After I first saw The Hunger Games movie, adapted from the novel by Suzanne Collins, I could only describe it as “awesome!”

I watched the movie a few years ago with my friends and dad. On the way home all we could talk about was our favorite death. Mine was probably the multiple stabbings, shootings, and bashings at the beginning of the games. If you haven’t seen The Hunger Games or read the books, this may seem disgusting. What kind of kids’ movie portrays the graphic deaths of kids killed by other kids? But if you ever read The Hunger Games, you will be hooked. In the dystopian page-turner, death, blood, and gore fit right in.

The Hunger Games is set in post-apocalyptic North America, in a country called Panem, which means bread in Latin (I know, very punny) and stars Katniss Everdeen, a girl of 16 who volunteers to take her twelve-year-old sister’s place at the 74th annual Hunger Games. The premise is that every year, each of the 12 Districts of Panem must provide a male and female “tribute” between the ages of twelve and eighteen as compensation for rebelling against the capitol nearly a century ago. Once selected at a public lottery called the Reaping, the tributes fight to the death in a public arena on national television. I’m not going to ruin the ending, even though most of you probably already know, but I will tell you that the movie is full of blood, knife throwing, fireball shooting, explosions, and yes, quite a lot of kissing.

Published in 2008, The Hunger Games almost immediately became a bestseller, gaining praise from many reviewers. The New York Times called it an “exhilarating narrative and a future we can fear and believe in,” and commented on the complexity and depth of the characters, and how the basic writing style makes “nothing stand between Katniss and the reader.”

The series is so popular that I have trouble finding someone who hasn’t read them. In the film adaptation, Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine Katniss flawlessly, realistically capturing her essence: her little quirks, humor, curiosity, and desire to survive against all odds. Her realization of how messed up it is for kids to kill each other for sport is a crucial point of character development and leads to her becoming the face of the rebellion. Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson, though a bit of a heartthrob, plays his role earnestly. He is convincing in his love for Katniss and in playing a good person. Liam Hemsworth plays Gale. He got the role because he is Liam Hemsworth, and did an okay, if not so memorable, job. Nobody else is really worth mentioning because – spoiler – half of the cast dies, including Cinna (Lenny Kravitz).

The Hunger Games opens to a child’s sobbing. It is Prim, Katniss’ younger sister on the day of the reaping. I feel like this is the perfect way to begin the movie. It sets the mood, ominously foreshadowing what is to come. As we venture with Katniss from District 12, to the Capitol, to the Arena, not only do we get to see Katniss’s growth, but also the hauntingly dysfunctional society where the poor die of starvation and the rich know only Panem et Circenses (bread and circuses).

What makes the book so good, I think, is that unlike other teen books about dystopian societies, Katniss is so real. She has problems, makes bad decisions, and is not so annoyingly good as other heroines, like Tris Prior in Divergent, Bella Swan in Twilight, or Clary Fray in Mortal Instruments; the list is endless. She has mean and tender moments, moments of love alongside hate.

Katniss starts out as a poor girl who is good with a bow. Through all of her experiences in both the books and movies, she becomes a stronger, better person. As she sees children her age die at the hands of others and does quite a lot of killing herself, and experiences the poverty of the Districts and the gluttony of the Capitol, she retains the essence of herself: a brave, strong, truly good person who volunteered to take her sister’s place in the games. As terrible, yet thrilling, events happen around her, she realizes hope is stronger than fear, that once a spark catches, there is no putting out the fire.

The Hunger Games is a great movie, but as with movies, there are a few downsides. First and foremost is the glaring lack of diversity. Throughout the film series, there are maybe three African Americans with big-ish parts, and the series proceeds to kill everyone with the exception of Beetee. The Asians in the cast, none of whom have lines, die very early on, and there are no Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, or West Indian people to speak of. Although nothing involving race is mentioned in the plot, and it is in no way important to the story, I shudder at this lack of diversity. Further, parts of both movies, are tedious and cheesy. In Catching Fire, the first half of the movie, although interesting at times, has little to no action. But overall, both the movies and books are excellent, thrilling, and dramatic and definitely worth seeing.

The symbols in the books and movies play an important role in the story. There are two recurring symbols. The first is the mockingjay pin that Katniss receives at the black market in the movie and from her friend Madge in the book. The second is the three finger salute.

At my school, my grade has been obsessed with The Hunger Games, and a girl in my class is constantly doing the three finger salute: touch the three middle fingers of your left hand to your lips and raise them toward the salute. It’s sort of annoying, but goes to show how much pop culture affects our society. However, the idea behind the three finger salute is very sweet. According to the book, “It means thanks; it means admiration; it means good-bye to someone you love.” To me, this is very touching.

The mockingjay, though harder to imitate in the real world, is very important to the book. In the books the mockingjay comes to symbolize the rebellion against the Capitol. It is a black and white bird that repeats whatever song you sing, and can even harmonize. Although Katniss received it randomly, the people of Panem rally around it as a symbol of the revolution against the capitol. One, because they love Katniss, but also because they feel their hopes for freedom have been heard. The mockingjay truly represents the idea of beauty surviving in the midst of adversity.

The Hunger Games is a great movie and has tons of fans all around the world. It is funny, intense, violent, dramatic; basically everything people love about movies all rolled up into one. It also is super true to the book, which I think is important to maintaining the integrity of the story. I highly recommend you see it because it is awesome and you will be amazed.