I think I've made my feelings about it pretty clear that it has some glaring weaknesses. I think the world-building is weak, characters are wishy-washy. Someone yesterday made a great point that Peeta isn't really a "man" he's the prototypical man that women want. I think that's common in female-written YA. I'd put Hunger Games book 1 in the top tier of YA, but I wouldn't put it near the top. I think the genre offers much better substance than what Hunger Games does. Here are some better offerings:

Harry Potter

The Giver

Ender's Game

Feed

The Hobbit

Hatchet

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Graveyard Book

Holes

Battle Royale

The Long Walk