As I write this post, 4th of July is upon me and my neighborhood. To distract me from anxiety inducing noises (Was that a gunshot? Is my neighbor going to accidentally set my house on fire because they are drunk and don’t know firework safety? How is my dog handling this better than me?), I’m bringing you my favorite book series about rebellion/freedom.

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

These books. Like, damn. Back before I even knew about #bookstagram and book blogging, these books were like godsends to me. I devoured them. I wish I had kept better track of my reading back in the day because I’m pretty sure I read Catching Fire and Mockingjay in one weekend.

You all know how much I love a good gut punch of tragedy and Collins threads brutality and devastation through the pages of this series like a cruel seamstress. I very specifically remember having to reread a certain passage at the end of Mockingjay just to make sure I understood what the heck had just happened. I feel like these books were one of the big turning points in YA fiction and the kind of brutality we see these days in YA books.

And then there are the movies. I. Love. Them. There, I said it. I know they aren’t 100% faithful to the books, but y’all know that very few adaptations can be. I love Jennifer Lawrence to the Vale and back. Also, Sam Claflin as Finnick? Yes, please and thank you. But I digress.

While some may remember these books for the epic love triangle (I was always team Peeta. *flips off Gale*), what really drew me in was the world and the politics of this series. I love the concept of the nation broken into districts that all had their specific roles and the frightening way that the people fell into complacency. Oh, and the plot twists. Oh my, the plot twists! I love the way Collins slowly built the rebellion up until its crescendo in Mocking. I am deeply looking forward to a reread of the trilogy this year.

What are some of your favorite books about rebellion/freedom?