The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

My consistent readers will know that I have ambivalent feelings towards popular fiction.  As much as I hate jumping onto any bandwagon, more often than not it is rewarding when it comes to literature.  Books like Eat, Pray, Love and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have both earned spots in my favorites list, and, though I'm reluctant to admit it, another work of immense popularity has managed to find it's way on there to join them.  

  
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins tells the story of a reluctant heroine named Katniss Everdeen. In a dystopian future, her country of Panem partakes annually in what is called the "Hunger Games", meant to remind it's citizens of their powerlessness against the Capital.  Each year the various districts of Panem are required to supply two teenaged tributes at random to fight to the death in an arena stocked with various booby traps and hybrid monsters all meant to invoke a painful death.  The last tribute alive is declared the winner and receives food and wealth for the rest of his or her life, as well as for their home district until the next victor is crowned.  These "games" are broadcast onto every screen in the nation and are mandatory viewing for every citizen, ensuring that each person witnesses the slaughter.  Katniss is, of course, chosen as a tribute and enters the arena with Peeta Mellark, leaving behind her mother, sister, and best friend to watch her kill or be killed in the name of the Capital.

What begins as brutal but typical event in Panem develops into a full-scale rebellion as Katniss defeats the makers of the Games, defying the government by saving not only herself but her partner too.  What follows is her evolution from a powerless tribute into the Mockingjay, a rebel leader fighting to overthrow the Capital and their sadistic ploys for power in order to establish a new government where pointless death is not a precedent.

These books are addictive in every sense of the word. They are unpredictable and astounding, thought-provoking and engaging.  The imagined nation of Panem is one eerily conceivable and uncomfortably similar to various tyrannies in our own world's history, as well as showing parallels to the current United States.  But while containing an understated warning of the dangers of political submission, there is a healthy dose of your typical teenage drama to keep a reader satisfied.  Between a sprinkling of dark humor, a hearty dose of betrayal, and a triangle of love with no happy ending in sight, Katniss's tale is one that satisfies both the heart and the mind without letdown or lag. 

Though three books in length, the Hunger Games series is one that can be tackled in a short amount of time.  The prose roars ahead like a thundering tidal wave, sweeping you along in at breakneck speed with no hint of what's to come.  There is no promise of a pleasant outcome and indeed it seems assured that there most definitely won't be one.  Amidst never-ending bloodshed and seemingly nonstop tragedy, there emerges a story so beautiful and enthralling that it is ensured to be a classic for readers in years to come, following in the fashion of 1984 and Brave New World. 

So yes, The Hunger Games may have dominated the bestseller list like King Kong on the Empire State Building, and yes it may be latest series to overtake the teen section of Barnes & Noble and Borders, but I will stand by it and say that it's popularity is deserved.  For both young and old alike, The Hunger Games is a wonder that will leave its readers speechless and not only craving but starving for more. Take my word and read these books--I guarantee this is one bandwagon worth jumping on.