The Hunger Games

[Lynna]

I like them. However, I would have to say that it had a very unsatisfactory ending for me (when it said that Gale went off to become an actor or something, I had a 'WHAT THE HECK!?' look on my face). Katniss definitely annoys me in some instances as well. She throws a temper tantrum when Peeta says he loves her on live television, but come on... you have to be stupid to freak out over something like that and hurt your only friend. Besides, I don't see what she's complaining about.

Still, other parts are really touching. I'm not going to go into much detail, since I don't want to ruin it for people. I kind of wish it wasn't in first person... though I guess it describes what she's feeling in a more in-depth way.

All in all, good books. Probably going to be a 'good' movie as well. Hopefully.

I was under the impression that
[Spoiler]Gale had gone off to work in another district for some company. It said he had a high position, but it didn't state what he was doing. I imagine that he would have gotten a lot of honours for his work towards the revolution. I never liked him too much, so I didn't miss him.[/spoiler]
also, to hide anything spoiletific, pute "spoiler' and '/spoiler' around the spoilerific words, replace the quotation marks with the ""[" brackets.

I have to say, no matter what the circumstances, if someone confessed to me on TV, I would die. literally. Unless, maybe if I loved them back. I still wouldn't leave my house for a week XD
Although the writing is far from perfect, I feel it reflects Katniss's character

[Yuki-Anne]

Okay, finished the series.

[spoiler]Finnick's death was the biggest bummer. I disliked that part. I just felt like Mockingjay's 3rd part was bizarrely rushed, like Collins was running out of time and felt sick of her own characters and just wanted it over with.

Prim's death was poetic and added a tragic symmetry to the series. In a way, it really was necessary, to lend the story a proper amount of dramatic irony: the whole story started because she wanted to save Prim's life, and in the end, her actions resulted in Prim's death.

I do agree that I wish more time had been given to the happy ending, but it felt appropriate. I just wish Peeta had a bigger role in the final battle, rather than just running off and getting hurt off-scene. Lame.[/spoiler]

My only other complaint is that I wanted to know more about CINNA! What an awesome character, and yet we came out of the series knowing next to nothing about him!

[rocklobster]

Just finished the trilogy. The ending was touching. I wonder if they'll do all three books.

[Yuki-Anne]

If the first movie makes enough money, probably.

[uc pseudonym]

What I appreciate about this series is that it focuses less on the Battle Royale and more on the dystopia. Specifically, the idea that the protagonist is forced to be a symbol, and that the games aren't just about who dies, but what they mean to everyone watching.

I wish it had done more with this. For example, I was hoping the tour in the second book would have been a longer section of subtle politics. The third book dealt with this some but it felt so divorced from the main war (until the end) that it wasn't very satisfying. Though after some thought I don't like the ending, I respect it for not taking the easy way out (that is, the bit with presidents Snow and Coin).

Also, am I the only person who didn't find the relationship with Peeta compelling at any stage in the series? Gale barely appears and gets personality transplants periodically. I'd buy Katniss x Finnick before either of them.

[Maokun]

Finished Catching Fire and I find myself seriously disliking Katniss now. She's crippingly dense, self-sabotagingly stubborn and appallingly reluctant to deal with her own feelings, no matter how many times it puts herself, her loved ones, total strangers and even the fate of a whole nation in mortal danger. In spite of all the times her emotional cowardice and short-tempered stupidity have hurt herself and others, she displays almost nil character growth after two books packed with what for any other human being would be paradigm-shifting events.

I'm now seriously wonder whether this is a shortcoming of the author or if she actually wanted to create a character so flawed and she is extraordinarily good at it. If so, I'd have to question her choice of that character for a protagonist. It's almost painful to see her missing all the blatant foreshadowing and then throwing a violent tantrum when she finally catches up with what's going on. The girl that unfairly flew into a fit of rage against good people handling an extremely delicate and important mission is not any better than the one that at the beginning of the story couldn't forgive her own mother for suffering clinical-grade depression.

[Lynna]

@Maokun Keep in mind that Katniss has some pretty good excuses for being emotionally unstable. In the third book, it becomes more obvious that the reasons she acts that way is because of her emotional trauma.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Oh, I haven't posted since finishing the series.

