Juvenile and Teen series seem to be all the rage to kids and adults alike. Sometimes this is because a story is a guilty pleasure page-turner (Hi Twilight) other times you think that it maybe shouldn't be a kids book by the end of it (Hi Harry). The Hunger Games is closer to the Harry Potter end except The Hunger Games was never a kids book in the first place. Yes The Hunger Games features adolescents in main roles- but that's pretty much where the kids part ends.
The Hunger Games is the story of a fallen North America far in the future where the capitol forces a select group of children and teenagers to fight to the death on television for the amusement of it's citizens. The show basically throws twenty four "lucky" kids into an arena with next to no food or weapons and watch as they begin to murder each other in the hopes that they'll be the one person to make it out alive. This is not only for the purpose of entertainment- but to remind all of the lesser privileged citizens that if they rebel the capitol has the power to kill your children.
The Hunger Games shows us what's become of America. A fledgling country split into twelve districts and one capitol. Each of the districts have a purpose (textiles, coal, farming, etc.) though most of the people in the districts are worked to the bone only for the fruits of their labor to go to the citizens of the capitol while their own people are left starving often under a violent watchful eye of the law.
Collins gives us what will be known throughout history as one of the best heroines of literature (and now a personal fave to tie Lisbeth Salander) Katniss Everdeen. There are a lot of great things about Katniss. First of all- she's a badass. After losing her father she becomes the sole provider for her mother and sister and in doing so becomes a spectacular hunter. An acting teacher in college once told me that great stars need only three things: sensuality, vulnerability, and humor- Katniss is swimming in all three. While she's rather hardcore you still find her vulnerability in her love and feeling of responsibility for her sister. As the reader sees you can see her sensuality in what might be the least nauseating love triangle I've ever encountered!
Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. The reason this triangle works is because this author shows us genuine long term emotional connections to both men- this is a tale of survival not frivolity (Hi again Twilight). Gale is a childhood friend who became a confidant to Katniss after both lost their fathers in tragic accidents. Peeta is not only Katniss's sole source of comfort during the Hunger Games, but also helped her greatly during a childhood time of need. Both of these well written instances make for a completely understandable: How the hell can you choose??? [Though I must say (and I will not name names for those who have not yet had the pleasure of reading the book) one character had little chance of becoming an audience favorite for Katniss's lover by not having enough face time in the first book.]
I don't want to divulge too much detailed info about the trilogy and ruin it for future fans- but I must say the basic arc that the trilogy took was very similar to that of the Millennium Trilogy.
Book 1: The cleanest story arc and could be a stand alone novel if the author chose to go that way.
Book 2: The most action-packed, but choppy storyline.
Book 3: The most cerebral- least amount of romantic and humorous relief, but necessary to tie up the series appropriately.
The one thing I would say as I was reading the final chapters of Mockingjay (book #3) is I couldn't help but think this was a real life lesson. In Harry Potter (which I will always love) there are good guys and bad guys- they may be flawed, but very rarely sway sides. Good guys are good, bad guys are bad. As the Hunger Games was inching toward a close I kept thinking about the characters we'd met and their loss of innocence. Parents work so hard to shelter their children, but ultimately (even when I think of my own life) losing your innocence has nothing to do with the first time you see someone shot in the head on television or when you lose your virginity- you lose your innocence when you realize for the first time that the world is not an innately good place. You lose your innocence the first time you're hurt deeply and irrevocably.
I felt that The Hunger Games was in many ways a very honest look at human nature.
A+
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