I know, I know what you're thinking. "Jessica, you run a book blog--why are you saying goodbye to a film franchise?" I suppose there is only one way to answer that and it goes a little something like this. All the way back in the late 2000s, when the first book in Suzanne's bestselling series came into my life, I was just a bored little high school student. It goes without saying that because of its start as an incredible, dark and breathtaking book series, I feel I can say a proper goodbye as the last of the films makes its rounds during opening weekend.
But back to the novels. Back to where it all started.
I didn't know what I would be getting into by picking up the first installment to the trilogy. I had no clue. The Hunger Games was hardly a blip on my radar. Something to pass the time, really, and it never once crossed my mind that I would consider it amongst my favorites in the years to come.
You see, I had purchased it to pass the time while waiting for other series I liked to finish their run.
Really, I didn't even know what the novel would end up being about. I only vaguely recalled its brief summary after purchasing it and set it aside. I had no idea that in just a few short books, I would be completely immersed in this dystopian series, so much so that it would rival my love for the Harry Potter books. Until one day I was home, sick with a flu virus, and I picked up the novel and dived into the world to forget feeling so crummy. Despite feeling so poorly, I stayed up all night--yes, all night--reading that first book and just like that I was hooked. It was more than a good distraction in my eyes after the first few chapters and I knew it was special.
The Hunger Games (The Hungers Games #1) by Suzanne Collins | Rating: ★★★★★
"I can feel Peeta press his forehead into my temple and he asks, ‘So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?’ I turn into him. ‘Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.”
As tender as it is terrifying, The Hunger Games tells us the story of a brave young woman named Katniss Everdeen and the choice she made to protect her beloved younger sister, Primrose, from a nearly certain death. Although the story has elements of romance within the pages, don’t let the media fool you: The Hunger Games holds many aspects of love within each chapter.
The love between family being the most prominent when considering the sacrifices Katniss and her best friend, Gale, make to keep their families safe. Both characters have a certain fire and attitude to them that keeps the teenage spirit alive; even so, they both seem beyond their age. Katniss will go to any means to protect her little sister, including risking her own life so Primrose wouldn’t have to risk hers.
Katniss lives in a world of cruelty and uncertainty, somewhere in the distant future. She hasn’t known anything but the distract she’d grown up in — often faced with starvation and other tragedy. In life thus far, she has had to provide the care for herself and Prim at a degree most kids shouldn’t have to. At a young age, her father died — leaving her mother alone and depressed.