I found the books compelling enough as I was reading them, but I really didn't have any reaction whenever I'd finished one. "Oh, we're here now. Whatevs." I didn't exactly "stay up late at night just thinking about" the first, or the second, or the series as a whole. (Stephanie, you might have been laying it on a little bit thick there.)

Again, I have no problem with the prose. It's certainly not poetic, but it wasn't hard to read.

Things bustled along at a pretty good pace. I was never bored while reading, even if I didn't really care about any of the characters.

Seriously, the only one I cared about at all was Gale (maybe because he was independent and didn't make people miserable?), and... well.

Spoiler-y thoughts time.
[spoiler]The resolution of the love triangle irked me a lot. Not because Peeta won, because of the reasoning behind it. "Oh, Gale's not around anymore, so I guess I'll fall in love with you." Wha?

I disliked Peeta's character anyway, which made it all the more annoying. Having all meaning to your life hinge on whether you get together with your romantic interest... bugs me.


And in Mockingjay, it felt like the author couldn't make up her mind just what she wanted her readers to carry away from the series. Katniss kept flipping between complete pacifism and staunch support for her cause. I've certainly never seen combat, so maybe it's common for fighters to be conflicted, but the way it was done just looked like character inconsistency to me.[/spoiler]
They're not horrible books, but I really don't think they live up to the hype.

[sim96]

Despite a couple of flaws a very exiting fast paced series read them all pretty good stroy line and character development which is important to me

[VanillaLatte]

The Hunger Games series was okay, overall. I loved the action and entire concept of the series; that was what got me into it in the first place.

My only problem was not so much blunt writing but Katniss. Of course I enjoyed how she was protective of her allies and even how wary others might take advantage of her. She was strong when it came to overthrowing the Capitol and being inside the Hunger Games. My issue was with the romance. I found it really irritating for some reason. It kinda reminded me of the whole Bella and Edward & Jacob love triangle thing from Twilight (and no, I don't like that series), in that it was like some push-pull between her and Gale & Peeta. MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Girl practically cheated on the feelings of both at some point, which really irked me.

I have to say the last was my least favorite... it just wasn't as interesting to me, personally.

[Maokun]

Finished Mockingjay, which apparently is widely acknowledged as the least good. It becomes fairly evident a few pages in: the author had painted herself into a corner; she likely knew from early on the ending of the saga, but only by the time of writing Mockingjay she realized she had no idea how to get there. WARNING: Slightly spoilery road ahead

The result is a pretty boring first half of the book that's spent wastefully regurgitating old themes to try to adapt them to a new setting. Katniss keeps being her usual self and instead the long overdue character growth we were expecting, she actually shrinks to new lows. The second half is an extremely rushed account of world-changing and appalling human tragedy that are quickly glossed over -with the liberal employment of absurd plot devices, deus-ex-machina, and the like- with a speed that can only be described as baffling when you compare how luxuriously were dragged on boring and irrelevant events during the first half.

Not only that, the storm of tragedy, sacrifice and thrills is cut short to introduce a late-game twist with very serious implications... in the last 50 pages of the story! And then we have to put up with yet another grievous description of Katniss' slow body and mind recovery (we already had to go through one in this very book already!) before we get to see the matter [s]fully[/s] quickly settled for good. And then another grievous recovery.

However, it's precisely there where the series reaches and perhaps surpasses the emotional heights not seen since early book 1: the process of final healing and recovery has a wholesomeness to it that manages to fully convey the impact of all the horrible happenings of which we have been willing spectators. It's in the acknowledgement and celebration of life and the necessity to honor it that the horror we clumsily glazed through becomes evident and the first hint of character growth can be spotted. And somehow it makes all a bit better. (I, however, agree with FllMtl Novelist that the the resolution of the exasperating love triangle was pretty poorly handled, though not unwarranted.) If only the protagonist had moments of introspection and growth like that more often during the whole series!

