These days, it seems like you can’t throw a fish in a bookstore
without hitting a high-stakes love triangle—not that I
recommend the throwing of fish in bookstores, mind you (it
annoys the booksellers—not to mention the fish), but it certainly
seems like more and more YA heroines are being faced
with a problem of abundance when it comes to the opposite sex.
While I am a total sucker for romance (not to mention quite
fond of a variety of fictional boys myself), I still can’t help but
wonder if, as readers, we’re becoming so used to romantic conflict
taking center stage that we focus in on that aspect of fiction
even when there are much larger issues at play.

No book has ever made me ponder this question as much as
Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy—in part because it
seems like everyone I know has very strong feelings about which
boy is the best fit for Katniss, but also because the books themselves
contain a commentary on the way audiences latch onto
romance, even (and maybe especially) when lives are at stake. To
survive her first Hunger Games, Katniss has to give the privileged
viewers in the Capitol exactly what they want—a high-stakes
romance featuring star-crossed lovers and unthinkable
choices. Given that readers of the Hunger Games trilogy are
granted insider access to Katniss’ mind, life, and obligations, it
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