The Hunger Games

I just finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy last night. Let me start off with this: what a fantastically engrossing story. Wow. I definitely got sucked into that one. I had dreams about it the night after beginning the first book. I started my dad on them too and he quickly passed me up and read them all before me.

I had been told by several people that the third book wasn't very good. Some told me to not even bother reading it - ha ha, yeah right. Like I'm not going to finish a series that is that engrossing. I loved the first two. I liked the third. Yes, the third one built up and up and up and you thought there was going to be this huge finale, then there wasn't one. Not a dramatic, flashy one at least. I like the way it ended, for the most part. It pulled a bit of an Ender's Game ending on us, turning the tables until none of us knew which way was right anymore. I think that's exactly what the author wanted us to feel. It worked. It worked well. It left me wanting more, not in a disappointed way but more like I was wishing there was another book.

Everything in the love triangle ended the way it should - that's all I'm going to say about that. I loved the characters overall. They were each distinct and strong. Katniss was intriguing as a character and narrator.

I guess the biggest reason I liked the series was that it seems like something I would write. I love writing in 1st person, inhabiting a character's mind and exploring their world. The Hunger Games let me do that. I can only hope that something I write could be as successful as this series is.

I can't wait for the movies, though I'm curious how they are going to make them not R-rated. They can't give them that kind of a rating because their primary audience is teens and pre-teens. But I'm super excited to see the stories come to life. If done right, I can see the movies being even better than the books.