The Hunger Games

I read The Hunger Games series over the past month and just finished the third book, Mockingjay, last weekend. My heart kept pounding hard long after I read the last page and I stayed awake in bed just trying to wrap my head around the whole series of events that happened in all three books.

Yes, I am super late to the Hunger Games party but better late than never, right? Last school year, the student helpers in my classroom during 6^th hour kept talking about how awesome this series is, but I never got around to reading the books until my book club voted to read The Hunger Games for August. That was it, I was hooked and read Catching Fire and Mockingjay soon after.  

I spent hours on the couch, the treadmill, and my bed reading these books. The characters drew me in. Many times I would find myself wanting to reach my hand out to help them or close my eyes to give myself a break from all the suspense and take a breather. All three books had me on edge, I never knew what was coming next.

In the world created by Suzanne Collins, the author, Panem is a post-apocalyptic America composed of 12 districts and a capitol and revolves around an annual event called the Hunger Games, where 24 teenage tributes fight for their survival.

I found this idea for a young adult story very interesting and unique. A fantasy world that is technologically futuristic, but morally backwards. At some level it's an exaggeration of today's societal ills (picture high-school bullying, youth violence, and reality TV). If you've only seen the movie or heard about the story from friends, it might seem just violent and graphic, but there’s definitely more to it. The series shows readers a glimpse of what the world will look like in the future if we don’t take care of it, a look at how hard life can be when the government does not support its own people, a lesson on the sacrifices and losses that wars cause, and the importance of family and friends. This trilogy is action-packed and thought provoking, with deep symbolism that opens itself up to many different interpretations. The deeply troubled characters will haunt you, don't say you haven't been warned! I still think about what fate could have brought to them had they made different choices.  

This is a quote that stood out to me among all the three books. I rewrote the first sentence so as not to give away the ending of the story to those who have not read it yet.

What I need to survive is not a fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.
– Katniss Everdeen, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins