The Hunger Games Trilogy
Suzanne Collins has been an author for quite some time now, but there is no doubt that the creation of Panem has brought her worldwide renown. A suspense-filled dystopian young-adult series that plays to both the readers' and media-watchers' imaginations, The Hunger Games trilogy packed a wallop; from emotional upheavals, to fierce and dangerous competition, to war and dystopia, to amusing and rather vivid descriptions of the characters. The books were definitely hard to put down once one started reading them.
The story of The Hunger Games stars Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old District 12 citizen in the country of Panem, which is the resulting land after the United States of America has since ceased to exist. To keep Panem's population in line, the Capitol sets an example for all the districts by hosting the yearly Hunger Games. Each district offers up a male and female tribute for the Games, and at the end of the Games, only one emerges as the victor. The Games are grueling and violent, but every citizen of Panem are riveted to their televisions, watching with shock, horror, and relief as their district tributes are put through the perils of the Hunger Games arena.
It is no surprise, then, that the spirited Katniss Everdeen becomes a part of the yearly tribute to the Games, a role she is willing to step into in order to save the life of her younger sister. But survival isn't the only thing she has to worry about. Nobody ever escapes the Hunger Games arena unscathed, and Katniss must learn to distinguish truths from deceptions, understand the concepts of trust and defiance, and learn the meanings of friendship and love.
It is difficult to properly review the trilogy as a full package, because each book gives off a different meaning and certainly a different reaction. The Hunger Games introduces the reader to the dystopian world of Panem by allowing a small glimpse of Capitol politics within the workings of the Hunger Games. It also introduces the major and minor characters of the trilogy; heaven forbid, however, that you got too attached to a number of them, since the Hunger Games is a merciless fight to the death. Overall, The Hunger Games did its main job well: it dragged us to a new world and intrigued us with the brutality of the competition. I, for one, turned each suspenseful page one after the other, hoping that somehow things would change for the better.
Catching Fire, however, was a completely different ballgame. While The Hunger Games was mostly about Katniss' survival and perseverance against adversity in the Games, Catching Fire focused heavily on sacrifice and the results of the actions taken by the surviving tributes. There were more entertaining character inclusions and personalities (yay for Finnick Odair, the "amazing physical specimen"!), as well as recurring members of the past book (Peeta Mellark should not exist as a man, he's too good for Katniss). Additionally, at this point in the series, there is a clear view of where the politics of Panem is heading, and we see the results of what happens when people like Katniss exist. With so much intensity packed into the second book, I admit that Catching Fire was by far my favorite of the trilogy.
Of course, everyone reading knew by the end of Catching Fire that no matter whether one liked it or not, Mockingjay was a necessary end. It was the final arc, the macro to The Hunger Games's micro, with Catching Fire bridging the two together. Mockingjay, however, was perhaps the weakest of the trilogy, the problem falling upon the fact that Katniss Everdeen regresses to her The Hunger Games personality. Instead of an evolved, completely changed Katniss, I found myself being irritated over her constant paranoia and lack of perspective. That said, I greatly appreciated Collins' depiction of war and the random unnecessary deaths that took place. And while the ending could have been stronger, there was no denying the fact that at least I didn't find much of a copout in her love triangle. But that's just me.
Overall, The Hunger Games trilogy is definitely a series to pick up, whether you're a fan of young-adult fiction, dystopian worlds, action, suspense, or romance.