It’s a young-adult series of books whose heroine is a not-totally likable teenage girl. Despite her flaws, she’s beloved by two handsome hunks, both of whom are brave and noble and fascinating.
But not to worry. I’m not talking about Bella, Edward, and Jacob or any of their silly, horribly written ilk. The three on my mind do one hell of a lot more than play “vampire baseball” (whatever that is).
Two inadvertently spark a revolution, in which all three play a part. And never fear, macho guys, the love triangle supports the story; it doesn’t take up hundreds of pages of weep-and-mope like that Certain Other Young Adult Series. Plenty of action here. Death. Grit. Blood. Rage. Rebellion.
A while back I mentioned the first book in the trilogy, The Hunger Games. I finished up the second book, Catching Fire, last week. And the moment I can get back to it, I’ll be devouring the last 70 pages of book three, Mockingjay. Trust me, this is good stuff.
Is it libertarian or an-cap? Not explicitly. Nobody gives speeches about the Federal Reserve or the Second Amendment (thank goodness), and the story doesn’t begin or end with hyperinflation. But in every fiber of its being it’s a tale of individuals against the state. Individuals at first oppressed, enslaved, and even forced to murder each other for the entertainment of their masters. But individuals who strike back.
Not until the second book does the series really … well, catch fire. But once it does, I’m pretty sure this is a story most people here are going to like. And your teenage daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, godchildren, etc., too. They’re who the trilogy was really written for.
Soon (or at least eventually) to be several major motion pictures, of which the first is now being cast with some strong young actors, including Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence from Winter’s Bone and Josh Hutcherson from The Kids Are All Right.
My Amazon link to the trilogy and its individual parts.
I’m currently working on the series as well. I’m partway through the second book. The first was wonderful.
Maybe I’ll have to read them. If they pick up Jennifer Lawernce and the movies are half as good as Winters Bone they’ll do okay.
Read thru them all after your recommendation of the first book. Couldn’t put them down. Fast paced, exciting and thought provoking. I’ve got a lot of friends that read all of HP and the Twilight books and I heartily suggested they pick up this series for their next big read.
Trilogy was an interesting.
Don’t forget “The Loud Silence of Francine Green” as a introductory conversation piece about the “Red Scare” here in the United States.
They are really good as Audio Books
The Hunger Games trilogy is really good…and I think you’d like the “Tomorrow” series by John Marsden. Starting with Tomorrow, When the War Began, and continuing through six more books, it’s the story of how a group of rural Australian teenagers deal with it when Oz is invaded…and they’re among the few Aussies not rounded up by the invaders (they were camping in the bush when it happened, and were overlooked.)
It may sound like Red Dawn, but, believe me, it’s worlds better. It’s like Red Dawn would have been had it been written by Heinlein at the top of his form. They aren’t whiny little losers, but neither are they superhuman…they’re teenagers. They can be incredibly brave, but they can also be bored silly, do stupid things, fall in and out and in love, and form a deep bond with their comrades, even when they have times that they’d cheerfully strangle each other.
The books are a bit hard to find in the US, but look them up and let me know what you think. I think you’ll be very pleased…I was.