The Hunger Games Trilogy

Okay, so I'm a little late to come to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, seeing as the first two movie adaptations have already been released but excuse a person who up until now has only read Tim Winton's young adult fiction.
     Prior to reading The Hunger Games I read the first book in the Dexter series. And the subject matter was less volent and not as well written for an adult audience as The Hunger Games was for a young adult audience.
     I'll spare everyone from too much of a plot summary except for this. Katniss Everdeen is a sixteen year old girl living in District Twelve of Panem. This appears to be the remnants of the USA after an apocalypse. The Districts 1-12 (13 was supposedly destroyed after an uprising) are kept under control by the cruel hand of the venomous President Snow from The Capitol. Every year, every single 12-18 year old from the districts goes into the draw for The Hunger Games. One girl and one boy are chosen from each district and sent into a grand-scale arena and the winner is the last child alive.
     And so begins the epic story.
     The writing is pitched at a young adult audience so it is easy to read. But what impressed me most was the planning. No plot detail was there by accident. This could not have been conceived of and written in any other way than with a trilogy in mind. Not like the movie Godfather III which could never have happened if you read the book. This was an heroic project planned to the finest detail. The world created was believable and intricate and as all good other-worldly books should do, had a lot to say about our current world and our places and behaviour in it. The universals are the same no matter what time period something is placed within.
     So, do I recommend The Hunger Games? Indeed I do. I am not an avid reader of young adult fiction, except for the as yet unpublished work of a couple of notable rising YA writers. Not for any other reason than it just hasnt crossed my mind except in the case of Winton. And you'll forgive a Winton fan of reading every single thing I can get my hands on.
     The Hunger Games has enthused me enough to read The Harry Potter books.
     Enter the wizard. After I finish The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan.