Ok, so I promised this a long, long time ago. But here is my review of the Hunger Games trilogy. And yes, I realize that everyone who wants to read it probably already has and those who don't want to read it won't have to after all the movies are out. But even still, its good for writing practice and getting in the habit of blogging when things are slow.
I appreciated that it was a complete story. At the end of the third book, it felt like an actual ending, not a cliff-hanger that would never be answered. Each of the main characters' stories was finished. And I liked that.
Each novel was very well-written, in my opinion. The main character was new to me. Katniss Everdeen was not like any other girl I had encountered or loved to read before. Definitely not a Bella, nor Hermione. Maybe the closest was Jane Eyre. A girl forced to become an adult earlier than desired.
Although her circumstances are certainly unique. I enjoy dystopian literature, and I have never read something quite like this. Of course it had the common features of a dystopia: controlling government, a strong connection to the rebel, lovable characters who must die in the end, and a selfless internal driving force.
From the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. I was amazed at how quickly I became attached to Katniss and Primrose. The development of The Hunger Games kept me guessing. I knew that she had to survive for their to be a second and third book, but I could never guess how. It inspired questions in me that I wasn't necessarily prepared to answer:
Did I want her to kill others in order to save herself?
Could I really blame the other tributes for trying to kill her in order to survive?
Would I kill others in order to gain a better future for myself and my family, my entire town?
I did not enjoy the second book, Catching Fire, nearly as much as the first. I began reading it with the persistent question of How can this continue on? I didn't want to just read two books of her on-again/off-again love/hate relationship with Peeta. That wasn't what drew me in in the first place. This was probably my least favorite of the trilogy.
So that's that.
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And then there was Mockingjay. I know a lot of people didn't like this one, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I loved this one for the even more intense setting and the way each character was forced to progress even more in their development. This was when I really began to respect Peeta as a possible partner for Katniss. It seems that each of the main characters: Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Finnick, Johanna, and Haymitch, all hit rock bottom here. It is definitely the least happy of the three. Maybe because I'm not always such a happy, optimistic person, I loved this.
The ending wasn't necessarily a Happily Ever After conclusion, but it did seem the most realistic for this set of fictional characters.
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All in all, it was a very enjoyable and satisfying read from beginning to end. I would definitely read it again (I already have once) and recommend it to others.
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