Hunger Games Trilogy – “Glory and Gore go hand in hand.” (A song from Lorde’s album) By Lyn Bungar

Photo courtesy of hungergamesdwtc.net

I heard about this song Glory and Gore by Lorde from her album Pure Heroine. The title definitely described my thoughts about Hunger Games Trilogy.

Hunger Games Trilogy – the book my co-bloggers were crazy about, so might as well take a look at it.

I got the chance to know about Hunger Games from a friend who was very helpful to download the movie for my sake. I admit, I really enjoyed the movie and I couldn’t get enough of Katniss Everdeen’s character. But reading the book is incomparable. I read the book for 3 consecutive days and only stopped for meals, bathroom and other important reasons. I was so hooked. It was like watching the film again for 3 days, only much better since I get to know the every bit of details of the story.

The Capitol created the Hunger Games as a punishment for the districts’ rebellion 74 years ago. Hunger Games is an annual event to remind every district in Panem how powerful the Capitol is and that the rebellion that happened in the past should not be repeated. Kids ages twelve years old and above is entitled to reaping. Reaping is the process that determines who will represent each district in the game. Every district will have two representatives, one male and one female known as the Tributes. They will fight to death until only one remains, called the Victor. Katniss Everdeen volunteered in the game to take her sister’s place. Her little sister, Prim, 12 years old, was originally picked as one of the tributes to represent District 12. Peeta Mellark, a bread-maker, is the other tribute. I am not a fan of violence, of bloody and gory fights but this novel is far more than that and has change my perspective about books or novels in the same category.

Photo from wikipedia.org

The first book is my favorite of all, because of Katniss' sarcastic humor despite her state. The Hunger Games trilogy was written in the main characters perspective - Katniss Everdeen. She was a tough teenage girl, a hunter and someone who does not show her emotions to other people, especially her mom because she knew that these people will only break her in the end. 

Hunger Games highlights Katniss Everdeen’s fight in the arena. How her life transformed when she became a tribute. Her victory was seen by the Capitol as a rebellious act when she decided not to kill Peeta. She chose to die with him than win the competition alone. But since having no Victor is not part of the game, they both lived and named as Victors.

The Catching Fire, second book of the Hunger Games trilogy has a more serious tone and less Katniss’ humor. It shows the consequences of the mian characters’ actions in the first book. Katniss and Peeta were brought again in the arena, a different arena from the first Hunger Games. This time the participants were the Victors of every district in Panem.  She was with Peeta again. Katniss’ feelings for her co-tribute Peeta and her childhood friend Gale became more confusing. Katniss’ character is more confident, stronger and tougher this time. I get to know a different side of her. 

The last book Mockingjay is the most bloody and action-packed of the three books. The districts of Panem became the arena. Every district had an uprising against the Capitol. The head of the rebellion is the thirteenth district which was thought to have gone and burned into ashes 74 years ago during the Dark Days. It was the most shocking revelation in the trilogy. Katniss Everdeen became the Mockingjay, the sign of the rebellion, the people’s inspiration. A lot of characters was introduced and died. It is for you to find out who are they. The third book shows how the media played an important role in the districts’ rebellion against the Capitol. I remember my lessons when I was in College as a Mass communication student. A media team with Katniss and soldiers in the battlefield and airing it for the whole Panem to see is classic!

How a commoner, a teenage girl changed every people’s lives in Panem is the most inspiring yet heartbreaking of all. This book isn’t your typical heroes against villains’ story. It has shown the consequences and sacrifices in achieving freedom from tyranny. And that being a hero, you get to have the most unfortunate ending.

Hunger Games trilogy is a book that will connect to you in different perspectives. Can’t wait to watch if the Catching Fire movie will justify the second book! 

I can literally drink 8 cups of latte in a day for this book! :)

WHEN DYSTOPIAN NOVELS BECOME ADDICTING... ~ by Love Esios

One of the book covers of The Hunger Games. Photo taken from Google Images.

I'm not really a fan of dystopian novels. Since I have started reading novels in high school, I have never thought I would actually get engrossed in a story that's kind of dark and gruesome and gory. It turns out The Hunger Games changed that part of me. It took one boring weekday afternoon to try and read the first few pages of the book and after that, I never stopped reading until the last book!

The Hunger Games is the first of the three books in The Hunger Games series (the others being Catching Fire and Mockingjay). The story focuses on a very unlikely competition that is meant to punish and remind the citizens in poverty-stricken Panem that rebellion against the government would have very complicated consequences. The Games was created for the kids to fight among themselves, with only one emerging as a victor. In this first book, you would be introduced to the three main characters of the series: Katniss, Peeta and Gale. You might think that this is going to be a love story set in the dark ages of mankind but no... it's more than that. It might sound like a typical story for some people who have already read young adult fiction with dsytopia in the background. But I guess, there's something on how Suzanne Collins presented the story that made me turn on every page of the book, perhaps thinking that in a few decades, our society will be as vicious and selfish as The Capitol... that the government will resort into punishing kids and teenagers for a crime that the adults have done. How surreal the situation could be? The bloodbath, the injustice...they were all captured by Collins. I found her storytelling very easy to understand, yet she used the simplicity of her narration to give the readers a strong and vivid imagery. And as a reader myself, as long as I can see the scene clearly in my head, hear the characters talking, feel the emotions in their words, then I know I am reading a good book. Truth be told, while I was reading the book, it felt like I was already there, I was also part of that dark society, and I can still see every scene in my head until now! (Okay, now that's scary... hahaha!)

The Hunger Games is a riveting story of injustice and passion set in a violent, dark and gory society that might be our own someday. And I'm telling you, once you start, you won't stop. For that, I'd give a rating of 7 cups of latte out of 10. ^_____^

Enjoy!