Pumped up for ‘Mockingjay’

Yeah, yeah, Mockingjay comes out tomorrow. If you’ve read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, you’ve probably had August 24 marked off in your calendar for months. (And if you’re totally obsessed with the series—like me—you’ll be reading the book on a Kindle at 12:01 a.m.)

In the coming days, we will have plenty of Mockingjay coverage on BookPage.com (here’s a hint: subscribe to Reading Corner to read our first reactions to the novel), but in the meantime here are some links to get you even more pumped up for the book release:

• Publisher’s Weekly has a roundup of exciting bookstore events from all over the country—and touches on a sensitive issue: the fact that Mockingjay comes out on a school night!
• Will First Kids Sasha and Malia Obama be Team Peeta or Team Gale?
• Author Suzanne Collins will be touring from midnight tonight until November 6. Is she coming to your town—or will you be taking a road trip to see her read?
• Tor.com blogger Thea James offers a list of 10 books to read after you finish Mockingjay. She writes: “Before you get your final, jittery fix of Katniss taking on the Capitol, make sure to have one of these books nearby. After the smoke of the District 13 revolution clears, you’ll be needing your next fix of awesome dystopian goodness.”
• Here’s a fun link for fans 21 & up: YA-appreciation blog Forever Young Adult has come up with a fabulous Hunger Games drinking game, complete with character-themed cocktails. (I am totally making “The Cinna.”)
• SPOILER ALERT: If you truly can’t wait until midnight to get your Mockingjay fix, you can read a review of the novel in the L.A. Times. The newspaper broke Scholastic’s embargo on the novel by posting the review today, and it does include a few spoilers. I’ll give you one spoiler-free hint. The final word in the review is “Wow.” Woohoo!

How are you celebrating the release of Mockingjay?

And more importantly: Are you Team Peeta or Team Gale?