t even remember the first lines of my own books. LOL! Congrats to the winners. 🙂
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I think you have plenty of company in that, Yvette. I’ve read the series and seen the movies, and didn’t recognize it, either. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, though. Stay tuned for next time. Maybe it will ring a bell. 😀
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Ah. I’ve not read The Hunger Games, but I saw the movie once. Congrats to the winners.
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I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series, Jeanne, but that line did NOT stick in my head, as much as I like it. Go figger! 😀 thanks for stopping by. I’ll bet you get it next time. (You’re very good at these!) 🙂
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I read every single book of The Hunger Games. I knew I recognized that line from somewhere, but I couldn’t pull it up. 🙂 Congrats to Harmony and Bob!
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Me, too, Jan, and had I not been the one offering it up, I’d have been drawing a blank, too. And it’s a great opening line, too, but it sure took off for parts unknown, probably immediately after I finished reading the book. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by today, Jan. Better luck next time! 🙂
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Thanks, Jan. Amazed I remembered! 😁
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My apologies for being so late to respond. I wouldn’t have gotten it right anyway, because I’ve never read the Hunger Games. Thank you for the fun literary game and the inspiration, Marcia. 😊
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It was a very entertaining series, Gwen, YA or not. I enjoyed it a lot, BUT it didn’t give me one bit of advantage with this cool opening line. I totally didn’t recognize it. 😯
So glad you enjoy the game, and hope you do take inspiration from some of these remarkable lines. Maybe next time, you’ll recognize the line right off. Good luck! 🙂
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Thanks for the Friday fun, Marcia. I’m amazed I remembered this line, but then I have read the books a ‘few’ times!
Congrats to Bob on his correct guess too.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone 🙂
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I’m glad you enjoyed the quiz, Harmony, and that it was fun for you. I’ve read the series and seen the movies, and I honestly didn’t recognize the line at all. I’m going to blame it on OBS (Old Brain Syndrome). 😀 So glad you won, and I hope you enjoy your book! Thanks for playing, and stay tuned for next time. 😀
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Can’t wait to get into the WakeRobin Ridge books! Thanks so much. Hugs 💕🙂
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I do hope you enjoy the series, Harmony! WRR was my first book ever, so be gentle! Hahahahaha. And of course, it all changes when Rabbit shows up, anyway. 😀 Happy Reading, when the time comes! I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts. 🙂 ❤
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