“Collective thinking is usually short-lived. We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.”
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins.
I finished the Hunger Games trilogy today, adding Books # 12, 13, and 14 to the Challenge. The first book is legitimately stunning, and won’t let you go until you get to the last page. It’s enough to propel you through the rest. The plot momentum, the stakes of the whole series, the graphic gore, the political message… it’s amazing throughout, but the first book is all of that, in concentrate.
The hype isn’t misplaced. Creating a page-turner is a feat. Creating one with a lesson is impressive. Creating both and aiming it toward young adults? Pretty genius.
I don’t know that I would have liked it when it was demographically appropriate for me. It’s dark. And I don’t know that the message of war, peace, power, politics, trust, and survival would have really meant as much without the perspective of having lived, but hey. They make you read Siddhartha sophomore year, and that doesn’t mean much ‘til you’re older either.
For depth, for a complex female protagonist — the hype might feel the same, but this series is no Twilight.
