The Hunger Games Trilogy

by Suzanne Collins

Summary

Hunger Games

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.

If she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Catching Fire

Katniss is the spark to a revolution, and the Capitol wants revenge. She won the Hunger Games and returns alive with District 12 Tribute partner Peeta. But he and longtime friend Gale both reject her. On their Victory Tour of all the districts, locals riot but the winning duo must appear lost in their love.

Mockingjay

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Kat, her family, friends, and entire District 12.

My Review

I have this unwritten rule of always reading a book before watching the movie. I read The Hunger Games one week before the movie was shown in the cinemas. I was thinking that I'd be able to finish the book just in time to see the film, but I was wrong. I was so engrossed in everything that I couldn't put the book down! Before I knew it, I had finished the book, and in just one sitting!

I really don't know whether I love Catching Fire or hate it. I guess it's a little of both. This book is intense, fast-paced, and addictive, with everything heightened - the fear, the pain, the feelings. It certainly had one of the best/worst cliffhangers for me (depending on how you think about it). When it was at the peak of the story, it just stopped. Suddenly, you become someone who’s hanging on, who keeps wanting more. And for me, that's the worst feeling you can get when reading a good book.

By the time I read Mockingjay, I had come to really love Katniss. Because of all the series of tragedies that she went through, she has become a stronger person. She also became a different person in this last book, becoming more open when it came to her feelings. In the first two books, I kind of felt like she never really talked about how she felt. Apart from that, though, I didn't really like the other parts, especially the deaths of Finnick and Prim. It is realistic that a lot of people had to die because indeed, there was a war. They are rebels. The loss of many lives was inevitable. But is there really a need to kill the two of them? Especially Prim.

I wasn't really disappointed with the ending of this trilogy; rather, I was shell-shocked. I felt empty - like, emotionally drained. After being with Katniss throughout her whole journey, it just made me realize how bittersweet life can really be. We could be experiencing happiness now, but in the next moment, our world could come crashing down on us. Here come all the heartbreaks, the pain, the fear, and the hardest of all - the sense of loss. But despite all those difficulties that we encounter, we become stronger. We learn to pick ourselves up from where we left off, and start all over again because life goes on, no matter what happens.

Quotes I Like

“I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever.”

“At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.”

“What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.”

“It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”