The YA Dystopian Book Club discussion

Did you love it? Recommend it? What did you rate it? How about the movie, as good as the book?
Discuss these questions and more, anything about Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games series.

Whenever I spot a discussion about The Hunger Games, I just have to spill out how much I love the series!

So yeah, I would rate the trilogy 6 out of 5 stars. Hahaha! My least favorite is the first book. It kind of bored me because there's not much action compared to the next two. But I understand why's that, because Katniss basically avoided the other tributes.

Everything got bet better in Catching Fire and Mockingjay. My emotions after I finished the book! I put my place on Katniss's shoes and couldn't help but cry. Her life was so tragic. And even though it seemed like a happy ending, it striked me as not.

About the movie, the casts did an awesome job of portrayal. Especially Josh and Jen. The first half of the movie was slow-paced. It's okay, though. Since we were just being introduced to the world Collins had built.

I was a Team Gale in the book. After I saw the movie, I fell in love with Peeta. Guess Josh had done it! He's charming and cute and everything. And Jen. I don't know how to start praising this woman. She's the perfect Katniss!

There you go.

That's funny, I was team Peeta in the books but when I saw the movie I almost turned team Gale!

Lol I'm one of the few in Team Gale lol. But regardless of what team you're on, the books are awesome and the movie is pretty good too :)

This is one of my favorite series. I was torn between teams until Gale's "true colors" started shining through in the third book. Then I was definitely a team Peeta. The movie was GREAT, and I look forward to seeing Catching Fire on the big screen. I think all of the key actors did an amazing job. I wasn't fond of Peeta's hair color. He's supposed to be blonde, and he is in the movie, but I don't think they did a good job of making it look natural. I was nervous about Sutherland playing Snow, but he REALLY gets that character. I actually recently did a paper on Snow for one of my classes ;) At any rate, the whole book series is phenomenal, and the first movie was great.

Yeah, I agree. But the movie could have been A LOT worse than it was. Some movies really mess up the books but this one wasn't too bad at that. Anyway, the books are usually better than their movie versions so I was ready for it to be worse than the book. :)

I feel so stupid. I watched the first movie and then I read the last two books. I have to say, I was hooked right in. I'm planning on re reading the series this year.

I was going to do that too and I found a great audio version on youtube if you like audiobooks. :)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Christina...
(view spoiler)[Chapter 19 when Rue dies was AMAZING read by her! (hide spoiler)]

Thanks Lilac!

Jack wrote: "I feel so stupid. I watched the first movie and then I read the last two books. I have to say, I was hooked right in. I'm planning on re reading the series this year."

I did the same thing with Harry Potter lol :) But yes, you have to read the first book, it's the best one!

I watched the movie and then didnt feel the need to read the book and just read the other two, i was told i should read the firt one, what do you guys think?

Yes, you should definitely read the first book, it's the best one in the series. Some of the suspense and stuff might not be as good because you know the ending but it's still a really good book that you should read. Besides, the movie did miss out a few important things. :)

That's exactly what I did Dalu, but I'm going thread the whole series this year.

Dalu wrote: "I watched the movie and then didnt feel the need to read the book and just read the other two, i was told i should read the firt one, what do you guys think?"

Agreed!! Best one of the three :)

I loved this series. Since reading it I seem to be reading an awful lot of dystopian books LOL It got me hooked onto them :)

Same here :)

Lynn wrote: "I loved this series. Since reading it I seem to be reading an awful lot of dystopian books LOL It got me hooked onto them :)"

I love how it got a lot of people hooked on dystopians. There are do many good ones out there!

LOL Lilac and David. You're right, there are so many good ones out there. Dystopian books seem to be the "in" thing at the moment and I'm certainly not complaining ;) Love them!

I read the hunger games two years before the movies came out and I was still kinda young. I read it again after I saw the movie, BTW the movie sucks! They left out Madge and changed so many other things! Any ways I wasn't as thrilled with it as I was when I was younger. There are so many better dystopians out there.

This is the series that got me hooked on dystopia. Originally, I thought it was a fluke and I wouldn't care for the genre. But then I picked up another and another and another....and finally gave in to tthe fact it's my favorite genre!

Lol mine too!

Meaghan wrote: "This is the series that got me hooked on dystopia. Originally, I thought it was a fluke and I wouldn't care for the genre. But then I picked up another and another and another....and finally gave i..."

OMG!! Im obsessed with the Hunger Games!!

Gods of Egypt, how I love these books.

I loved them all so much, except Mockingjay...but the Hunger Games and Catching Fire were both EPIC

If you loved the Hunger Games, you must read The Long Walk. (A short story by Stephen King).