Final verdict: The author is competent and the writing adequate but far from brilliant. The third book is a mess. The main character is unlikeable and reluctant to grow up. The premise is brilliant (it already had proven successful with Battle Royale) and leads itself to engaging, thought-provoking storytelling. A better writer would have done a much better job but I, for one, feel happy that this premise found its way beyond the niche, obscure fandom that Battle Royale has.

[SierraLea]

My sisters are raving about the series and want to see a midnight showing of the movie. What do you guys think? Wil the movie be any good?

[TopazRaven]

I just started reading the first book almost two weeks ago. I'm not sure what to think of it so far. I found the writing style very irritating at first, but I got used to it quickly enough. I find it an engaging read, but I just...I'm finding it a bit hard to like Katniss. From reading some of the other posts here it doesn't sound like she gets any better either so I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to get through all three books with her attitude.

[musicaloddball]

Finished Catching Fire and I find myself seriously disliking Katniss now. She's crippingly dense, self-sabotagingly stubborn and appallingly reluctant to deal with her own feelings, no matter how many times it puts herself, her loved ones, total strangers and even the fate of a whole nation in mortal danger. In spite of all the times her emotional cowardice and short-tempered stupidity have hurt herself and others, she displays almost nil character growth after two books packed with what for any other human being would be paradigm-shifting events.

I'm now seriously wonder whether this is a shortcoming of the author or if she actually wanted to create a character so flawed and she is extraordinarily good at it. If so, I'd have to question her choice of that character for a protagonist. It's almost painful to see her missing all the blatant foreshadowing and then throwing a violent tantrum when she finally catches up with what's going on. The girl that unfairly flew into a fit of rage against good people handling an extremely delicate and important mission is not any better than the one that at the beginning of the story couldn't forgive her own mother for suffering clinical-grade depression.

Yes. Yes yes yes. I really like the Hunger Games series, I really don't like Katniss. The books would have been SO much better if we didn't have to see the whole darn story through her eyes. As the series goes on, she just gets angrier and more exploitative toward Peeta and Gale. If she is not sure how she feels about them, she should NOT be showing romantic affection toward either of them. She should not be using Peeta's affection to help her deal with her PTSD. She should not suggest that she and Gale run away together. She should not kiss him just because she feels bad he got whipped. I hated the second book because I hated watching Katniss torture those two great guys the way she does. (Sorry if those are spoilers.)

I do think that Collins really was trying to make a tragic, flawed character, but a character must always make satisfying developments, tragic or not. I also see Peeta and Gale as tragic characters, but they developed in a satisfying way. I loved the third book because I loved how Finnick, Annie, Haymitch, Gale, and Peeta developed. But Katniss was a mess. Was it just me or was she getting checked into the hospital way too much in that book? She doesn't go to the war-planning meetings, she doesn't fight in the rebel army except once or twice for the camera, she's literally hiding in the closet for crying out loud. She was not at the center of the action anymore and IDK why she was still narrating the third book.

[spoiler]Finally, in the last 10 pgs or so she does something worthwhile and kills Coin. But there was no lead-up to it. It was "Katniss is leading a silly, spur of the moment, suicide mission to kill President Snow, which fails miserably" and then BAM! "Katniss does something great" and no transition in between. A climax is only a climax because of the build-up before it. [/spoiler]

Again, I really like the Hunger Games series. But it's because of all the people around Katniss and not in any way because of Katniss herself.

[FllMtl Novelist]

As the series goes on, she just gets angrier and more exploitative toward Peeta and Gale. If she is not sure how she feels about them, she should NOT be showing romantic affection toward either of them. She should not be using Peeta's affection to help her deal with her PTSD. She should not suggest that she and Gale run away together. She should not kiss him just because she feels bad he got whipped. I hated the second book because I hated watching Katniss torture those two great guys the way she does. (Sorry if those are spoilers.)

Welcome to the AMAZING world of blatant love triangles! A fickle heroine (or hero) makes for some incredible romantic tension that just pulls the reader right along! What's more, fickleness is a totally endearing trait that readers love to see in their protagonists! Isn't it great? 8D

And by "great" I mean "annoying", "irritating", "frustrating", and some other cheerful adjectives.

Yes, it's a pet peeve of mine.

