Catching Fire and Mockingjay

I finally read the rest of the Hunger Games series. Catching Fire and Mockingjay continue with the story of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta. In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta are compelled to fight in the Quarter Quell games and are pitted against previous victors. Mockingjay is the story of Katniss' transformation as a symbol of the rebellion.

I have to say I became really tired of the story by the third book. You have the typical teen romance/conflict between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. Who will Katniss pick? I just wanted to reach into the pages of the book and slap Katniss silly. And really this kind of romance is tiresome after the four books of Twilight and The Host. Throw new characters at the setup and the situation is boring and tiresome. The two followup books have more of the same violence. Lots of gruesome, gory deaths described in detail.

The books do make you ask questions. Real or not real? Who's controlling the message? How much of what we see in the media is the truth? I have to say, I really hated the "reality tv" take of all three stories. The end of Mockingjay was good, but I didn't really enjoy the journey. Perhaps it's another case of when certain books are overhyped. I don't know. In the end, the stories were extraordinarily violent and not something I would care to read again. I'm left wondering how they can make the movies without them being rated NC-17.

Book rating: 3 stars