MutantNinjaAnole t1_jdcmiyg wrote on March 23, 2023 at 1:16 PM

The Hunger Games isn’t my favorite, but it is odd in that it is seen as exemplifying the “YA Dystopia” tropes associated with the genre but sort of doesn’t live up to most of them? Katniss by the last book is more a broken protagonist than a wish fulfillment hero. She isn’t much of an actual “chosen one” except by happenstance and was used, for good or for ill, as a symbol for the rebellion and wasn’t the one who defeated the Capital, and who knows whether the peace will last. The love triangle was barely even there for me as I read it. For me, it’s a bit of an unusual series to reflect upon, which isn’t bad.

Possibly most controversially, I think the movies were better.

AhsokaSolo t1_jddshfv wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:52 PM

All of your examples are things I like about it.

Wish fulfillment heroes are boring imo. Chosen one stories are boring. Hunger Games almost does what Dune does in that sense, and Dune is my favorite book. Obviously Hunger Games is nowhere near as good as Dune (which is fine, HG is more like candy than a French pastry), nor is Katniss as much of an inversion of the trope as Paul, but these themes are more interesting to me than the standard stuff.

Also, I hate love triangles. Hunger Games had too much love triangle stuff for my taste, but at least it wasn't so much that I couldn't read it.

MutantNinjaAnole t1_jddtt20 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:01 PM

To be clear, I’m not listing those as reasons it is bad, just where it isn’t quite like what people think of when they think of YA. Similar to how Lord of the Rings actually subverts some fantasy tropes.

AhsokaSolo t1_jddv3ck wrote on March 23, 2023 at 6:09 PM

Oh gotcha, I did slightly misread what you said. Actually I think I agree with you. It isn't a typical YA book in terms of the stereotypical themes.

SparklingSarcasm99 t1_jdkm67h wrote on March 25, 2023 at 1:56 AM

Interestingly I think it’s because Tolkien and Collins were pioneers for their genres. Tolkien is widely considered the forefather of modern fantasy and Collins work spearheaded the wave of YA dystopia which wasn’t as huge a market as it became. In trying to be those writers the ones that came after actually cemented the tropes in the genre. Most of the YA dystopian writers that came after Collins focused on the wrong things, for example YA dystopia went all in on the love triangles, liked how badass Katniss could be making their characters wish fulfilment, and overusing the chosen one narratives. It’s like they were trying to emulate Suzanne Collins but fundamentally misunderstood her work and what she was trying to say