Tuesday, October 5, 2010

A Look Inside My BRAIN! And my thoughts on the Hunger Games Trilogy *SPOILERS*

Okay, today's the day. What day you ask? THE DAY. The day I tell you my real live, HONEST thoughts about the Hunger Games trilogy.

But first, a look into my brain and how I rate books for myself:
THE BOOK : for this rating a book must stay firmly in my brain (and by default my heart) for a long time, it must leave me feeling:
  • resolved with the story
  • but still wanting more
  • make me want to go out for a midnight release of the author's next book and/or go to a book signing an hour away
Examples: Harry Potter, The Giver, very few make it to this status

GOOD BOOK: a book I will everyone they should read because it is really fantastic and left me feeling:
  • resolved with the story
  • I will probably buy the next book by the author, but only if the back cover sounds good
Examples: East, Green Rider series, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Happily After All, Scribbler of Dreams, The Hobbit, many more make it here

A BOOK: a book I have enjoyed and would probably read again but would only recommend if that person was looking for a book on a simmilar subject or idea. Leaves me feeling:
  • somewhat resolved
  • kind of well, that was nice but I wish they would have...(fill in several blanks here)
Examples: Twilight series, A Rose for Melinda, some more make it here

As you might have noticed, there isn't a terrible rating for me. That's because I haven't read a book that has been absolutely terrible. There's always something that I like about a book and usually that one thing will make me read it more than once. Sometimes, I'll read it many times just to figure out how it is that the author could make that one thing stand out to me.

I'm not a hypocrite.
There are some books I have not been able to finish because they just don't "jell" with me. But, because I haven't finished them, I don't think it's fair to say they're not so hot. Why? Because I had an excellent teacher who once told me that to judge anything without first immersing yourself in it isn't only unfair, it's wrong. I really began to understand that once I realized how some books were treated because they have magic in them. How can someone judge a book when they haven't read the ENTIRE thing? They can't.

So Hunger Games Trilogy. Where does it go?
GOOD BOOK

Okay, you can start throwing the stones now.
*ouch! Geez, I didn't really mean it*
 Why?
1. The ending of the series. It was good. It was really good. But, it was just so sad. It was almost depressing for me to read how everything turned out. I felt like Katniss was just moping with how things turned out. She wasn't really content, but rather was just like "blah, I guess this is how it's going to be. I'll just exist here until the end of time." That really bugged me for some reason. I wish she could have been happier with how her life turned out. Then again, she did have several very traumatic experiences, so maybe blah is really all she can manage to express. No, I don't expect her to be all cheerleader, but I wanted something...I don't know. More.

2. I felt like there was a lot of build up to Katniss and her entourage's goal of getting to Snow and when they got there, or rather she got there, it was like nothing happened with that. Sure there was the explosion and the death of her sister, but I didn't feel like she got what she needed. Which in my opinion was to kill Snow herself. Seriously? He dies laughing. How does that happen? I can't believe Katniss let that happen. After all of her work to kill him herself she just completely abandons her goal? That didn't mesh with me. Yes, she has just one arrow, but why didn't she just kill him in the rose garden place? I think if she would have, she would have had a different ending. Maybe she would have been a bit more...just more.

 I will totally read it all again and have already recommended it to every person I know so many times that I can no longer talk about it with a slight roll of eyes. It could be that my opinions will change after I reread the series. If it does I will probably post about that and answer the questions I pose in this post. I'm still in love with the trilogy, and it is probably as close as any book could be to my highest rating without actually being in the THE BOOK category. *shrug*

So, where does the Hunger Games fit for you? BEST SERIES EVER! Great book! Eh, okay. It didn't jell with me. Let me know in the comments!

10 comments:

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

I absolutely loved it :) But a lot of people aren't so hot about it, especially with the reasons you've mentioned. I would put the entire trilogy in THE BOOK category!!

Lisa Galek said...

I totally agree with you. All the books were good, but I just didn't think Mockingjay finished up a great series. I think there was a lot of build up to something that didn't end up happening (imagine if Harry Potter had passed out before the duel with Voldemort in book 7).

kah said...

I loved the first, really liked the second, and liked the last one but felt like I needed a few shots with Katniss at the end. It was just so sad and gloomy.

I am kinda glad that she ended up with Peeta though. That means Gale and I still have a shot at being together. ;)

Carolyn V. said...

I agree with you too. I felt, as a reader, I was short-changed. Maybe if she had made it into two books and covered more I would have liked it better, but come on...Snow died laughing? I had a huge problem with that (and the whole Peeta not knowing her...suddenly knowing her thing). But it was a well written book and for that I loved it!

Meredith said...

Hmm, I may have to agree with you, but I did really love the trilogy. I'm recommending it to all of my friends! And there are definitely tons of books that I don't finish reading, but I try not to judge them.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I loved the books, but I agree with you about Mockingjay. There was such a big push toward the capitol and so many deaths along the way, and then what...? A dead sister?! I was so disappointed by that. The WHOLE series began with Katniss protecting her sister. Prim was the catalyst for everything. I can't believe Collins killed her off. And her death felt so unnecessary - like a gimmick. I loved them, but I needed more resolution.

Susan R. Mills said...

I haven't read them. I know--sad huh? They are in my pile, but I keep picking up other things first. I suppose I should read them next and let you know what I think then.

VICTORIA SAAVEDRA said...

I love this series!! But I do agree with you. I felt like Katniss wans't happy with her ending or with Peeta completely. I still think her and Gale would have been better off together, just because they understand one another.

And about her killing Snow...yeah, when I read that I was shocked she chose to kill (won't say spoiler) which kept' me on my toes, but I would have liked to see Snow die a different way.

Awesome post!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I like the way you grade your books. I haven't read the Hunger Games yet..Um-Ah.

Unknown said...

I stopped by to say hello, after seeing you were giving away spoilers I slipped by because I have yet to read the series!!!