fiction files redux discussion

I am reading my way through the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. I know Brian is also reading the third book as well so we decided to start a thread.

So what does everyone think of this trilogy and more widely of the quality of YA literature?

I question the whole YA 'genre' after reading these books. I guess what got it into that section was the lack of explicit sex and naughty words. The killing though is gruesome and I'd prefer to see this book in the sci-fi or general fiction section.

After going through most of this trilogy I think I'll read a couple of books my kid really enjoyed and read countless times (no, not the Twilight books). 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' is a trilogy that she loved and appears interesting.

The Hunger Games is a tightly crafted book with characters well developed, a setting that's believable, and a storyline that has no brakes.

My daughter told me after reading The Hunger Games series and the Twilight series umpteen times that Stephenie Meyer ripped off complete scenes from Suzanne Collins. I wouldn't know. But I believe my daughter. It actually pissed her off when she realized this.

I'm only about 70 pages into The Hunger Games (book one) so I'll come back to this thread, I promise!

My daughter also recommended 'Book of a Thousand Days' by Shannon Hale. She's smart. Listen to her.

Now back to The Hunger Games... (I'm kinda Vodkaed affected at the moment). What district am I from?

You're like the Fiction Files' Haymitch!

I like the Hunger Games but to be honest, I think the author is trying too hard to get the readers to like the narrator. I would like some flaws in the narrator to make her more real.

I just finished book one and I quite enjoyed it but I didn't really feel myself connected to Katniss. Sometimes she came across as so obtuse I wanted to shake her! It was almost a bit unbelievable to me. But I sure do love Peeta! I'll read the other books mainly to see what becomes of him.

I haven't read these books but my wife really enjoyed them.

I read this series in a few weekends. All-in-all I thought they were pretty entertaining if you take them for what they are. I started them because a 7th grade teacher I know in her mid 50s was reading them to see if they were appropriate for 13 year-olds. I like YA fantasy fiction books like, yes, Harry Potter. I don't think anyone can deny that HP is extremely creative and great for young people to read. Lord of the Rings was the second fantasy series I ever read. I enjoyed it. I haven't read the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe books (Narnia), but I'd probably like those... In any case, I was happy to read these books along with this woman to decide the "appropriateness" for youngsters, and after the first book I found myself wanting more for sure--pun intended.

I thought Hunger Games was well written and interesting. I thought it timely due to the economic state of the nation right now. I know that seems like a serious comment for a YA fictional novel, but I think that the book definitely has some political undertones. I would even call it a political commentary in someways in terms of themes like "Big Brother," Rich vs. Poor, materialism vs. ..immaterialism, Socialism vs. Dictatorship, rebellion. It's serious book, no doubt. And in that sense, I thought it was a pretty cool read. I'm not wild about Katniss either necessarily, but I thought her character development rested upon the development of the other more interesting characters like Peeta and Gale.

I guess, without saying too much, it wasn't until I read the last book that I felt disenfranchised with the series. Other people I know liked Mocking Jay a lot, but my biggest gripe with it *POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT*...... was that it ended in such a blah and depressing way. It was basically like the characters were just "ok" and dealing the best they could with the horrible events they've had to endure in their lives. Peeta still has flash backs and Katniss still wakes up screaming sometimes, but it's ok because their kids know messed up they are... And the whole morphine/morphling comparison was a little disturbing. The images of people constantly being sated with the drug when they're going nuts or can't function correctly was the one thing that made me question the appropriateness for young adults. Not the violence because even that seemed far fetched, but the drug aspect of the book (which is also a larger theme, I believe) was just a bit too real and too depressing for me.

Can me old fashioned, but I really wish that book ended on a happier or triumphant note since the characters fought so hard to achieve freedom and redemption. Maybe it just wasn't sugary enough for me in the longrun. I like tragedies, but I feel like this was a different breed of tragedy. It was sort of like everyone settled and that was unsettling to me.

@Kate: I agree with you about the end of Mockingjay. I also felt it resolved too quickly and neatly into that "ok" state after climaxing.

*******SPOILERS*******

I was annoyed by how predictible the ending was. As soon as Coin announced that they were going to have another games I KNEW, KNEW Katniss was not going to execute Snow, but would shoot Coin instead. And Katniss' whole "realization" that she didn't need Gale's "fire" but rather preferred Peeta's stability was just a lame way to resolve the love triangle. For me it was another example of how Suzanne Collins wrote the Katniss character as so obtuse. She could never see the big picture. It felt inauthentic to me that Katniss would not understand the complexity of WAR and would blame Gale for creating the weapon that ultimately killed Prim. I mean it's fine that she ends up with Peeta, I just didn't like the resolution with Gale. To the end I didn't really like Katniss as a character.

I am looking forward to the film. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence will help me to like Katniss. And I think Woody Harrelson will be a perfect Haymitch.

So this book was written intentionally to teach teens about war and it's effects. So with that in mind, the ending makes sense. War is pretty much a lose lose in most cases and even if you "win" you are never the same and you will always have lost something in the winning. My book club had similar issues with Katniss, but to me she is like many teenagers. Selfish, figuring out how to he an adult, confused. For me she seemed more realistic than some perfectly drawn, person who responded reasonably to her circumstances. She is supposed to be a kid thrown into a grown up situation. Reacting like a kid. So, I was less impatient with her, because I remember being a stupid girl making bull headed stupid choices myself. :)