The Hunger Games

I had the great pleasure of reading a trilogy of books this year called "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Geared more towards young adults, the trilogy consists of "The Hunger Games," "Catching Fire," and "Mockingjay."

I had heard about them and seen them in the bookstore, but it wasn't until my good friend Andrew hyped them up to me that I decided to buy all three at the same time. Andrew's taste is usually pretty spot-on with literature, so I figured if he liked them as much as he was saying, they had to be good.

And I'll be damned if he wasn't right. Each book sits at about 400 pages in length and I read all three in less than as many days. I was so engrossed in the characters and the story that I was half-tempted to call in sick that Monday morning just to finish the third book. I didn't answer the phone, I didn't watch any television, I simply read. There are only a few other sets of books that prompt me to read so voraciously: Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series and, honestly, J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. While King is geared more towards adults and Rowling more towards much younger readers, Collins' "Hunger Games" sits somewhere in that nice middle area appealing to both.

Set in a strange kind of post-apocalyptic world where the United States is broken up into 12 districts (the 13th is all but completely destroyed), the basic premise is that of a lottery system set up to take two children from each district, put them in a constructed wildlife arena, and broadcast them all fighting to the death until only one remains standing.

While many of the post-apocalyptic tropes are used (overarching government control/domination, separation of classes, and one or more characters "raging against the machine"), these all work. The subject matter is nothing new, not by a long shot, but it's all in the delivery and Collins delivers a truly gripping and engaging story based on two main characters, Peeta and Katniss.

I have lent this trilogy out to friends to read. They in turn gave it to others to read when they were done, and those friends gave it to others when they were done. I just recently got a replacement trilogy back in the mail...which is to say, everyone who's read this has loved the hell out of it. There are certainly some logical gaps in some places and there are places where the writing could be much stronger, but this is overall one of the most compelling sets of books I've read in a very long time, despite being written for younger readers.

Hollywood has recently bought the rights to turn this into a movie and, while I was dubious at first, the full trailer for the movie has been released. After seeing it, I have to say...I'm super excited to see the transition of this one to screen. Of course I'll probably have a few issues after finally seeing it, but based purely on the trailer below, the feel of the movie almost directly corresponds to how I envisioned the books while reading them. You should really go out and buy these books immediately. When you get home, you should read the hell out of them. You won't be disappointed.

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