The Hunger Games

I recently finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy (anyone else hate when a series is just named after the first part of the entire work, like Twilight, and not given a proper name, like The Lord of the Rings?). I was going to write one post on the entire trilogy, but decided, for reasons that will become clear once I'm done with all three posts, to do each book separately. I'm going to try and do so without spoiling anything, but, as with any review of a story driven medium, some things will be revealed that you might not want to know, so proceed with caution.

The first book is, without a doubt, the best in the series. I challenge you to read this series and come away from it liking Catching Fire or The Mockingjay better than The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12 of Panem, a country which has risen from the ashes of what was once known as The United States of America. Around 74 years before the story begins, there was a great war between the districts and a place known as the Capitol. The Capitol was victorious in the war and has since then subjected the districts to much hardship and an annual event known as The Hunger Games. No other information is given about why the US fell or why the districts and the Capitol were fighting and, quite frankly, knowing wouldn't enhance the plot at all. Fell free to blame the fall of the US on Obama or Bush, according to your party affiliating.

Every year, The Hunger Games are held. From each district, a male and female tribute are selected to compete in a match to the death. The selection process is called The Reaping. Every child between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district has their name placed in a container divided by gender and a name is Reaped from each container. The Hunger Games are a way for the Capitol to remind rebellious citizens of the districts who their daddy is and keep them in line. Of course, this wouldn't be much of a story if Katniss Everdeen didn't find herself as this year's female tribute from District 12.

The Hunger Games is very bloody, gory story with hints of teenage mushy crap. This series is targeted at "Young Adults", whatever the heck that means, so the amount of mushy garbage is surprisingly low. This is a good thing. The story is very deep for young adult fiction. A political statement is buried deep within the subtext. Many keen readers will notice parallels between Panem's social and political state and our current social and political state here in the US. It's almost creepy. A lot of ignorant people will jump to the conclusion that the districts represent conservatives and the evil Capitol represents liberals or something like that. It's not that cut and dry, so don't be that guy.

Unfortunately, The Hunger Games suffers from what a lot of stories with a female lead suffer from. Katniss is not a very interesting character. Katniss exists for the same reason Bella exists in Twilight. She is fairly typical as female characters go, likely so that the reader can insert themselves into the role of the lead. This works fine in RPGs and other video games where the lead character has no personality at all (Link from the Legend of Zelda) or is a mute (Crono from Chrono Trigger), but in a story where the reader is not actively participating and has no say in what happens to these characters, the lead role needs to be very strong and firm. Katniss, like any typical teenager, struggles with emotions and feelings and blah blah blah. I don't need a Lara Croft, just someone a little less teenagery. I found myself wishing that the story followed her male tribute counterpart, Peeta, instead of Katniss. Luckily, the story of Panem and the events happening around Katniss tell a very deep, entertaining story and successfully carry the very dull Katniss through it to the fantastic climax.

For those wondering, from what I've seen of the upcoming film's trailers, the film looks fairly accurate to the book. Unless LIONSGATE really screws up, expect this film to be rated R for graphic violence. If it receives a PG-13 rating, my excitement for this film will be extinguished. PG-13 means they really watered this one down.

Overall, The Hunger Games is a very solid read. If you like violence and people standing up and spitting in the face of corrupt authority, this is a must read. The Hunger Games can be purchased at most major brick and mortar retailers as well as from Amazon.com. It is also available for Kindle and Nook.

A word of caution: Even though this is a trilogy, The Hunger Games works well as a stand alone story, but the sequels, Catching Fire and The Mockingjay, do not. Even though, as you'll see, I did not like Catching Fire or Mockingjay nearly as much as I did the Hunger Games, I do recommend finishing the trilogy. But, if you're only going to read the first book, just like if you only watched The Matrix, you won't be left hanging with a lack of closure.