This was actually something I had seen and heard about before but never really bothered to read until my Dad gave them to me as a Christmas Present. I had read the summary before in sites such as GoodReads.com and the online library catalougue, but for some reason they seemed too fantasy-ish for my taste.
I started reading them as soon as my younger sister finished them in a couple of days, which is impressive considering she rarely reads. I have to admit I was instantly hooked. The setting, the characters, the plot; it was all just so engaging and so real. Obviously, since it takes place sometime in the near-ish future, it had to be somewhat realistic, but I could find parallels between the book and what I have learned in History class which really made me incredibly happy. Another thing that really caught me was the fact that the main character is a girl. A GIRL. A FEMALE HUMAN BEING. AND SHE WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER. She wasn't somebody's BFF, or someone's girlfriend or sidekick. THIS BOOK HAD A STRONG, INDEPENDENT FEMALE AS THE LEAD and it helped set it apart from other YA SCI/FAN books I have read like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and The Olympians and Artemis Fowl. I mean, I love those books because they are fantastic, but whatever female characters exist are placed in a sidekick kind of role. The only other series in this category (YA SCI/FAN) with a strong female lead, that I have read, is Virals by Kathy Reichs.
The Hunger Games Trilogy has it all: adventure, drama, romance, and even the right amount of that teen angst we so crave. It's also quite graphic in some parts, but if you can handle CSI and Bones and Law & Order and all of those shows, you can probably handle the intensity.
If you still haven't read these books, please do and tell me what you think in comments below!!
Spoiler Alert: *CHANNELS KATNISS AND PEETA HATE* Haha sorry Laura. The first book IS pretty damn epical and Catching Fire isn't half bad (CUE GIRLY SQUEELS AT ABUNDANCE OF GALE-NISS. GET IT? GALENISS, GALE-NESS? XD). And I honestly hate Katniss BECAUSE I actually think she ISN'T a strong, independent female. She doesn't use her common sense when it's most important, she's wishy-washy about things because of her loyalties, and then she totally betrays BOTH of her best friends. (Peeta AND Gale because Peeta didn't want her to pick him.) She's just another dumb self-insert Mary Sue at heart. The only thing keeping me from totally bashing her Hermione Granger style is how much Gale loves her and how much I love Gale. I am completely serious.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely see what you mean.
ReplyDeleteGOODREADS.COM. ARTEMIS FOWL. WHY IS THE ONLY OTHER PERSON THAT ACTUALLY CARES/KNOWS ABOUT THE SAME THINGS I DO LIVING HALF WAY ACROSS THE US FROM ME?!?!?!?! *hating geography right now*
ReplyDelete