The Hunger Games Trilogy

This morning, I finally finished the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay kept me constantly entertained in the small patches of hours I've had off work for the last couple weeks.  I feel like I haven't blogged in ages (which is suitable, since I haven't), but I wanted to finish all three of Collins' novels before babbling on about them here.  I read the dystopian set on the recommendation of the lovely Jennifer Kelly, who, in her words (ish), knowing my taste, wouldn't suggest a book that "wasn't good literature".  Thanks Jenn.  I agree that The Hunger Games and its sequels are definitely worth reading, and would recommend them to all my literary friends.  Going beyond the "worth reading" stamp though, I would hazard a guess that young adult readers, Collins' target group, would adore the trilogy like my generation adores Harry Potter (moment of silence).

I guess that to some of my readers it sounds silly considering myself something other than a young adult, but when it comes to novel genre, I tend to think of "young adults" as being more in the 14-18 range.  Is that just me?  As much as I enjoyed Collins' trilogy, I sometimes found myself wishing I had read it at a younger age (or I suppose wishing it had been written when I was younger), assuming I would have enjoyed it that much more.  I also think a younger Danica would have cared less about Collins' fragmented style (as in, her style is literally one of sentence fragments), which started to really get on my nerves by book three.  In terms of content and entertainment value though, I was totally sold.  And at the risk of being harshly made fun of by Jenn and Kirstin, I appreciated the trilogy's motif of fire imagery.  (Insert laughter).

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Collins' trilogy is set in the dystopian world of Panem where an elite Capitol rules over twelve underprivileged districts.  Prior to the action of the novels (about 74 years to be exact), a rebellion is described to have taken place, where the Capitol defeated rebel forces from the district, completely demolishing the 13th district, and leaving the others in rather shoddy conditions.  And these jerks at the Capitol have made an annual event to remind the districts of their place.  Welcome to the Hunger Games, where each district pledges a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight each other to the death in a man-made arena full of horrors.  Only one child can win (as in, only one can live).

Isn't that terrible!?  This past year, the boy I tutor did his English 11 book report on Collins' trilogy, and when he explained this general plot line to me I was both completely intrigued and highly disturbed.  Ah, the beauty of dystopian fiction.  I knew right then that I wanted to read Collins' novels, but it took some pleading from Jenn to make it happen.  I was worried that since I knew the basic plot of the novels (pretty intensely in the case of the first) they would be ruined, but that totally wasn't the case.  The things I thought I knew came to a totally different world after entering Panem, and the life of Katniss Everdeen.

Katniss is one of the district twelve tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games.  She narrates all three novels, and is, I think, one of Collins' greatest achievements.  She's an incredibly believable character, with natural talents and flaws, and the way Collins writes her mindset at any given time is very impressive.  When Katniss doesn't quite know whats going on, neither does her reader.  If Katniss isn't present for a certain event, Collins doesn't fill us in with some lame, detailed conversation between Katniss and someone who was present, but instead allows the reader to fill in the blanks along with her narrator.

Girly girl that I am, one of my most favourite parts of Collins' story was the romance that weaved in and out of it. Again, Katniss' trials with love are very honestly and realistically written.  As the books go on, they get more and more political, and Katniss' uncertainty on her stance on these issues is also quite convincing.

I feel as if I can't go very far into any of the books without giving too much away, but let me say this:  I applaud Collins for her courageous decision to stray from the classic happy ending.  The third novel, the last in her trilogy, closes on a melancholic and even dangerous note, which I fully appreciate.  It gives the whole trilogy a lot more strength, and leaves an impression with her reader that seriously lasts for days.  Its a thinker, her trilogy, and as I mentioned before, it is worth the read for any avid reader.  And if you know a "young adult", buy it for them for their birthday.  They will thank you.