[Maokun]

Now, now. There's such a thing as a good and believable romantic triangle and The Hunger Games' one started well: The childhood friend, familiar and dependable who you never saw as a romantic potential until you were separated from him VS the kind boy you had very little contact with but then you go throughout a very harrowing experience together in which he proves his undying love to you. That's certainly a lot to take in for a teen that has shut herself emotionally after a life of poverty, the death of a parent and the loss of another to depression.

However, what really ruined it for the books was Katniss's reluctance to just deal with it, move forward and reach a decision, especially taken in account how much important stuff was at stake depending on that decision. She's the textbook example of someone that doesn't understand that love, even more than an emotion, is a choice and paid dearly for it, time after time. The fact that the triangle was only resolved by some sort of inertia after nearly losing life and mind makes the whole affair even more unsatisfactory.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Now, now. There's such a thing as a good and believable romantic triangle and The Hunger Games' one started well: The childhood friend, familiar and dependable who you never saw as a romantic potential until you were separated from him VS the kind boy you had very little contact with but then you go throughout a very harrowing experience together in which he proves his undying love to you. That's certainly a lot to take in for a teen that has shut herself emotionally after a life of poverty, the death of a parent and the loss of another to depression.

However, what really ruined it for the books was Katniss's reluctance to just deal with it, move forward and reach a decision, especially taken in account how much important stuff was at stake depending on that decision. She's the textbook example of someone that doesn't understand that love, even more than an emotion, is a choice and paid dearly for it, time after time. The fact that the triangle was only resolved by some sort of inertia after nearly losing life and mind makes the whole affair even more unsatisfactory.

Love triangles like you describe work for me at first--I mean sure, you'd probably feel conflicted in that situation. I can easily believe you'd need time to sort out your feelings. But my problem with love triangles is that they so often go on too long, and the center (top? point?) of the triangle starts obviously acting on feelings for both romantic interests (such as holding one's hand in one chapter, kissing the other person in the next) or hinting/making promises to each. Then the center stops being a reasonably likeable character and becomes a childish jerk.

...Which I guess is essentially what you just said. xD So I think we're in agreement that a love triangle could be done in a non-annoying way. My problem is that pretty much every plot-significant one I can think of just irked the heck out of me.

[TopazRaven]

Love triangles like you describe work for me at first--I mean sure, you'd probably feel conflicted in that situation. I can easily believe you'd need time to sort out your feelings. But my problem with love triangles is that they so often go on too long, and the center (top? point?) of the triangle starts obviously acting on feelings for both romantic interests (such as holding one's hand in one chapter, kissing the other person in the next) or hinting/making promises to each. Then the center stops being a reasonably likeable character and becomes a childish jerk.

...Which I guess is essentially what you just said. xD So I think we're in agreement that a love triangle could be done in a non-annoying way. My problem is that pretty much every plot-significant one I can think of just irked the heck out of me.

Agreed. I usually can't stand love triangles for the reasons you listed. I'm really not looking forward to the next two books because of this. It's probably going to drive me crazy. I already felt kind of bad for Peeta at the end of the first book. The only love triangle I thought was actually well done was Kyou/Tohru/Yuki from Fruit's Basket.

[Icestar]

all i have to say is... TEAM HAYMITCH..... love these books ^^

[Neane]

I read The Hunger Games a little bit ago. I had a bad impression of it, because I heard it described as geared to the type of reader that would like Twilight, except good. And once I finished the entire series... I'm perplexed. I've seen people talking about how great this book series was, both teens and older people, and I don't get what they liked about it. I could say, "I didn't like it, but I can see why other people liked it." It was... blah. Once it was over, I felt like nothing happened. Maybe the unrequited love parts got to me, I'm a sucker for that. But could someone help me understand? I don't mean to sound snooty.


I just don't get it.

[FllMtl Novelist]

I read The Hunger Games a little bit ago. I had a bad impression of it, because I heard it described as geared to the type of reader that would like Twilight, except good. And once I finished the entire series... I'm perplexed. I've seen people talking about how great this book series was, both teens and people my age, and I don't get what they liked about it. I could say, "I didn't like it, but I can see why other people liked it." It was... blah. Once it was over, I felt like nothing happened. Maybe the unrequited love parts got to me, I'm a sucker for that. But could someone help me understand? I don't mean to sound snooty.


