The Hunger Games – All It’s Cracked Up to Be?

I met The Hunger Games with slight reservations. Ever since the advent of the Twilight series, I’ve been hesitant to try out new young adult novels, whether they are part of a series or stand-alone tales. Really, nothing has ever come close to matching the Harry Potter series in adolescent or supernatural brilliance, so I keep a safe distance from exciting new literary fads. However, The Hunger Games has impressed in some ways. Do I think it’s as good as it’s cracked up to be by everyone and their mother? No. It’s not one of the best books I’ve ever read, and it’s not even something I’d recommend to most people, but I will say that it’s a fun read, and I’ll likely continue on in the trilogy, so long as nothing else pops up in my schedule to prevent me from doing so. Keep in mind, many other trilogies would take precedence over these unforeseen events, so this isn’t that strong of a vote of confidence. I don’t want to bore readers with an analysis of why I didn’t absolutely love the first part of this trilogy, so I’ll sum it up in a few remarks. Briefly, I didn’t like the central protagonist. I also didn’t enjoy the fact that it was so obviously juvenile. I know, this is a young adult book, but that just makes me wonder why so many people who are not young adults love it so much. I will say that I think it could make an amazing movie. While almost every book-to-movie venture has me cringing at the creative liberties taken, I think that this adaptation could very well benefit from it. Gone is the whiny first-person narration, and Jennifer Lawrence promises to bring something very exciting to the central character (the first of many intriguing casting choices). Count me in as excited for the premiere of the upcoming movie. I just hope that, unlike the books, the movie far exceeds my expectations! [cjniche keywords="Harry Potter" listing="3"]