The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW, SO DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKSOkay, so first of all, as a huge Harry Potter fan, I've been undergoing a withdrawal since the book series (and the movie series) have now ended. I love reading many different books, but I wasn't sure I would ever latch onto a new story the way I latched on to Harry Potter almost 10 years ago. Enter The Hunger Games. I actually first heard of it from Kristian Harloff of the Schmoes Know YouTube channel some months ago, and I was definitely intrigued. Of course, there's a movie coming out soon, and back when the trailers were first released, I thought it look interesting but I wasn't excited since I had no idea what it was about. I purchased this box set a few weeks ago, however, going off of the incredibly positive word-of-mouth.I've officially climbed onto The Hunger Games bandwagon. The first book is written in first person POV, with 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen as the main character. I will say that, as a male, I'm aware that most of the great fictional heroes are male. It's so great to see a great female hero like Katniss (along the lines of Ripley from Alien). While brave, her character is also very feminine and vulnerable, and she's just awesome! Anyway, I won't really delve too deep into the plot, but the first book, The Hunger Games, centers around this tournament in which 24 kids aged 12-18 (12 boys and 12 girls) are selected to compete in. They are put into large arenas controlled by Gamemakers, and it's basically a deathmatch. It's all a part of the Capitol (the force which runs the districts of Panem) showing the districts who's in charge. At first, I wasn't sure which of the 3 books was my favorite. Now, I'm pretty sure it's The Hunger Games, just because it takes so many unexpected twists and turns, and the reader really feels as though he/she is Katniss experiencing these games. Also, The Hunger Games is ironically the book that showcases the worst of the Capitol's power, by showing these kids killing each other.Now for the second book, Catching Fire. I regard this as The Empire Strikes Back of the Hunger Games Trilogy (for Star Wars fans out there). This one shows the issues that Katniss and Peeta face after the Hunger Games have ended and they have been crowned victors. The book centers around the rise of a rebellion against the Capitol, and the rising of President Snow, the ruler of the Capitol and the districts. What really sells this book is the dark, ominous, uncertain tone of it. It may reuse a few elements of the first book (for example, another Hunger Games match), but it puts a different twist on it. This book also ends on a cliffhanger MUCH like The Empire Strikes Back (I'll be shocked if Suzanne Collins isn't a Star Wars fan). This is a great book, maybe not as fresh as the first, but it's of equal quality and a great continuation.Now we have the final book, Mockingjay. This is definitely the one fans are most divided over. Some really like it, others were disappointed by it, and some even hate it. I'll start off by saying that Mockingjay is a full out war story, and everything in the first two books had been leading up to it. Many fans were disappointed that the Katniss-Peeta-Gale love triangle wasn't extremely romantic (though it was definitely present), and that the book seemed to end abruptly and felt incomplete. I, for one, think this book is excellent. It's not quite the read that the first two books were (though it's still captivating). While those two were dark, they still had a "pure candy" aspect to them. This one, as I said, is a full-out war story. People on both sides die, allegiances are questioned, there is anger, sadness, distrust, betrayal...everything. I was very surprised with how bold Suzanne Collins was with this book, but I was also very pleased. She doesn't sugarcoat any of it. War tears people apart, and it changes people permanently. Even if they make it through the end and rebuild their lives, they are never the same as they were before. And sure, the ending leaves some questions open, but it felt right to me. The main story, the main moral of the story was wrapped up very well. The main characters' arcs were wrapped up very well, too. It's definitely emotionally draining, but also uplifting.I thought the way she wrote it was fantastic. Is it my favorite of the series? I'm not sure. I would probably reread the first book before rereading this one. However, I might like this one a teensy bit more than the second, but I really can't be sure. All of the books are great for what they are.I'm not trying to overhype it, but this really is an epic trilogy. It has many thrills and takes many unexpected twists and turns. The first movie won't be out for another two weeks, but I could actually see the movies being even more enjoyable than the books. No disrespect to the author, of course, but the stories could benefit greatly from cinematic adaptations. Word has it that the films will take a more omniscent point of view, rather than being solely from Katniss' point of view. While seeing things from Katniss' POV works in the books, we definitely need a larger scale in the movies, so I think the atmosphere in the films could really blow people away. I especially think that Mockingjay (which I believe will be a 2-Part film) will benefit from a film adaptation, since we will probably see more of the war (and President Snow), and the ending will probably have a more definite conclusion. I think we will see some scenes from Peeta's point of view, as well. That's just my prediction anyway, and I hope I'm right.Again, this is a great set of books that has HUGE potential as films. Harry Potter did a great job as movies (sure, I might have some gripes here and there, but I'm just amazed that the crew stuck around to make EIGHT films, all of which are at least very good). Hunger Games needs to stick true to the books, but also bring in people who haven't read them. I LOVE the trailers we've seen so far, and I LOVE the casting (Katniss, Peeta, Effie, Snow, just about everyone), so I'm definitely looking forward to it. One things for certain, though: the world will be watching.

