Review: Hunger Games Trilogy

Warning: I have long since forgotten how to do a proper book review, so kindly bear with me. Oh, and yeah, there are a coupla spoilers here as well. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now, on with the review.

Yes, you can say that this trilogy got me hooked. For books targeted towards young adults, the series is quite intense and at times brutal. Definitely not for the weak of stomach. Of the three books, my favorite would have to be the first installment, The Hunger Games. The second and third books are just at par, though I love the revelations and twists in them.

Katniss Everdeen is the main character in all three books. She kicks ass, I just gotta say. She evolved from a simple hunter and family bread-winner in the first book to a fearless but guilt-consumed rebel leader in the third. The transition is evident not just in the story but the writing style as well. I kinda thought at first that compared to the tightly-written The Hunger Games, the writing styles in Catching Fire and Mockingjay progressively became more sloppy. But then I realized that that just reflects Katniss’s state of mind as she slowly becomes undone as a result of the Capitol’s machinations and subsequently, her own decisions.

Of course, being a YA novel there has to be a romantic angle in there somewhere. This here’s got the fans divided into Camp Gale (Hawthorne) and Camp Peeta (Mellark). The guys are polar opposites, a fierce hunter and a gentle baker respectively. Personally, I myself cannot decide which guy I want Katniss to end up with since both guys appeal to me but in vastly different ways. But who she did end up with (and her reason for choosing) seems pretty justified and I got no problem whatsoever with it.

Other characters I love are Haymitch Abernathy (District 12’s only Hunger Game victor and Katniss and Peeta’s mentor), Cinna (Katniss’s stylist-turned-trusted-friend), Rue (the District 11 tribute who reminded Katniss of Prim and became her ally) and Finnick Odair (the gorgeous District 4 victor whose good looks belie a wealth of Capitol secrets).

The rebellion subplot running throughout the series is powerful as well. Katniss was at first an unwitting pawn in the real game of freedom from the Capitol’s tyranny, then later a rebel leader and symbol/mascot of sorts. Peeta plays a pivotal role in practically all of her decision-making (though she can’t quite figure out that she loves him pretty much all throughout the series), thus making him the Capitol’s weapon against her and subsequently the rebels. Gale on the other hand kinda hardened as the series progresses, in the end losing Katniss when it was implied that one of his death snares killed Prim (Katniss’s younger sister who she loves more than her own life). And the last twist of the Capitol overthrow is quite rewarding in that the heartless leaders of the two opposing factions both died.

All in all, I like it very much and the series is well worth recommending. 🙂