Review: The Girl Who Was On Fire by Various Authors

The Girl Who Was On Fire by Various Authors

Edited by Leah Wilson

Publisher: Smart Pop (April 5th, 2011)

Reading Level: Young Adult

Source: Publisher

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Praised by writers from Stephen King to Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins’ New York Times bestselling Hunger Games trilogy is dark, captivating, and deeply thought-provoking. Part straight-up survivalist adventure, part rich allegory, and part political thriller, the series has become a new YA favorite.
The Girl Who Was On Fire offers even more to think about for teen readers already engrossed by the Hunger Games. From the trilogy's darker themes of violence and social control to reality television, fashion, and weaponry, the collection's exploration of the Hunger Games by other YA writers reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, protagonist Katniss’ world really is.
The Girl Who Was On Fire covers all three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. 

Review: Pretty much everyone has heard of The Hunger Games, and most have their own opinions about the series. What we rarely get to see, is an author share their thoughts about a book or series. The Girl Who Was On Fire gives us that chance. Each author focuses on a certain topic, or issue, in the book and they explain their thoughts on the trilogy. 

I had several sections of this book that stood out as favorites. Each author brought humor and fascinating theories to support their outlook. Sarah Rees Brennan had some very funny comments regarding the love and sexy-times in the series. She admits she's "a filthy-minded creature from the gutter". It's so nice to see authors open up and show that they are just like us! *wink*

Cara Lockwood focused on the science behind some of the creatures we see in The Hunger Games; tracker jackers, and mutts. I was shocked to read about some of the scientific experiments that have been conducted by researchers, in real life. Scary stuff! It proved that maybe tracker jackers may not be far from our future. 

For me, I really loved how each section brought back memories from reading the book. It gave me a lot to think about and pointed out things I had missed along the way. As readers, we often focus on different things we notice in the book but The Girl Who Was On Fire lets us have time to slow down and concentrate on each individual issue. 

Other stories discuss the fashion, politics, media, and of course, the relationships we all come to enjoy during the trilogy. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games series, and would like to see how authors feel about the story, you gotta read this book. Each story is interesting in its own way and helps the reader look back at these books that have been embraced so much by teens and adults.

Participating Authors
Mary Borsellino
Terri Clark
Bree Despain
Adrienne Kress
Sarah Rees Brennan
Cara Lockwood
Sarah Darer Littman
Ned Vizzini
Lili Wilkinson
Elizabeth M. Rees
Carrie Ryan
Blythe Woolston
Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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