The Hunger Games: A retrospective, not a review

This is not really going to be a review of The Hunger Games Trilogy or any of the books. Or much of a review of any kind. I read The Hunger Games a couple months ago, then I read Catching Fire about a week ago and Mockingjay a few days ago. And I read Mockingjay in one day. Close to one sitting, though I went for a run in the middle. This was perhaps not the smartest choice as I got a bit too engrossed in the plot and high emotionally attached to the plot and the characters. That skewed my thoughts about the book for a bit, though upon rethinking about it and discussing it with a couple coworkers, I think I have a firmer grasp on what I liked and didn't like.

However, at the moment, I am not going to review or recap or anything for two reasons: 1) I can't think of a way to do it without spoilers and 2) I am going to be hanging out with my co-tart around Christmas and think a co-blog will be better. So, on to a few thoughts about the story/books as a whole.

Suzanne Collins did not underestimate her audience. They are YA books, on Amazon it looks like most reviews say grade 7 and up. I'm not sure all 7th graders would be able to handle The Hunger Games, but I definitely think that I would have been ok with them at that age. I'm the girl who read Stephen King at 13, so take that how you will. Regardless, Collins filled the book with darkness, pain, intense emotion, confusion, hope, death, violence, love, deceit, trust, etc. They are full of intense stuff...what you would find in any fiction book for adults. She doesn't back off on the unhappiness just because her audience is young. I respect the credit she gives to teens.

I had no idea what was going to happen. Like, at all. I can usually tell how a book is going to go. I can make educated guesses on what characters are going to die in books. I am rarely caught off guard in a story. I had zero idea where Collins was going with the whole story. I had no idea what the plot of the third book was going to be. I didn't call most of the big deaths and I could not have guessed at the end. Props to completely catching me offguard!

I had trouble saying I liked Mockingjay after I finished it. But I loved it. Yeah, makes no sense...stick with me. As a story, as a conclusion, it was amazing. It kept moving, there was lots of action, a lot happened, people made hard decisions...awesome! But dude, there was a lot of stuff that happened that I really didn't like. There was one thing that happened to a character I loved that I was just not ok with. The love triangle did not pan out how I thought it would, though I was ok with that part of it. It was just...ugh. I can see how lots of people didn't like Mockingjay. It was heavy, it was dark, things didn't really end with a happily ever after. Upon reflection, I really loved the entire series, including Mockingjay, though Catching Fire was my favorite.

I would recommend you read The Hunger Games if you haven't already. I do not guarantee a happy story with sunshine and rainbows, but I do guarantee a highly engaging story that you will take with you.