The Hunger Games: Trilogy

May the odds be ever in your favor.

I read The Hunger Games series in 2010, right after the last in the series, Mockingjay, came out. The books in order are: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. I read the entire trilogy in three days, and then saw the movie within the first weekend of it coming out. I guess you could say I blurred through the series. Susanne Collins, author of the popular kid's book Little Bear (which I basically grew up on), conceived the idea for The Hunger Games after watching reality TV shows and footage of wars of the past back to back. The two blurred together and created the idea of a world where teaching children to murder others for entertainment was totally acceptable. The books gradually gained in fame, and resulted in not only the making of an extremely popular movie, but the honor of being at the top of Amazon's most popular book series, stealing that title away from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series in mid-2012, just 4 years after the start of the series.

Panem

The United States has turned into the kingdom of Panem (named for "Panem et Circences" or "Bread and Circuses" which was a motto of the Roman Empire), and has been divided into twelve districts (first thirteen, but then later twelve). The wealthy of the nation live in the Capitol, and oversee the goings-on in the rest of the districts. After the thirteenth district rioted against the Capitol and was obliterated, the Hunger Games were instituted. Each year two contestants, one of each gender, is taken and thrown into a survivalist arena where they have to fight to the death, leaving only one conqueror. The games are watched and presided over by the leaders of the Capitol, and merely serve as a reminder for the districts and entertainment for the people of the capitol.

Peeta, Katniss and Gale

Katniss, a young girl living in District 12, shocks everyone by volunteering for the games after her sister is selected in the drawing. She and Peeta, the boy that was selected, leave and go to the Capitol where they are pretty-fied and trained for a brief period of time. They earn the approval and respect of those in the Capitol and those in the Districts, and shock everyone when, through an outrageous turn of events and pissing off the leaders at the Capitol, both of them emerge as victor from the games. They return to District 12, unsure of their seemingly loving relationship due to Katniss' prior involvement with her friend, Gale. Both Katniss and Peeta are thinking that they'll be able to put the memories behind them, but the Capitol has other tricks up their sleeve.

After traveling the country for the next year, while publicly planning their wedding, Katniss and Peeta return to District 12 to await word of the next Hunger Games. Then comes the horrible announcement that the contestants will come from the previous victors of each district, which means that Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta are the only ones up to bat. Katniss and Peeta are drawn yet again, and, at the urging of Haymitch, escape the arena after breaking out of it. Katniss is rescued by people from District 13, and taken to join them in rioting against the Capitol, but receives the awful news that the Capitol has captured Peeta. Katniss is supposed to join forces with District 13 in their riots against the Capitol and save Peeta, but various things go awry, leaving Katniss to wonder if either side is right. The end of the last book was so freaking sad... well, at least one specific detail of it. I'm not telling! That'd spoil too much!

I'd give the books about a 7.5 out of 10. They were an easy and fun read... not overly pithy stuff, other than the horrendous state of their society, but a relatively decent plot line (no matter how much you say it ripped off Battle Royale). The Hunger Games movie came out towards the beginning of 2012, and was much anticipated. It launched the adorable Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) to becoming a household name, and also starred the two heartthrobs, Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Liam Hemsworth (Gale). The movie was pretty good, and nothing strayed from the plot line too terribly, and I'll definitely be seeing the other two when they come out! 

The Last Song

More from Nicholas Sparks! The Last Song is a touching book not only of the romantic love that blooms from a summer fling, but also of the love between a dying man and his rebellious, though loyal daughter. When Ronnie goes to visit her father in a tiny coastal town in North Carolina, she harbors anger towards him, suspecting him of cheating on her mother, and thus ruining their marriage.

The reader discovers later that Ronnie has been accused of theft, and her rebellious attitude extends into a hatred of basically everything concerning pianos. She had been a pianist and song writer, but abandoned it after feeling abandoned and betrayed by her father. Upon arrival at her father's house they fight almost continually, she making him board up the piano, he getting onto her for disappearing randomly. She meets several people- Blaze, Marcus, the snooty Ashely, and Will (the hottie... yep, he's smoking!).

The actual conflict in the plot line has several underlying themes. The main plot- that of a girl and her dying father- causes the reader to feel a major sense of pathos. If you have ever had a loving and caring parent, then you will be able to connect with Ronnie throughout her internal conflict of either loving her father, or feeling bitter for past trusts that were thought to be broken. Another main conflict is the one between Ronnie and Will. He- the smokin' stud with loads of dough, and she- the rebellious free-spirit with a criminal record... Needless to say Will's parents aren't so thrilled when he brings the girlfriend home. Especially when she quasi-causes a fight during Will's sister's wedding at the ancestral home. (This just gets better and better, doesn't it?)

The end of the book is touching and rewarding, but as this is a book review and not an entire summary I won't ruin it for you... read the book yourself to find out! You won't be disappointed, trust me. Even my 13 year old sister (who despises reading and thinks I need mental help) loved this book, so apparently it deserves the 9 that I'm going to give it on the "ADDICTING SCALE."

The Last Song was also made into a pretty awesome movie, that- if I was being honest- made me cry. (Shhh... don't tell anyone.) Go see it!!! Hurry!!! But bring a box of Kleenex just in case.