Hunger Games
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before – and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Catching Fire
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Mockingjay
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

My rating: 4.25, 4.5 and 4.0 stars out of a scale of 5, respectively

My review: This book will be counting towards my goal for the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge 2015 checklist under the “trilogy” check box since it is a trilogy. I know everyone is astounded I haven’t read this series yet given its popularity and the fact that there are now three movies out based on the series with the last movie coming out in November of this year. To be honest when I first heard about the books and even the first movie, I couldn’t get into it. The idea of kids killing kids was so abhorrent to me that I couldn’t imagine how I would end up liking the books. So I avoided it. And then it became wildly (and I mean wildly) popular and I tend to avoid that as well (not really sure why but fads seem to put me off). So we get to this year and after watching the movies for books 1, 2, and Part one of 3 and loving all the movies, I decide its finally time to read the books.
And it turns out I should’ve read them a long time ago. I absolutely loved this series, though I have to admit I cried so hard at the end of the third book that I felt hollowed out and empty when it was over. I’m writing this right after finishing the third book, only giving myself enough time that I can finally see through the tears again. I think the glass of wine helped but I feel absolutely devastated. I loved the series but so many people die in the third book, a lot of people that I really liked too, that I just can’t find the wherewithal to continue forward (to normal people this will sound pathetically crazy, but I know my fellow book nerds will understand). What I thought was weird when I considered it was that I didn’t feel this way in the first two books even though plenty of characters I felt I knew died in those books too. But I think the difference is that I knew people I liked were going to die in the first two books because of the Hunger Games.
I can’t talk about my emotions too much without giving away spoilers but in some ways the third book ended exactly how I wanted it it. I felt almost like the ending was a little rushed though. The whole book was a little confusing, I think because we were seeing everything through Katniss’s fractured mind. I found the difference in Katniss’s voice as it develops between books 1, 2 and 3 very interesting. You can feel her character growing and changing through the series by the way she talks. I loved the series though and I think everyone should read it immediately, if nothing else but to warn us all of what could happen in the future if the government goes all whack-a-doo. Go! Read it now!!!