By: Shalom Montero.
The Hunger Games
When you go to Amazon.com and search for the book The Hunger Games, you find yourself reading the following: “Katniss [Everdeen] is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used to be the United States. Long ago, the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called ‘The Hunger Games.’ The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change, but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Katniss’ sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.” However, that description does not even scratch the surface of what The Hunger Games book is about.
Our main character, Katniss Everdeen, takes her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, and she realizes that she has a history with the second contestant of District 12, Peeta Mellark. The book deals with the bond within families. After all, Katniss gives her life so her sister will not have to become a pawn of the Capitol. Katniss is the only person in her family who knows how to go past the walls that bound District 12 together. She also is the only one who can go to the forest and catch animals to sell in the black market. This gave her enough money to sustain her family, since her father passed away in a mine accident.
The Hunger Games deals with a choice of love between two players and the death destined for all but one. As Peeta and Katniss become what could be called friends, they face their deaths. A Harry Potter quote fits here quite well: “Neither can live while the other survives.” And the Capitol is going to make sure of that.
I really liked the book and would recommend it to people who like a fast-paced plot and good action scenes. The book leaves you wanting more, and I guess it’s a good thing we have Catching Fire to look forward to.
Catching Fire
 
[SPOILER ALERT]
For those who have not read The Hunger Games, you should check that book out because Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy.
 Barnes and Nobles says this for their overview of the book 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.”
 Our good friend Katniss faces even more trouble from the Capitol because they believe her to be the reason their order is being threatened. She has become the face in this rebellion whether she wants to or not, and the Mockingjay pin becomes so much more than just a token given to her by a friend before the Hunger Games. The Districts begin to rebel against the Capitol, which stops the balance of how things were going, and many good friends from different Districts fall in the battle for freedom. Katniss cannot back away from the fight because the fight has been taken to her, and now that her family has been threatened she will do everything in her power to fight. Who will be the first to fall under the wrath of the capital? And can Katniss save herself and her friends from it? … Wait, WHAT about District 13?
 The book brings the characters even more to life as they battle for what they believe in, and some people whom we’ve grown to love are caught between all this fighting. Love, hate, and fight for what you believe in. That’s what Catching Fire is all about… and check out the next book of the trilogy, Mockingjay.
Mockingjay
 
[SPOILER ALERT]
If you have not read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, there are spoilers in this review.
The home page for The Hunger Games website says the following about 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…”
            The book brings back our favorite characters to the scene: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne, to name a few. Now that they’re in District 13, it is a little easier to plot against the Capitol. However, the fights along the way will take some of our favorite characters from us forever. This is where the questions begin to rise. What will happen to the love triangle that we have read about in the past 2 books? What will happen when the rebels do get Peeta back? Katniss will have to make a choice between two great guys, so who will she choose? And as for the hunt for President Snow…will he live or die?
The book is great and I do not want to get too much into detail about it because no one wants to be told the entire plot before they get a change to read it themselves. And here is the question that we all must answer…
Are you Team Peeta or Team Gale?