The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins is one of the most recommended series for young adults. It takes place in the near-future of the United States known as Panem. Throughout the series, you will surely become engaged with the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, as she utilizes her determined and courageous qualities to help her overcome every challenge she is faced with. She not only has a problem with the Hunger Games but also with its rules as it publicly exposes the battles, and it forces everyone to watch their loved ones be killed in the arena. Therefore, she is determined to change this traditional game.

Are you wondering exactly what the Hunger Games are? Well, the Hunger Games isn’t really a place in which you compete for food; it’s survival of the fittest. The games are an annual competition that make 24 children- 12 girls and 12 boys respectively- of ages 12-18 fight to their death until one winner remains standing as a survivor. The country was separated into 13 Districts. However, after a rebellion by the people, District 13 was bombed by the Capitol leaving only 12 Districts remaining. Because of this rebellion, the Capitol made a new rule; every year, the Hunger Games will take place to make sure the rebellion of another District doesn’t occur again. For each District, every child has to have their name on a piece of paper placed inside the bowl, and the representative of that District randomly selects the tributes at the annual reaping. It isn’t really the best raffle to win, if you ask me; your prize is either death or glory, and you can’t choose.

In the first book, The Hunger Games, the 16 year old teenager Katniss, has the unfortunate luck of having to be the first to volunteer to participate in the 74th annual games in order to take the place of the person who was chosen, her little sister Primrose Everdeen. She leaves her loved ones such as her mom and best friend Gale Hawthorne behind. Along with Katniss, a compassionate and genuine baker’s son from town, Peeta Mellark was also chosen to represent District 12. As the story develops and the competition between the Districts begin, Katniss and Peeta must put forth their maximum effort to represent their District and learn to work together in order to eliminate the rest of the competitors. However, towards the end, an ultimatum is made by the District which states that there must only be one winner, leaving Peeta and Katniss to come up with a solution to this problem.

The events that take place in the first book create the intensifying climax in which Catching Fire begins with. Katniss is now known as the “Girl on Fire” and is ready to show Panem her flames. A rebellion occurs all over Panem and people begin to die to make sure that the name of Katniss Everdeen lives forever. But, something was set up for Katniss, she was forced to compete in the 75th annual Hunger Games; it’s also known as the Quarter Quell. Every Quarter Quell means that the rules are changed around and all the winners of the past games have to compete again.

Throughout the three books, the mockingjay pin becomes as symbol of rebellion and serves to be a sense of security for Katniss because she knows that it will keep her safe. This is especially seen in the third book, Mockingjay, where Katniss becomes more than a winner, more than a rebel, and even more important than President Snow. She essentially represents a mockingjay as her sole purpose is to protect the children all over Panem and make sure they will not have to play the games anymore; this is similar to how a mockingjay spreads its wings for protection. Katniss’ rebellion was more than just an act; it changed Panem. She spoke for the people of Panem against President Snow and succeeded in doing so.

This trilogy was so addicting and fast-paced that I found myself taking it everywhere I went. I became fascinated and attached with the creativity and effort Suzanne Collins puts into writing the series as she uses her experiences and imagination to create such unique characters. When finding out that Mockingjay would be the last book in the series, I was so upset that it ended just like that. The good news is, Catching Fire is ready to be released as a film in all movie theaters around the country on November 22nd. But always remember, may the odds be ever in your favor.