So for as long as I can remember I have LOVED to read (& write). I absolutely love getting lost in a book, preferably a series because I have a hard time reading just ONE book... I always want more! Recently we have seen a huge surge in teen book series, although I am not a teen I can't help but be completely enthralled! If you don't know by now which series I am talking about let me help you out... Harry Potter, Twilight and most recently The Hunger Games. These series have pretty much become the "it" books & movies of today's teen generation (and adults too for that matter).

This past weekend I went out with a group of girlfriends from grade school where we talked about our lives, what we have done the past ten years (I can't believe it's been just about ten years since some of us have hung out!). As the conversation went further we got on the topic of these three series along with their movie portrayals, the lessons the accuracy of their movies and so on. This lead me to do a lot of thinking on the matter... What do I really think of these three series if I compare them?! Which one is my favorite?! Which movie was done the best?!

All three of these series had me hooked almost immediately. However, looking at it from a writing perspective I would have to say that The Hunger Games blew Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga out of the water. Everything Suzanne Collins put on paper had a meaning, all the way down to the names of the plants in parallel with her characters, every bit of the story had meaning (as a writer myself I was and am extremely impressed at that). As well as having an entirely realistic ending, where the characters are content and settled in their lives, yet not really happy. This isn't your normal sappy happily ever after love story that you can walk away feeling all good inside. These characters have true emotions and can't just overcome the hardships to end up with the ones they are seemingly "meant" to be with. Everyone wants to believe in the happily ever after love story but it doesn't always end that way so it was nice to finally have an author tackle that truth.

Now when it comes to which series as a whole I was most emotionally connected with I would have to go with Harry Potter, seven books and eight movies will do that to a person. Reading and then watching these characters grow and change throughout the years is something that I didn't/won't have with the other two series. J. K. Rowling brought us seven years of these characters life, I was definitely much more emotionally connected with these characters, being able to look back at the first movie and book it is evident at just how much growth these characters had gone through, you can really appreciate where they ended up because you got to see their lives from the moment they acquired their magic and went to Hogwarts. 


The Twilight Saga, for me, was a little bit harder to get into... Honestly, the only reason I even read it at first was because my husband (then boyfriend) had read them all and insisted that I try them. After the first book it quickly became almost like a guilty pleasure. I absolutely love the dynamic of this series, werewolves and vampires are always intriguing to me! The one thing I didn't really care for was the helplessness of Bella in the first three and a half books. I understand that it all has its meaning and place but she never really seems independent. When you look at Katniss and Hermione, yes they do pick a guy in the end but at least throughout their stories they are fiercely independent. In the last book Bella does gain a bit of independence when it comes to saving the life of her child which is a very redeeming aspect of the entire series and one that I very much enjoyed. All in all this series was one that I was able to read lightly and just indulged in without having to dissect every aspect.


When watching these movies I obviously noticed just about every single difference along with the parts that were left out, however I do believe that they were all done to the best of the ability that Hollywood has to offer. While writing a book the last thing on your mind is, "can this be portrayed on the big screen easily enough?" All you are focused on is telling your story and hoping others will appreciate it. That being said I give the movies all huge props for being able to incorporate and doing what they did with the stories that were sat in front of them. I mean come on it can't be easy figuring out just how to film a human being giving birth to a half human half vampire baby AND still having a rating that allows the bulk of your audience to be able to see it in theaters.

I am constantly flip flopping on which book and movie series is my favorite out of these three, each day I would probably give you a different answer and a different reason as to why. I guess that is just the mark of great writing from these three very talented authors! You can bet that each one of them has inspired me while writing my own book!!

What are your thoughts on these three series (book and movie form)?!