Book Review: The Hunger Games Trilogy

What do you get when you combine ‘Survivor’, ‘Gladiator Games’, ‘teenage children’? Just about the most brutal (and thrilling) story you can imagine.

Sometime in the distant future, the United States of America has been destroyed, and out of the ashes has risen Panem. Initially, Panem had 13 districts, which were ruled with an iron fist by the Capitol. When restless and angered citizens from these largely poorer districts launched a rebellion against the Capitol, the Capitol squashed them down, destroyed District 13, and implemented the ‘Hunger Games’. The Games were to commemorate the destruction and death such nasty rebellion can cause. Thus, every year, the 12 districts must send two tributes between the ages of 12-16—one boy and one girl—to a far off ‘arena’, and they must fight to the death.

Before you roll your eyes and move on, let me tell you—this isn’t just another “future dystopian America” story. This is much better. Most of the book does not revolve around how unfair and uncruel the government system is. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, doesn’t sit around wallowing in her own self-pity. She’s a strong, intelligent, gutsy heroine. From battling wild ‘mutt’ations, to using her wits to brutally murder some of her fellow blood-thirsty tributes, she kicks ass in the arena.

And no, this isn’t some pansy ‘let’s join forces and beat them together’ novel. Rather, it’s all about the suspense.

Suzanne Collins’ world-building is impeccable. Form the districts, she indicates echoes of horror as they send child after child ever year. But from the Capitol citizens, there is only wild frenzy and excitement. You see, to the Capitol, this isn’t brutality—it’s just a game. And unlike most authors, Collins’ world doesn’t fall flat with the next installments. Books two and three of the Hunger Games trilogy (‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay’) are just as gripping as the first. The third book, especially, with its culmination of the Hunger Games, Panem, and the world—it’s—it’s—

Well, it’s something you’ll get to enjoy when you read it!