I love these books and will gladly read them again and again year after year :) ( )

Great reads! ( )

This trilogy looks at the dystopian country of Panem and it's 12 districts plus the Capitol, where the wealth and powerful few have corrupted the nation leaving a population that can barely survive under the harsh wages and government control. Through the perspective of a District 12 girl, Katniss Everdeen, as she is elected to be apart of the Hunger Games and ultimately becoming the face of the uprising among the districts. I would use this book as a great independent read for middle schoolers, but in a content setting for 7th-8th graders, I would use this as a satrting point into a discussion of government and allow reflections within in our own world.

Jen - Nook

One of the benefits of reading a book after watching a movie is that you have a much clearer picture of what the characters look like that you're reading about. Now, this could be a bad thing but I find it usually less frustrating than the on-screen characters not living up to the ideal you created in your head from reading the books first. In this case, I liked seeing the characters as those presented in the movies.
As to the actual books in this trilogy volume... I have to say that much like the movies the first book is the best by far. Reading it, you can see how well and easily it could translate to film and how exciting it could be. The characters are rich and Katniss is well defined in both mannerism and drive. If I were breaking reviews per book I could go as far as rate Hunger Games as 4 stars.
However, the other books don't live up to it. Book 2 works as intended in being the bridge to gap the opening from the big battle for Panem. It has its moments but is mainly to get you to book 3.
The final book, sadly, falls as flat as the movie(s). As painful as the last two movies were that comprised the single last book, the story itself didn't have anywhere to go. Katniss was. Itching more than a pawn being moved from place to place and situation to situation. It may have started strong with her finding her reason beyond her family for fighting the Capital but after that she didn't bring anything to the book. She literally read as though she were a background character in her own story. This book would be a 2 star rating because of how flat and unfulfilling he ending actually is. The "big bad guy" is defeated, the districts are reunited... But never does it feel like a celebration or a victory.
If you want to enjoy this series, I suggest you just stick with the first book and movie. ( )