To be clear, I’m not listing those as reasons it is bad, just where it isn’t quite like what people think of when they think of YA. Similar to how Lord of the Rings actually subverts some fantasy tropes.

The Hunger Games isn’t my favorite, but it is odd in that it is seen as exemplifying the “YA Dystopia” tropes associated with the genre but sort of doesn’t live up to most of them? Katniss by the last book is more a broken protagonist than a wish fulfillment hero. She isn’t much of an actual “chosen one” except by happenstance and was used, for good or for ill, as a symbol for the rebellion and wasn’t the one who defeated the Capital, and who knows whether the peace will last. The love triangle was barely even there for me as I read it. For me, it’s a bit of an unusual series to reflect upon, which isn’t bad.

Possibly most controversially, I think the movies were better.