Is The Hunger Games worth the hype?

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Dystopian

Synopsis: In the nation of Panem, established in the remains of North America after an unspecified apocalyptic event, the wealthy Capitol exploits the twelve surrounding districts for their natural resources and labour. District 12 is in the coal-rich region that was once Appalachia, while the Capitol west of the Rocky Mountains. As punishment for a past failed rebellion against the Capitol, which resulted in the obliteration of District 13, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the 12 remaining districts are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, a contest in which the "tributes" must fight to the death in an outdoor arena until only one remains.

Book 1: The Hunger Games

Book 1 got me hooked from page 1. Compelling and engaging, book 1 contains everything a teen would want to read. Romance, adventure, violence, sadness, happiness - it's all there. However, was it the best book I ever read? Definitely not. Due to all the hype this book has, I thought it would be something out of this world and that I could die peacefully after reading it. It was quite mediocre. I would have liked to know more about Peeta, Gale, Cinna and all other important characters. I felt like the character's were quite boring. Maybe, the author could've added a character with humour? to lighten up the mood (like Kenji in Shatter Me series). It was still a solid four stars read, and I immediately hopped onto Catching Fire.

Book 2: Catching Fire

It's safe to say that Catching Fire ruined the experience of The Hunger Games for me.

Firstly, the book doesn't start until like the mid of the book. The tributes spent only about the last 50 pages in the arena, which I hated. The experience in the arena was what made my book 1 reading journey more enjoyable.

Secondly, the death of the old man from Rue's district was not talked about enough. Nor was the death of Cinna. After all he was the one who made Katniss 'the girl on fire'. with no Cinna she would've been any average tribute. He was a highly under appreciated character.

Thirdly, Bonnie and Twill should have been taken more seriously. I would have enjoyed this book 10x more if it was about district 13 only and the quarter quell hadn't been forced into the plot.

Another question: why was Katniss considered the leader for the uprising? The whole berries act wasn't intended to start a rebellion. She wanted the betterment of her own family and friends and had even thought of an escape plan, to flee district 12. If anything, Gale should be the one credited for the uprising.

Let's talk love interests, IT WAS CRAZY. This is one of the sloppiest love triangles I have ever read. Does Katniss even spend any time with Gale? I wasn't the biggest fan of Gale. He was forceful and got angry too quickly.

To conclude, the characters were bland, The plot was interesting, but poorly executed. Book 1 kinda lived up to the hype. Book 2 did not!!

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I am yet to read the third instalment of the trilogy.

Hope you enjoyed!