Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?
-- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Winning will make you famous. Losing means certian death.
"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. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."
(from inside the book cover).A few weeks ago my friend was telling me about this "awesome book [they] just read!" and insisted that I, too, would enjoy it, promising it would keep me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put the book down. Man, where they right! Shortly after starting the book, I quickly came to realize this was making its way out to be one of my favorites. And, like promised, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Some people that have not read the book may be put off at the idea of twenty-four teenagers being forced to fight to the death on life TV, but you actually cannot judge that until you have read the book. (It is all explained in there why the Games take place every year).
The Hunger Games is written in first person pov through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Katniss, one of the 'tributes' in the Games. To me this really brought the story to life, getting to see in her head. I really don't think the book would have been as good had it been written in third person pov.
* * *
Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.
--Catching Fire the second book of The Hunger Games
"Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completley. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying."
(from inside the book cover).The books that compare to the first in its sequel are few and far between for me, but Catching Fire definitely lived up to the expectations I was holding. Just like The Hunger Games, the second book kept me reading at the edge of my seat. And the ending? I don't think I was expecting what happened.
* * *
My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.
--Mockingjay the final book in the trilogy
"Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution wihtout knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost."
(from inside the book cover).I simply loved this book. Like the second, it only improved the original, something that seems to be getting rarer.
Mockingjay didn't fall shot the expectations I'd gotten used to and was a suspenseful read. I love the way things were described, the way they seem real almost. And it definitely had a different theme than the other books: revenge. There's really not much I can say about this book, other than I'm rather sorry I finished it so quickly lol. It made me laugh, it made me really feel for the character, it made me cry.
Mockingjay concluded one of the best trilogies I've ever read.
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