Books 72-74: The Hunger Games Trilogy

I should note that there will be spoilers in here if you haven’t read the books.

16 year old Katniss Everdeen lives in a future where the United States has become Panem, a country of 12 districts surrounding the all powerful Capitol. The citizens of the districts work for the Capitol, under the rule of President Snow, living harsh lives with those of District 12 on the brink of starvation. This is Katniss’ district. She survives by hunting with her best friend Gale, and risks being tortured or killed if she is caught. Every year the Capitol holds The Hunger Games, part entertainment for the Capitol’s residents, and part a reminder of its power. Years ago District 13 rose up and tried to overthrow the Capitol, and as punishment each district must put forward one boy and one girl each year as tributes. These tributes will fight to the death in an arena especially built for that specific games, with the last one standing being named victor.

The Hunger Games begins on the day of the reaping, when the names are pulled from a box to decide who will go into the Games. Some children have more chances than others, as they put their name in extra in order to get food and other supplies. Katniss is horrified when her younger sister Prim’s name is called, and she immediately volunteers to go in her place. With hardly any time for goodbyes, Katniss is whisked off to the Capitol to be prepared for the Games, along with the boy tribute, Peeta. They go into the arena with 22 other tributes, and the battle for survival begins. Initially alone, Katniss makes alliances, faces unknown terrors, and possibly finds love.

The second book is Catching Fire. After her act of rebellion at the end of the Hunger Games, Katniss must pretend to be in love with Peeta, for fear of sparking rebellion amongst the other districts. While on their victory tour they must appear to be wildly in love or face President Snow’s wrath. Returning home, they learn that the 75th Hunger Games will be different, as it is a Quarter Quell. In the past these have included doubling the number of tributes, but this time the only ones eligible to be picked are former victors. Barely free of the Games for a year, Katniss will be going back in to the arena, but this time she is determined to keep Peeta alive.

In Mockingjay Katniss learns that District 12 has been destroyed, and she has been rescued from the Games by the supposedly obliterated District 13. There she learns of the rebellion and joins the fight to take down the Capitol and Snow once and for all. Her role is that of the Mockingjay, a symbol for the people to latch on to. But she can’t let go of Peeta and the fact that he has been captured by Snow, and probably tortured. When he is rescued by the rebels, she is overjoyed at his return, but he is not the Peeta he used to be. Now they, along with Gale and others in the rebellion, are going into the Capitol to take down Snow. In a city lined with pods of booby traps, Katniss is still not free of the Games that haunt her dreams. She must also make a choice between two loves, her best friend Gale, and Peeta, who no longer knows what is real or made up. And there is a final betrayal she will never recover from.

I know I’m at least ten years outside the demographic for these books, what with them being Teen Fiction, but I loved them. I’m so glad I came to them late so I didn’t have to wait each time for the next book to come out, I’d never have made it. I ended up reading them one after the other, and I couldn’t put them down. However, as I neared the end I stopped reading as much, even though I was desperate to know how they ended, because I didn’t want them to be over, I didn’t want to leave Katniss and the other characters behind.

Katniss is not necessarily an easy character to like, even though the books are told from her perspective, and you’re rooting for her to survive. She can be cold and calculating, bossy and say things without thinking. She’s oblivious to a lot of other people’s feelings, especially Gale and Peeta, but then she has had other things on her mind growing up, needing to concentrate on her own survival and that of her family. But she’s also fiercely loyal, smart and strong. She would give up her own life to save others, and to bring down the Capitol’s regime. I thought she was a very interesting character, and loved her even with her faults.

I was less keen on Peeta in the beginning. He’s a bit wet really, all this talk of love and ‘If you die I have nothing to live for.’ Oh grow a spine boy and get over it. I was very much rooting for Gale, and his silent love of Katniss. But then Collins totally turned it around on me. As soon as Peeta returned in Mockingjay and wasn’t himself, with his memories of Katniss abused and distorted, I wanted him back. For her. I wanted her to have something good to cling to. Plus Gale never really got going as a character, he isn’t given much to do. Having said that her choice at the end, and all that comes with it, her associations with Prim and Gale…they are heartbreaking.

These are possibly the most addictive books I’ve ever read. Collins manages to keep the suspense going all the way through, but especially in The Hunger Games. There are so many terrible things that happen, and even though I knew she must survive because there were other books to come, that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried for her at times. There are so many things for her to face. Collins doesn’t pull any punches either. This is war, and war is painful. There will be casualties, and not of the Red Shirt kind either. You feel so many of the deaths, for what they mean to Katniss, but also what they mean to you, having followed these people through the books and got to know them. They’re hard, and yes I totally cried at the end of the last book.

One of the things I liked most about the books, along with the wildly imaginative world that has been created, is the writing style. It’s plain and to the point, while still giving us great insight into Katniss’ character. It’s not flowery, it’s not filled with a thesaurus worth of adjectives (unlike some writers I could mention), and yet it is incredibly moving. I could probably go on and on, because I’m sad to let go, geek that I am, but I’ll end with a: Read these. If you’re remotely interested in kick-ass heroines, post-apocalyptic worlds and insanely addictive reads, these are for you.

Tags: 52 books, cannonball read