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4.5
This paragraph will explain premise of the Hunger Games. If you consider that spoiler territory, skip to the next paragraph and feel confident that no further plot points will be discussed. In case you were curious what the Hunger Games actually are, it is an annual event where 24 minors from a dozen third-world districts are selected to battle to the death for the entertainment of the wealthy citizens of the Capitol. The fallen are a grim reminder of a decades old failed rebellion against the Capitol, the victors given wealth and celebrity status as a symbol of the Capitol's kindness.Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy is not only a dark reflection of pop culture, but an examination of the modern world through the eyes of a teenage girl, Katniss Everdeen. The first book may function as a stand-alone adventure, a complete tale in its own right that does not require further reading, but the continuations are so worthwhile that the reader is truly missing out by ending it there.In my opinion, Catching Fire (the second novel in the trilogy) is the weakest, but it answers some questions, fills in some gaps, explores the social and political ramifications of the events in the first book and establishes itself as profoundly important when reading the third and final novel, Mockingjay, which is possibly the strongest of the three. Mockingjay has one of the strongest conclusions I've ever read and provides a true sense of closure that could not have been reached any earlier in the saga, but more importantly, the follow-up novels feel like necessary additions rather than a cash-grab.It is not a light-hearted story. The novels respectfully portray the effects of Post Traumatic Stress and the characters live in a cruel world. The themes explored in the Hunger Games get progressively darker and more complex, but never is the violence glorified. It may take a certain level of maturity to truly grasp the larger concepts at work, but the reader may become more mature for having read this. I consider that an achievement in of itself considering the target age group. The literary style is appropriate for younger readers but is thought-provoking enough to for adults to find themselves engrossed in.Katniss Everdeen is a strong female lead, one whom is written so well that the book is almost gender-neutral--but there is a love triangle, for those who might care about that sort of thing. She is capable, yet flawed, and her awareness of her shortcomings makes her all the more human. For those who have watched the movies but have not yet read the book, departing from the third-person perspective of the films into the first-person point of view in the novels will complete one's understanding of the characters and the world they live in.There is little that I would change in these novels had I any measure of creative control. The Hunger Games I leave in peace, Catching Fire took a little while for that sense of imminent danger to manifest, ends on a cliffhanger and Mockingjay began with a time-skip of a couple months which felt a little jarring. Also in Mockingjay a couple minor characters had conspicuous absences throughout the majority of the book, but all the important pieces were in play. These minor complaints are merely nitpicks, easily forgivable in this stellar series.