I just don't get it.

LOVE TRIANGLES AND PEETA IS SO DREAMY

Jokes aside, I think part of why some people like it is because of the healing theme. Spoilers for book one:
[spoiler]The death of Katniss's father was something of an emotional catalyst. It triggered serious depression in Katniss's mother and helped force Katniss herself to grow up too soon. Katniss hasn't exactly had everything go her way since then, so when book 1 starts up she's a very bitter and angry person.

When she enters the Hunger Games, it's once again her alone, angry, and desperate to struggle against the cruel world. Things start to change, though, when Peeta enters the equation.

In a lot of ways, Peeta is a foil for Katniss: she's hateful, he's accepting]
The rest of the trilogy is similarly focused on her growth (slow, uneven, and agonizing though it is) from the hateful, selfish girl she was to protect her family to the warrior her countrymen need to fight the Capital.

It's not a bad theme, really. My dislike for the series comes more from how it was used than the ideas behind it.

[Neane]

Okay, I guess this book series was not for me.

[TheMewster]

I want to read it, but I don't have the income to buy it, and my plan is to check it put at the library but yeah that's gonna happen. Personally I wish it would be released as an ebook in Apple's iBooks app, but so far it hasn't been.

[Atria35]

I want to read it, but I don't have the income to buy it, and my plan is to check it put at the library but yeah that's gonna happen. Personally I wish it would be released as an ebook in Apple's iBooks app, but so far it hasn't been.

That's strange - it's been an eBook for a while. if you have an iPad, though, you can purchase it via Amazon using the Kindle app and read it that way. I know that it's been checked out constantly at my local library, but they let you place holds and contact you when it's in, which is nice.

[Maokun]

I want to read it, but I don't have the income to buy it, and my plan is to check it put at the library but yeah that's gonna happen. Personally I wish it would be released as an ebook in Apple's iBooks app, but so far it hasn't been.

Why you dismiss the library plan? They surely have those books.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

As someone who works at a library, I know our copies have a pretty ridiculous line of holds so if they take the full two weeks they get it will be like four months before you get a chance at it, and this is in a veryyyyyy small town. The neighboring city about seven times our size at one point had a list of four hundred people who put it on hold.

[TheMewster]

Well the only reason I can't buy the e-book is that I don't have a job or an allowance. I guess I'll stick with the library plan---after all, it's free, and I did this when Tim Tebow's book came out an managed to get to read it.
As for the movie, it can be pre-ordered, but il probably wait for it to come out in iTunes to where you can rent it there, or Redbox it (like it would be there to redbox though)

Maokun, the reason I initially dismissed the library plan is because of what Mr. Hat said---it would take forever to get it. That's what I meant by 'yeah right'---I thought it wouldn't be available.

Oh, and I wish real life had spoiler tags. I already know who won the Hunger Games now thanks to girls at school talking about it without even having touched the books.

[FllMtl Novelist]

Oh, and I wish real life had spoiler tags. I already know who won the Hunger Games now thanks to girls at school talking about it without even having touched the books.

Who wins the Game itself isn't actually a big twist. If you still enjoy the first book, you'll probably enjoy the rest of the series.

Now, if they'd spoiled who won the love triangle...

[SierraLea]

I just finished the first book and, although what happened to Pita and Catnis in, like, the last page was really a downer, the rest of the book was excellent. I don't think I'm going to read the others, though. I loved how the book almost never let you stop moving, and never had parts that you just wanted to "get through" so you could get to the good stuff.

[FllMtl Novelist]

I just finished the first book and, although what happened to Pita and Catnis in, like, the last page was really a downer, the rest of the book was excellent. I don't think I'm going to read the others, though. I loved how the book almost never let you stop moving, and never had parts that you just wanted to "get through" so you could get to the good stuff.

Hunger Games is definitely not my favorite series, but I'm curious--why you don't want to read the sequels, if you liked the first book?