Mockingjay picks up after Catching Fire's explosive (and cliffhanger) conclusion with Katniss extracted from the arena and District 12 obliterated. RELATED: 9 'Hunger Games' Prequels We Actually Want to See So whether you're bingeing them for the first time or embarking on a re-read in preparation for the upcoming fifth prequel movie, here are all four books in the series, ranked. The Hunger Games is a unique book series in that there's not a bad one in the bunch, just varying degrees of success.

Each of Panem's 12 districts must send one boy and one girl as 'tribute,' which the Capitol does to remind Panem of the Capitol's immense power and discourage the subservient districts from rebelling. The story takes place in a futuristic and war-torn North America called Panem, where 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her young sister's place in the annual 'Hunger Games', a televised fight to the death between 24 kids instituted by the country's totalitarian Capitol. After all, over 100 million copies sold worldwide and four feature film adaptations don't lie. The quadrilogy boasts relatable characters (both children and adults), tight writing and pacing, and a fresh concept complete with creative and fully realized world-building. While that may be true, such a conclusion fails to account for the series' merit and storytelling excellence. When the first book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series became a worldwide phenomenon upon its release in 2008, it could be argued that it was so successful because it filled the gap in the Young Adult fiction market that was left after the final Harry Potter installment was published the year before.

Hunger games second book