In honor of the new book coming out, re-reading these original books just to make everything fresh in my mind. Because Suzanne Collins is the type of person who makes small connections that will probably blow your mind. I just re-read Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I'm still amazed at the connections between that and the original series, even all those years apart.

All this to say if you ever want to chat about how gender relates to power in the Hunger Games, hit me up because that's what I wrote my thesis about.
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I remember when this book first came out and the book club I was in at the time was all excited about it. It helped start the YA dystopia craze (which I still love) and is partially responsible for me going into children's literature in school. 

Katniss is so snarky in this book, which makes the commentary about the Games even better. And Peeta! He will forever be my favorite. He loves Katniss so unconditionally and the parallels between this and the later books are brilliant.