Hunger Games series -book review-

Never judge the book by its film.

A friend of mine recommended Hunger Games series to me quite some time ago but back then I had several books I wanted to read first so I put it aside for later. After a while news appeared that producents are turning the first book into a movie, I saw few photos of the actors and somehow got discouraged. I didn't like the actors' looks and judging by the costumes (people from the Capitol, Effie, etc.) I thought it's going to be some cheap story but I've decided I can't judge until I read the book.

I didn't even plan to watch the movie but the first few chapters of the book are truly slow when you don't have more accurate idea what the book is about. I was wondering why I'm reading about their makeovers, costume parades and interviews instead of those deadly fights I was expecting all the time. While reading, I was imagining the actors from the photos which did not help either. This was when I decided to watch the movie.

I didn't understand much at first, I didn't understand some choices, I didn't catch some subtle meanings of several scenes, e.g. I didn't know why Katniss missed the target during her 15minutes with sponsors, I didn't catch what was written on the slip of paper which came with the soup. The plot of the film seemed very simple, they were chosen, they won, they came home, The End.

I guess it was the open ending that made me want to continue reading the book, I was both hoping that the book will add more meaning to the film and I wanted to know whom will Katniss chose. I must admit after the movie I stared to like Josh (Peeta) a bit more, he looks different in motion than in the photos I've seen before watching the movie (esp when he's hurt and dirty (ˆڡˆ)).

I've read the first book and immediately started Catching Fire. I also fell for Peeta at once, his character is so well written that even though Josh (the actor) is totally not my type and he wasn't really appealing to me at first (the only pic I liked his look was the one where he lies in a mud, lolol) I catched his image somehow and even though he's far too young for me I would definitely fell for him in real life.

This proves either of the two things: Josh's an unbelievable actor whom I started to admire or looks truly don't matter when it comes to loving a person.

Catching Fire was also great, actually, both books have plenty of simple but amazing moments that melt my heart. Also, I guess me and Suzanne Colins (the writer) have similar taste as there were many situations when I was prompting the character to do something and it really happened few pages later, like when Katniss had nightmares I was almost screaming in my mind for Peeta to go and comfort her and few lines later he was already next to her in bed. I totally loved how their relationship evolved and how the border between them playing lovers and actually caring for each other has been decreasing without them, mostly Katniss, realizing it. One more thing I loved about those two books was that Peeta was always there. I truly despise books or stories in which characters fall for each other and in the next chapter something sets them apart. And that's why I didn't enjoy the third book.

I really didn't enjoy Mockingjay. Hunger games and Catching Fire were more about thoughts and feelings, Mockingjay is pure action. We get to know a lot about what Katniss felt of course but there was a lot of emptiness, especially at the beginning. I really missed Peeta, it was almost as if the main character was gone. I guess I enjoyed reading about other characters (Finnick, Haymitch, Boggs, Johanna, etc) more than about Katniss. I got really angry with her when she let go of Peeta, when she decided he's mentally gone and didn't even try to fight for his memories and feelings. If she wasn't shot in the arm and taken back to the 13 she would be simply dead.

Mockingjay lacks certain type of moments, there's actually nothing sweet in the book and I was really hoping for some spicy events. In the whole book the only sweet thing Katniss did was stroking Peeta's hair near the end. The ending itself was also quite bad. Not the very fact that they ended up together, that was ok and that I knew right from the start (because of some comment I really didn't want to read but couldn't avoid it) but I was mad about how they came back to each other.


There was no feeling to that scene, even though Katniss explains it well, I felt that she stayed with Peeta simply because Gale went to sector 2. Also the way the ending was written was bad, I hoped for more emotional narration, maybe few scenes with them being together and not just cold list of the very fact which took half a page and then the epilog that takes us 10 or 15 years ahead, and also just states some fact about the future. Maybe it's just me but I truly HATE when at the end the book goes few years ahead, even if the future is painted red, it still makes me sad. I felt the same way about Harry Potter ending with Harry's kids going to Hogwart. But it's just me.

After finishing the last book I had to come back to my favourite moments in the previous books to leave the series with good impression but still I wasn't able to move on, it's been haunting me for few days, I couldn't start reading  anything else, Peeta's charm overwhelmed me. I can't seem to let him go so easily...

Summing up the whole trilogy:

+ great characters
+ amazing narration
+ several great romantic moments
+ great twists
+ Peeta

- badly narrated ending
- little romance in Mockingjay
- some unnecassary deaths in Mockingjay

It may be very subjective but this is my score:

Hunger Games: 10/10
Catching Fire: 10/10
Mockingjay: 4/10

I'll try to read Maze Runner next. I still have Peeta in mind so it'll be hard to switch into different kind of story but I want to give it a try. Got it from the same person who recommended me Hunger Games trilogy so I look forward to it.