Cool! Thanks for the rec :)

I read the book after I watched the movie. I was one of the people who felt like reading the book because of all the hype the movie release created, and so decided to wait to read the book after the movie. I thought I would be able to judge the movie more fairly that way without constantly comparing it to the book! :p when I first saw the movie I really liked it but I didn't understand some parts like how the tributes from the career districts seemed so...happy? I know they volunteered but you still have to kill people. How can you joke about something like that? The books explain that and some similar situations a lot better, I believe. Also the hunger games is the most brutal dystopia I have read. Not saying that the other books don't evoke just as much emotion. But the hunger games just seem brutal. It is often classified as a childrens book. I don't really agree with that. I know that ten year old me would have definitely been scared of the very concept. :p

I read the book after I watched the movie. I was one of the people who felt like reading the book because of all the hype the movie release created, and so decided to wait to read the book after the movie. I thought I would be able to judge the movie more fairly that way without constantly comparing it to the book! :p when I first saw the movie I really liked it but I didn't understand some parts like how the tributes from the career districts seemed so...happy? I know they volunteered but you still have to kill people. How can you joke about something like that? The books explain that and some similar situations a lot better, I believe. Also the hunger games is the most brutal dystopia I have read. Not saying that the other books don't evoke just as much emotion. But the hunger games just seem brutal. It is often classified as a childrens book. I don't really agree with that. I know that ten year old me would have definitely been scared of the very concept. :p

Haha- I read this for the first time when I was 10 and I actually wasn't scared or anything, but I definitely think it's a YA book and most people shouldn't read it at that age.
And Amelia, I still HATED Mockingjay. I get that Gale did terrible things, but that's my problem- he wasn't that person until the last book when Suzanne Collins wrote him like that. She literally took all of her chracters and made them completely change personalities and it was really slow/weird. Not what I expected.

I know but he was the loyal strong one. He was way more cunning in Mockingjay than he was before- like in Hunger Games he would never have sacrificed children for a cause!! Woah- see I don't like that, Gale was my favorite character so making him going bad just annoyed me. Rather than killing him off or something I just wish his character had been done differently.

I've never thought of it that way, but I guess I see what you mean. Yeah- I just hated Mockingjay, so I try not to associate him with it. And I hated how Suzanne Collins ending for him was just sending him off to be a player in a random district- definitely not the ending he deserved!!!! Then again, Katniss sucked in Mockingjay, so he totally deserved better.
But yeah- he's definitely my favorite character from the whole series, despite all the bad stuff :P He never really annoyed me or anything!

Yeah- my favorite character after Gale was Mags. Like she wasn't super important or anything, but she sacrificed herself for the cause- literally running to her own death! And she cared for Finnick so much- I mean she's this old lady and she volunteered (knowing full well she would die) so that Finnick's insane love wouldn't have to participate instead! I also loved Wiress and Beetee- these books needed some super smart characters, so they were a great addition :)

I don't know- I just hate how it seemed cynical and mean to me. Like Collins didn't intend for that to be a happy ending for Gale, I felt as if she wanted it to seem bad...

Haha- I liked Katniss in the first book, second book I preferred the new tributes, and third book I hated her!

Oh come on- the Catching Fire arena is like the COOLEST thing ever!!! I hoenstly thought that clock thing just blew my mind! The only reason I preferred the first one is because of the whole tribute tour thing...

I didn't really notice Haymitch...his drunkenness was annoying and I'm never one to like the classic 'funny' character. Yeah- Wiress was kinda crazy :) I don't remember Mesalla??

President Snow was a great villain actually- that's something I definitely look for in books. The really cunning, cool villains are awesome- I hate it when it's just the image of the government, like when there's a specific person who is just super genius and evil, that's awesome!

Book 1 she was good, Book 2 was okay but I was too obsessed with other things to pay attention to her, book 3 she sucked...super whiny....i totally agree.

I know, I jsut hated how Suzanne COllins made it seem like he would be a player rather than settling down with someone else or something! Either way I bet Gale is top of the government with a nice, strong wife on his arm :P

Yeah- the second one was just cool though- those danger were seriously AWESOME in my opinion, and I loved how Wiress was the only one smart enough to actually get it!

I really like this trilogy, but there are a few things I didn't like. I felt like the first book was the best. I think the plot and characters were good. I don't like the whole love triangle thing but that's a whole other story.

Book two was not as good as the first, but I still liked it a lot. I think the problem for me was that it was too similar to the first. I did like how there was more character development.

I wasn't crazy about the third book. I felt like this book should have been more epic I guess. I don't think Katniss's character was good in this one. It's like her character got worse as the series went on.

Overall, I'm a fan of this series and would recommend it. I'm just not a fan of the love triangle and Katniss's character going down the drain.

Exactly Heather :D I agree 100-bajillion % with your opinions :D :D :D

Oh- I remember him! But I suck with names! And yeah pretty much every character was killed off or became a super suckish version that was nothing like their original selves- and then there's Gale :D

Haha- I stay up till like 3 in the morning most nights and then wake up around 9ish :D
And I always have a laptop near me, so even if I'm just watching tv or reading a book I'll hear the noise of a new email from goodreads :D
Where do you live- cause time zones might confuse you :P

Haha nice! For me right now it's 2 AM :) So I should go to sleep!

