How Would You Rank ‘The Hunger Games’ Series by Suzanne Collins?
“May the odds be ever in your favour.”
The new novel by Suzanne Collins, Sunrise on the Reaping, was released in March, and many book readers felt transported to their teenage years because of the pandemonium of their favourite dystopian series. Everyone remembered how it felt to read a novel with a protagonist as fierce and headstrong as Katniss Everdeen. Not only were the novels a success, but the film adaptations have been incredible.
The reason why Sunrise on the Reaping had more hype than The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is because this is the story we’ve long-awaited; the story of Haymitch Abernathy's games.
After this addition to the series, the way fans have ranked The Hunger Games novels is quite similar. Catching Fire and Sunrise on the Reaping are on the same level of intensity and social commentary, and are possibly the two most effective out of the five. The Quarter Quell is about greed and a media frenzy that can manipulate viewers.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and The Hunger Games are both foundation-building novels. The world-building and political ideology within the dystopian world are structured well to show the contrast and similarities of Panem's evolution.
Lastly, it’s always difficult to end a series, and Suzanne Collins chose to end it with a revolution. The build-up to the moment between Katniss and President Snow wasn’t underwhelming, but it wasn’t as exhilarating as previous novels. After reading Catching Fire, it’s hard for anything to come close to the feeling that it gives readers.
The series as a whole is cemented as one of the best YA dystopian series on the page and the big screen. It comes with difficulty to rank The Hunger Games series because Suzanne Collins is such a brilliant writer, and she mirrors the revolution in the series with what’s happening in the world so well.
Check out my ranking of the series below!
How would you rank The Hunger Games series? Let me know in the comments!
Sunrise on the Reaping
Haymitch - Second Quarter Quell
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
2. Catching Fire
Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol—a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.
3. The Hunger Games
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
4. thE bALLAD OF soNGBIRDS AND sNAKES
Lucy Gray Baird - 10th Annual Hunger Games
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined -- every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
5. Mockingjay
My name is Katniss Everdeen.
Why am I not dead?
I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.
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