'The Hunger Games' books ranked from worst to first. Is your favorite No. 1?

Fans of "The Hunger Games" are excited because Suzanne Collins has announced that not only is another prequel novel in the works — "Sunrise on the Reaping" will be centered on Katniss' moody mentor Haymitch Abernathy and the 50th Hunger Games — but another film has the green light as well.

In celebration of this news, I've decided it's time to determine once and for all the definitive ranking of the current Hunger Games universe books. I devoured the original trilogy in high school, was at every midnight premiere of the films and have fondly reread the books throughout the years.

So, without further ado, here's my ranking of every "Hunger Games" book so far. May the odds be ever in your favorite's favor.

4. 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

Look, when Collins announced a prequel centered around a young Coriolanus Snow prior to becoming president, I was excited. That excitement faltered very quickly when I had to DNF (did not finish) this book. As an avid reader, I almost never do that.

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There was so much here that could have been good but just fell completely flat. Coriolanus' inner monologue is a chore to read, he comes off whiny and in spite of his family having fallen from grace he's still trying to become someone in the Capitol without letting on that he's broke and broken.

It's the 10th annual Hunger Games and Snow and his classmates are each assigned a tribute to mentor. Meanwhile, they're all expected to hatch a plan to make the games more exciting for viewers. At this point, the tributes are simply thrown into an abandoned arena with some random weapons for a brutal bloodbath with none of the ingenuity of the games we've come to know and somewhat love.

Instead of fleshing out a truly despicable and interesting villain in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," Collins instead breezes past the creation of sponsors sending advantages to the tributes they want to win. It's mentioned in a single conversation in passing and then everyone is like, "Yeah, that's a great idea" and moves on. What could have been a major plot point was just a throwaway scene.

The bulk of the book follows Snow's punishment for cheating so his District 12 tribute Lucy Gray would win and him finding his way back to her for a less-than-interesting romance that we all knew wouldn't work out. If I can be frank here: I didn't ship them.

3. 'Mockingjay'

I want to preface this by saying that I don't think "Mockingjay" is a bad book in any way. However, when up against its two predecessors, it just doesn't quite stick with you like the others.

"Mockingjay" is centered around the rise of a District 13-led rebellion against President Snow and the Capitol and Katniss' role as the face of the rebellion, despite her many decrees that she doesn't want to be. And can you blame her?

Honestly, a lot of this book runs together in my brain, and not many of the specific details really stand out. However, I did love the death of Katniss' sister Prim. A weird take I know, but you know what I mean. For the plot, it was a risky move that paid off.

And I loved the scenes with the rebel crew and a still healing from a brainwashing Peeta tagging along, sneaking their way through the Capitol to get to their target: Snow. It felt real and grounded and the imagery made you feel as if you were a part of it.

The ending though? What a way to end a trilogy with our girl Katniss, true to form, turning everything you thought would happen on its head and killing the new President Coin to prevent any more corrupt leaders seeking revenge and keeping the Hunger Games alive.

Snow gets a pretty underwhelming death by potentially choking on his own blood from the mystery illness he's had throughout the series, but it does have a sort of poetic justice to it.

It's all tied up in a little too much of a nice bow for my personal taste when we jump ahead 15 years to see Peeta and Katniss living a somewhat normal cozy life with their kids in District 12.

2. 'The Hunger Games'

There's nothing quite like the original and while "The Hunger Games" was an incredible first novel in a trilogy, it just couldn't compare to its successor "Catching Fire" for me.

But it's a perfect introduction to the series and sets up impressive amounts of world building without bogging down the action. I also love the little mini plot twist in the beginning with assumptions that Katniss' name would be picked for the reaping and instead her sister was picked, causing Katniss to volunteer in her place.

And that really set up "The Hunger Games" readers to expect the unexpected from Collins. The novel hits a slight dip as Katniss and Peeta make their first public appearance, learn who their mentor is and show off their skills to the game makers. While all of this is interesting, it doesn't compare to the chapters detailing the game itself.

The game action was well written, engaging and truly felt like high stakes. Collins expertly introduced most of the tributes and I even got somewhat attached to some of them (I'm looking at you Rue, RIP) sometimes forgetting that only one will emerge as victor.

I smelled Peeta and Katniss making it out alive from hundreds of pages away, but what the ending lacked in drama it made up for with an eerie sense of foreboding that Katniss, Peeta and the gang were in for big trouble.

And boy, oh boy, did trouble come.

1. 'Catching Fire'

I'm one of those people who almost always prefers the second or third book in a series, mostly because there's less world building and more action. The plot thickens, you know?

And in the case of Collins' second book, "Catching Fire," the plot really does thicken, and fast.

All seems quiet in Katniss' and Peeta's lives after surviving the first Hunger Games, but that rascally President Snow isn't pleased with how the districts are beginning to murmur about rebellion. He decides to shake things up for the 75th Hunger Games.

The result is throwing previous victors back into the ring and the reader getting even more attached to even more characters knowing good and well they won't all make it out. Collins ramped up the intrigue with a genius new game for these veteran tributes.

It's a clock, where on every hour a new deadly thing is released and ready to attack. Everything from a poisonous fog to killer monkey mutants and literal blood rain — it's insanity. The book is gripping from start to finish and the ending perfectly sets up the final installment.

Katniss has been rescued and whisked away by the rebels in District 13, Peeta has been captured by Snow and the rebellion is officially beginning. And that's where "Catching Fire" ends, with a killer cliffhanger and a perfect setup for what's to come.

Meredith G. White covers entertainment and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She has the latest news about video games, television and things to do in metro Phoenix. Follow her on X and Instagram @meredithgwhite and onFacebook as Meredith G. White. Email her at meredith.white@arizonarepublic.com.

More of my opinions:'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' is over-the-top, Guy Ritchie-style fun