I have holidays till the end of August! During the school year I usually stay up till 12:30- give or take 30 min!

Jealous!! :D

I loved the books and the whole series. At first I was skeptical about reading the books but my sister read it and highly recommended it so I gave it a try. It blew me away. I also really liked the movie and I loved Jennifer Lawrence in it. I was a little upset about the change in the ending which I felt that they shouldn't have changed. Overall I would highly recommend the series and the movie as well. I rated all 3 books 5 stars

I can't wait until The Catching Fire movie!

Me neither :D And I agree, Jennifer Lawrence did a brilliant job!

I see what you all mean about Katniss' and Gale's characters developing in a direction you didn't particularly like, but I actually quite liked that.
What I loved about these books is how realistic I feel it is. War and traumatizing experiences changes you, and it is brutal. Anyone can die, and if you don't, you're still left to deal with the scars. The fact that Katniss went from so strong and determined in the first book, to more "whiny" and scared I thought was more believable than her actually stepping up to be the hero everybody wants her to be. I feel that in the first one she managed to be strong because the threat was relatively small and confined and she had already saved her sister. All she had to focus on was staying alive, and even if she does die, her family is safe. Suddenly when she gets out of it she realizes that she will never get out of it, and her whole world is suddenly involved. Going from being strong for your sister, to suddenly having to be strong for the whole country overwhelmed her, as it should. The way this tears her down, while you can still see her fighting to remain strong (although that becomes harder and harder), I think is brilliant. I could identify myself a lot more with her then, knowing I probably would handle such situations poorly and would want to hide away and be left alone, but still wanting to help my loved ones.
Same with Gale. I thought his development was truthful as well. I could see how his interests and skills brought him to the cruel sacrificing point he came to at the end. I could see how every thing that happened, in all three books, made him harder and harder. I loved how he and Katniss grew apart, not because I wanted them to, but because it was believeable. They were different in the first one, and having such awful experiences drove them into completely different directions. People change, especially when they are young, and one big event can change people overnight. Of course keeping the core, but I believed that this was still them, just a changed them.

As for the second book being similar, I was actually pleasently surprised when I read it. I heard rumors bebore I read it that it would be another Hunger Games, and I thought "Really? I loved the first one, but never repeat a success!". But like I said I was pleasently surprised. I liked the buildup to it, how much more serious the second game was compared to the first one (obviously not in terms of the actual games, they were serious in both, but how the second one made me feel like the world was holding its breath, because that was the turning point which would either crush the resistance or break them free and start a war that could change everything). I loved how the arena was completely different than the first one, and the characters were so different. Not just different in that they were other people, but their age, maturity, motivation, intelligence, loyalty, experience, mental health and scars, everything was different. And suddenly they are out, the games don't even finish. The seal between the people and the government is broken as the tributes get out, and I loved the symbolism of that.

One thing I couldn't get to terms with however was Prim's death. Like I've said, I loved the brutality of the books, how Collins makes you feel that nobody is safe, and I don't mind Prim dying. I just can't get myself to believe that anyone would allow Prim to go out into the field to help. Her mother would have stopped it, or any of the people seeing her going out. I get it, kids are used in wars as well, and Coin made it happen, but I still couldn't quite believe that nobody would have stopped it. Surely the mom would order Prim to stay at home and go out there herself, or in the very least demand to go with Prim.

As for the third book in general, I preferred the first one, but I still loved the way it developed. Again, I loved the brutality of it, and the fact that nobody REALLY had a happy ending. Because there are no winners in a war, you don't forget everything that has happened and move on happily. Especially when you are that young.

And yes, Jennifer Lawrence is a star. They couldn't have chosen anyone better for Katniss.

Well put, Nordlys. Specially what you said about Prim, though that's probably just because I really did not enjoy her dying in Mockingjay!

Daniela wrote: "Well put, Nordlys. Specially what you said about Prim, though that's probably just because I really did not enjoy her dying in Mockingjay!"

Hehe, I hope nobody enjoyed her dying;)

I loved the books! But i think I'm the only one who wasn't so sad about Prims death.

Isabel wrote: "I loved the books! But i think I'm the only one who wasn't so sad about Prims death."

I wasn't really either Isabel.

Amelia wrote: "Nordlys; I think the thing with Prim was that no one really knew about it. I don't think Coin even told anyone (especially not her mother) that Prim would be going to the front lines.
I believe tha..."

Hmm, yeah, I guess that makes sense. Because I really don't think the mother would let Prim out in the field like that.

I've read the series like 3 or 4 times so I guess you could say that I love it! Every time I read it I experience the same emotions as the first time even though I already know what happens. Maybe it's just me but I feel very depressed for a few days after finishing it. I don't know if it's because it is so tragic or I finished it so it's over? Does anyone else feel like this? But overall the book is very well written and you really can't put it down!

I re read The Hunger games just yesterday an started Catching fire. I loved the first one and so far Catching Fire is awesome too! I'm gonna re watch the 1st movie because I just have to! xD