By Neha N., Grade 9

4. Mockingjay

Mockingjay, the third book of the original Hunger Games trilogy, was an amazing closing to the series. It provided a lot of action, and probably provoked the strongest emotional responses from me out of the whole series. There were many plot twists in this book, and I found myself hanging onto them, always reeling from one shock only to face another. However, when I was reading Mockingjay, I got a major spoiler and then it promptly became a little more boring than it should have been. I think this book was amazing–doing a great job of continuing the style of the trilogy, but also wrapping up loose ends. But because most of the reading experience comes from not knowing what's next, I didn’t get a lot of satisfaction from the huge revelations of this book, because I’d found them out beforehand. Overall, my main praise for this book was how intensely emotional it made me. I’m not someone who gets emotional while reading often, but after finishing this book, I was left feeling depressed for days, which is a testament to some very impressive writing. 

Mockingjay

3. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

This book came out recently, as a prequel to the main trilogy and a sort of “villain origin story” for president Snow, who’d become a major villain of the main trilogy. I absolutely loved this book, and my heart broke over and over throughout it as I became more and more sure of what was going to happen at the end. Although I don’t want to spoil it, I definitely went into this book with the mentality that it would have to end very sadly in order for Snow to become a villain–and I was right. I don’t have any major complaints about this book at all, I thought it was amazing and added layers of depth to the rest of the series. It’s placed third on my ranking because although it was amazing, this series just happens to have some of the best and practically unbeatable books ever. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

2. The Hunger Games

In second place is the first book in the trilogy. The Hunger Games was an amazing book, and everything I’d expect just from reading its title. When I started reading this book, I thought, “what could possibly happen that I wouldn’t expect? Obviously Katniss will compete in the Hunger Games and survive.” But even though I was right about that, there were still many surprises that I hadn’t expected at all–for example, Katniss’s blossoming romance with Peeta, or the manner in which Katniss won the games (which I won’t spoil!) Even the concept of this book is amazing–c’mon, a deadly game where you have to outlast everyone else in the arena? It already sounds so entertaining to read, even without the additional plot twists. This first book in the Hunger Games series leaves readers satisfied with the plot, but also wanting more. And luckily, the sequel is even better. 

The Hunger Games

1. Catching Fire

I loved this book so much! Fresh after finishing book one, I honestly didn’t think a sequel was necessary. But wow, I was so wrong. Although book one is readable as a singular novel without the rest of the trilogy, the second book absolutely turned everything upside down. This book probably had the most shocking plot twists in the whole series, and I’m so glad that I decided to read it after finishing book one. It perfectly encapsulates Katniss’s feelings of shock about immediately being plunged into life-threatening danger right after she thought she was finally safe. Also to that end, it gives the readers something to relate to. Both Katniss and the reader are left wondering what The Capitol (the central government) has in store next. Throughout all of the plot twists, the reader has Katniss to hold on to. I felt like this book did the best at narrating her inner monologue, and since she is the protagonist, the reader was able to follow along with a metaphorical “buoy” in the “storm” of the back-to-back surprises. The writing of this book was extremely skillful and impressive, leaving readers questioning everything, but somehow not so lost that they couldn’t pay attention to the storyline. By using Katniss’s character as a way to help the reader follow along, this book was able to pack a shocking amount of power into a few hundred pages. 

Catching Fire