Over the last three days I sat down and read the Hunger Games trilogy. I kept hearing all these great things about it and finally I was curious enough to check it out. As silly as it is going to sound, I have dreams of one day being a best selling author. I think that it is important for me to keep up on what the top selling books right now are like. So far, I am not worried at all. These reviews are mainly focused on my opinion with a little plot thrown in. If you want full plot summaries and character info, click on the book titles and you will be taken to the Wiki page for each book.
The Hunger Games
When I first started reading this book, I was not impressed. I didn't think it was all that well written and I thought it was too simple for someone of my reading level. As I read the book however I began to really feel involved with the characters. I didn't really like any of them, but I wanted to know what was going to happen to them. The main character, Katniss, Is a poor 16-year-old girl who feeds her family by hunting illegally in the area surrounding her home of District 12. The whole series takes place in the future in North America after we have almost destroyed ourselves through war. Katniss trades herself for her sister in the mandatory Hunger Games, where is believes she is going to die. The book follows her and her fellow tribute, Peeta, through the games. You never really love the characters in the book, but you really begin to respect them and the decisions they have to make. Needless to say, by the time I was done with this book, I ripped right into the second one.
Catching Fire
This book continues where the last one left off. The events in the last book involving Katniss and Peeta have start minor rebellion in many of the districts. ***SPOILER*** They are brought back to the Hunger Games a second time for a special edition of the games. In this battle they must face off against all the previous winners of the games. Again, none of the characters are particularly lovable, but they are put in such terrible situations that you wonder if they are really given the chance to show that side of themselves. The events of the last book have warped Katniss even more that she already was an it is sometimes hard to not want to scream at her for her decisions and her reactions to things. At the same time, you can not put the book down. You need to know what is going to happen next. You also find yourself wondering how you would react in these situations and would you be able to survive. I zoomed through this book and right on into the next one.
Mockingjay
The last book of the series was the least exciting. There is less action then the other two, but the character development and relationships seem to be the main focus in this book. It also seems to me, to be questioning how much a person can take before they completely break down. I do not know if I could have dealt with all the things that Katniss does and still come trough relatively sane. This book is a great ending to the series and even though you still don't love the characters, you are happy fo them, scared for them, and sad for them over and over throughout the book. The author did a great job of getting us to feel exactly what she wanted us to feel or her characters.
Overall, though I am still not convinced that these were the most well written books, and they did have some issues that bothered me, I really enjoyed reading them. Putting these books down to go to sleep of work was not an easy thing. You are kept at the edge of your seat while reading them, and just when you think you have them all figured out, something completely crazy happens and messes it all up. Great Books. And I am kinda excited for the movies as well.
