I caught the bug. I started reading The Hunger Games last Monday. My friends and I were out on St. Patrick’s day and one of them told me she was obsessed with the books. I had little interest in them, I thought they would be like Twilight, which I tried to read a few years back and gave up half way through the first book because I absolutely hated it. But I figured if my friend was obsessed I’d give them a shot.

I started reading the first book on a Monday. I read the second book from Friday-Sunday morning and I read the third book in a single seven hour sitting on Sunday. They really were addicting, really similar to how I felt while reading Harry Potter. I think only Young Adult literature can suck you in like that.

The series is so clever and Suzanne Collins was able to include commentaries on several different aspects of our society in a single story. People have compared it to the Japanese film Battle Royal but from what I’ve heard they only sound slightly similar. (I should watch the film before I say anything.)  There is so much evil and dark in the book but the main characters are very likable and the story is highly engaging. I can’t write book reviews, I don’t know enough about literature, but I know these books are well thought out with amazing characters and a highly engaging plot.

Last night I saw the movie. The beginning of the movie was impressively spot-on in my opinion. But by the end they sped things along and left out a lot of the character development and dialogue that are some of my favorite moments from the book. Books turned into movies rarely work out well for me. From a readers point of view, it is slightly annoying to see them change the dialogue between characters, or leave out key details. But what annoys me even more is my friends and family that only watch the movie and then think they have a valid idea of what the book is about. They don’t fully understand what is happening because the movie had to skim. They root for the wrong characters because they don’t know the important dialogue and actions that happened between characters in the book.

So I haven’t left you with much valuable information, but I would recommend reading the novels if you have the time. (They are quick, highly addicting reads. Great for a vacation or commute.) And if you don’t have the time, check out the movie. But I warn you, you won’t have any idea what is actually going on!