There are few things I do because of peer pressure, but reading is one of them. A friend of mine read the first Hunger Games book and insisted that I read the trilogy along with her. I borrowed her book and blazed through in just a few hours. In fact, I think it took me about 12 hours to read the whole trilogy. I don’t share this to brag, only to confess that I read them quick, and my impressions are reflective of that.

I will NOT mention any spoilers. Overall I felt that the basic framework of the story was great, but the execution fell short. It’s not a bad trilogy, and it is for pre-teens after all. I will admit that I felt, while reading, that it was originally intended to be a trilogy for adults (especially considering the dark themes) and it was presented for teens because the writing was at more of a teen level. Maybe a comparison to another book would help me explain: The Harry Potter series is for kids but… it’s not the quality of the writing that makes it so.

The books raises some questions about human rights, society, government, and love. I think that any authored story will have some statements that the literature makes, by virtue of how it is written. In the case of the Hunger Games, I found that some of the issues that drove action in the story were not brought to a meaningful or full conclusion. Some of the statements the books made, in my opinion, were inconclusive or lacking. Sometimes, there were elements of the story that were necessary for the reader’s comprehension, but seemed out of place with the flow of the story. These tent pole moments were necessary to keep the story aloft, but were distracting.

I think that ends all the negative things I have to say about it. On the positive side, the framework of the story is interesting and thought provoking enough to be worth a read. Though some moments are truly tragic and heartbreaking, I think it is the situation that provokes these emotions. I’m not sure the writing was insightful and touching on its own accord. Even though the story is told in first person, I think the main character does not become as dynamic as I would have liked. Ok that was the last negative thing. But, these are impressions made during a quick read through. I may go back, read them more carefully, and write a real review.