I read this book in my late teens and am now in my early 30s. I loved this series then, but it means so much more as an adult. A truly heartbreaking, gritty story that capsulates so much of the problems with humanity, greed, and power-hungry people versus the rest of us. It's beautiful, heartbreaking and everything I needed.

First of all, I'd like to make it clear that I will be reviewing aspects of the Kindle edition and also the Hunger Games trilogy itself.This series was recommended to me by a friend and I was told it was a definite must read. I chose to purchase the Kindle edition because it offered all three books for around $17. I figured this would be my best bet money wise and I also loved the fact that I would have all three books immediately in my hands. When purchasing from the Kindle store, you are promised to have your book within a minute of clicking the purchase button. My decision of purchasing the trilogy through Kindle was greatly based on the price comparison of the hardback trilogy and the Kindle edition trilogy. According to Amazon, the Kindle edition of the Hunger Games is $16.85 so roughly $17 and the hardcover trilogy is almost $31. In my eyes, there was no doubt about the Kindle edition being the more reasonable purchase.I'm still quite unsure and confused on how Kindle formats their book, in regards to font sizes and page numbers. I understand that Kindle users have the option of changing their font size to increase or decrease the character size. When a user increases the font size this also changes the number of pages they have to read in order to finish the book. A second issue dealing with the font size is that sometimes out of the blue, the font will just change when you change to the next page. This has never been a major problem for me but it threw me off guard and was a little unsettling for my eyes. The page numbers in Kindles can be very confusing and I for one haven't figured out the method yet. This usually wouldn't be a big deal but when you try to compare the Kindle edition to the actual hardcopy of that book, it can be very frustrating trying to match up the page numbers. Although, there were a few minor problems with the Kindle edition of the trilogy, I'm still very happy that I made the purchase. I loved the fact that I received all three books at the same time and I could carry all three of them around with me within a device that was a centimeter thick.As for the Hunger Games trilogy itself, I had absolutely zero complaints. As I began the first book, I was sort of confused but still very intrigued. Not until I heard someone else talking about the book, did I realize it was based in the future. The basic story line of the book is that the USA had destroyed itself and all that was left was a land called Panem. This consisted of 13 districts and a Capitol city. The people that lived within the Capitol were the wealthiest of all the people. The 12 districts that housed mostly underprivileged people had a different lifestyle all together. They had to work within their district's industry and many times went without food and any type of comfortable living. Each year, the Capitol would put on the Hunger Games in order to punish the districts and remind them how they ruined civilization. A girl and boy from each district were randomly chosen to fight to the death within a challenge-filled arena. Katniss and Peeta's lives were forever changed when they were chosen as tributes for the annual Hunger Games. You get to know the characters in great detail throughout the book when they are faced with adventure, challenge, death and even romance.As the series goes on, you learn more and more about the characters, the Capitol and the real reasons behind the Hunger Games. At some points, you may find yourself wanting to jump into the book and join the rebellion against the hated Capitol. The romance that was once a huge factor in the games begins to die down but the action and mystery only increases.Suzanne Collins does an absolutely amazing job of painting the romance, gruesome deaths and cut-throat action into the pages of the Hunger Games trilogy. Once I started the first book, I was fully intrigued and it was very hard for me to set my Kindle down. I would recommend this book to any person of any age. I know you can't always rely on the movie being as good as the book but I cannot wait until the movies comes out to see if I painted the same thrilling picture in my head.