It’s the first Wednesday of May, and it’s time for my First Wednesday of the Month Guest Book Blog Post. BAM! Try to make an acronym out of that!

First, let me say that I spend most of my time engaged in legal writing and it’s a real pleasure to be able to write with contractions occasionally.

Next, let me say that I unapologetically love the young adult Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This is not a unique position since it won about a billion awards (hyperbole!). But they were mostly young adult awards and not-so-young-adults might not know that the trilogy is well worth reading.

You have to begin with a vaguely unbelievable premise – but that’s not unusual in fiction. Katniss Everdeen, the main character and heroine of the books, lives in a post-apocalyptic North America where the country is divided up into 12 districts and a Capitol. The Capitol, led by President Snow, is the dictator that controls all. About 75 years ago, the Districts rebelled. The Capitol eventually wiped the floor with everyone, especially the now non-existant District 13, and declared some pretty Draconian laws which keep all the Districts fenced in and producing goods for the Capitol, while the inhabitants live on the barest edge of survival. And once a year, the Capitol hosts “the Hunger Games” to remind the Districts of the price of rebellion. Two “tributes” from each District, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, get chosen. They are brought to the Capitol, dressed up, paraded around, and then sent into a carefully chosen location to kill each other. The “arena” is full of things that kill them, there is limited food, no shelter, and there can be only one winner so it’s pretty much kill or be killed. The winner is then plucked back out of the arena and lives the rest of his or her days with plenty of money and fame. And some pretty intense nightmares about the source of their new wealth. Katniss is from District 12, which is approximately Appalachia in the real world and, SURPRISE! She ends up in the Hunger Games. One could call that a spoiler, but it’s pretty obvious. And yet, when you read it, you will still be moved. I swear it!

And that’s the core of these books. It doesn’t matter that you can often predict what will happen. After all, they are young adult books; they aren’t precisely trying to hide the ball. But it doesn’t matter because the books are just really good.

The writing is really good; it’s a fast read and once you start you just sort of fly along.

The storytelling is really good; you believe in the world, you believe that children are killing each other for someone else’s entertainment and to stay alive, and you care.

The characters are really good; nearly everyone has flaws – some of them huge, insurmountable horrible flaws – and despite this, nearly everyone is important and worthwhile and just plain likeable.

The unique and varied methods for killing and being killed created by the author are really good; they include biological and mechanical components and are both clever and terrifying.

As I write I discover that I want to tell everything and nothing about the books. I want everyone to read them, so we can talk about them. But I honestly don’t want to give anything away, because there are so many clever, or pleasing, or humorous, or sweet, or sad, moments that you should just experience in the book. So, instead, I will tell you two more things and then say GO – READ – LOVE!

First, the trilogy nails the emotions of the teenage years. Throughout the books, Katniss is constantly questioning her motives – is she doing something to be altruistic? To be rebellious? Or because she believes it is in her best interest? And, the ultimate question, in the end does it matter? This self-doubt keeps Katniss emotionally available to every reader while asking the timeless and unanswerable question: is it better to do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason? The books address issues of power, war, class, and the difficulties inherent in navigating an adult political climate from the position of a child victim of violence, all while maintaining an eminently readable story.

Second, these books are sweet and romantic without being cloying and without sex – Twilight dreams of being these books! There is a man (boy, really) that is strong and loves unconditionally, that never lets you down, that sees the good in you when you can’t see it yourself, and who does so without the draw or reward of sex. But unlike Twilight, Peeta doesn’t secretly want to eat Katniss and is not a sparkling mopey idiot – he has coherent and realistic goals. Also unlike Twilight, Katniss is not a simpering clumsy girl with no redeeming characteristics that constantly causes you to question sparkly-boy’s reasoning. Katniss is strong and smart and a survivor, Katniss loves her younger sister, and Katniss is torn by real emotions as she tries to navigate the beginnings of romantic feelings vs. safety vs. friendship, and all the confusion that goes with that time period magnified by intense and traumatic experiences.

The biggest flaw I found with the books is that in addition to always questioning herself, Katniss is always questioning the events and people around her – long after they become obvious to the audience. But even that flaw is easily forgivable. Like anyone caught in an extreme and terrifying situation – who feels they can barely trust themselves – it’s not really a surprise that the audience finds events and motivations obvious while Katniss wallows in confusion.

It’s also possible that the overall message gets lost in the extremity of the situations portrayed by the books. I don’t know how many first-world teens are going to recognize the parallels between these stories and the real world. But it’s young adult fiction! If the overall message gets a bit lost, well, that’s better than losing the story behind a heavy-handed political message.

Ok. That was actually more than two things. Now GO! READ! LOVE IT!!

P.S. The books are being produced as movies. I highly recommend you read them before you see the movies. And don’t even get me started on who they cast for Katniss, Peeta, and Gale!

P.P.S. I wrote this whole damn thing, and then edited it, and it was perfect. And then I went to work today and forgot my computer and my cell phone, and I won’t get them again until tomorrow night, and I had to completely redo it! So, if there’s a bit of roughness in the writing – wait until next month. I’ll have it all together by next month for sure.

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