The Hunger Games is the same as Twilight? Ah, no.

Out of all of the books I have read, the series I love the most is The Hunger Games Trilogy. Coming in March, Lionsgate will be releasing the movie for the first book, The Hunger Games. The article "The Hunger Games: The new teen franchise with Twilight in its sights" talks about how The Hunger Games is quickly becoming the commercial success that the Twilight movies were. It speaks a little on how the Hunger Games is different than Twilight, however. The article then continues on and expresses the view that The Hunger Games is all about a love triangle, just as that is all Twilight is about. However, this is quite the incorrect assumption. The meaning in The Hunger Games is much deeper than a love triangle with raging teenage hormones.

The main focus of these books is survival. The books are about a post-apocalyptic North America called Panem. Panem is made up of twelve districts that were shattered after a revolution. The government, called the Capitol, uses the annual Hunger Games to remind the districts who rules them. The Games constitute an arena that two children (a boy and a girl, from age 12 to 18) from each district are placed in and forced to fight each other to the death. The lone survivor is the winner, and gains glory, food, and money for their district. However, there is a love triangle with the heroin, Katniss, her fellow tribute Peeta Mellark, and her best friend Gale Hawthorne. This simply adds another layer to the story. It does not define the whole of the plot, unlike Twilight. 

With Twilight, the entire plot is based around Bella and her raging hormones. She can't decide between two "hot" males, and all four books are mainly about how she is trying to choose between them and is basically weak and silly the entire time. Bella's greatest worry is her sparkly vampire boyfriend leaving her, or her sweaty werewolf friend hating her. There is really no substance to her character, or to any of the books for that matter. The four books of the Twilight series all have basically the same plot line: Bella wants to be with Edward, she falls a lot, other vampires want to kill her, Jacob is annoying and can't get over Bella, Bella doesn't die, the end. Bella also ends up as a statistic; she gets married and pregnant at eighteen. Albeit with a scary monster fetus, but still.

The Hunger Games Trilogy, on the other hand, is all about survival and the hope of a better life. Katniss ends up as a tribute for the Games when her twelve year old sister's name is called. She volunteers because she can't bear the thought of a little girl going into the Arena and being slaughtered by the other tributes. This automatically makes her less self-serving and more selfless than Bella in the Twilight Saga. These books, while they do have a bit of a love triangle, are in no way all about that. There is depth to The Hunger Games, in the sense that they are about making the world a better place for future generations. The three main characters, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, do what they can, regardless of the cost to themselves, to keep their families and friends safe. However, in keeping families and friends safe, they attempt to make the world a better place for whatever future generations may come. They all try to  change the world, bringing hope for a better life to citizens of the downtrodden districts. While the books involve quite a bit of violence, they advocate peace and alliance between people of different backgrounds.

Despite The Hunger Games having a huge fanbase similar to that of Twilight, the two fandoms are nothing alike. The Hunger Games fandom have a series that is written about something deep and meaningful, and sends a positive message out to the readers. The Twilight lovers have a series about a love triangle and out-of-control hormones. The youth of today need something deeper than that, and The Hunger Games offers that. Despite the bit of love triangle in the trilogy, the books are about survival, love, and hope for a better tomorrow.