The Hunger Games
Ratings3,431
Average rating4.1
Started and finished this book in 5 1/2 hours - couldn't put it down! I was incredibly fascinated by the world the author creates in this novel. It's one that is so far in the future and yet starkly more primitive than that of today, where the privileged and poor are pitted against one another in order for the government to remain powerful and unchecked. Katniss Everdeen is unlike any 16 year old female character I've encountered. The scenarios faced by Katniss and the other main characters are frankly horrific at times, especially considering it's all for sport and as a reminder of the government's power (read the book to find out more). The ending definitely left me ready for the next book to see where the story leads next.
This was lovely. I know that's not the first word that comes to most people's minds when they think of The Hunger Games, but to me it applies. To me, it was a small, intimate story told on a grand stage.
Its a shame that Twilight is mostly seen as Harry Potter's pop culture rival, mostly because of timing and that its the only other book series that created even remotely the same kind of phenomenon. But The Hunger Games feels far more in HP's league, as it is a tightly-wound, sophisticated story, expertly packaged for young people. Which was refreshing, and also kind of threw me off, as most YA authors seemed to dumbing down their content in order to appeal to the teenage mindset, instead of just simplifying their sentences and story structure (Not gonna lie, I was kind of blown away by the amount of exposition this book has. Its a bit like being handed floaties when you've been doing laps in the deep end for an hour), which has created a market of vapid, overly verbose work. HG is as simple and straightforward as the games it is about; it may be rough, but there's enough hand-holding (literally, as well as figuratively) that the marks aren't too bad. I've heard some people complain about the violence, which completely boggles my mind. I know I'm desensitized - seriously, look at the books I've read - but this is by no means graphic. What it is is sincere enough to play it straight. To do otherwise would be a disservice to great characters and relationships Collins created.
It's probably obvious by now what kind of protagonists I like. I like my heroes focused, with uncluttered motivations and no fear of getting dirty. Katniss Everdeen is Will Perry is Ellen Ripley. I should probably start including this in my online dating profiles. I like that Katniss stays simple even when her situation is complicated. Her whole life has been based on survival, and that's not something you can turn off - nor should you - when someone puts you in a pretty dress. I love her - and really, the whole book's - fixation on food. Her meals, whether they be scarce or plentiful, are practically characters all on their own.
But Katniss isn't hard, and in a way she's suprisingly unguarded. She seems to understand how easy it is to lose people, so she doesn't let relationships go to waste. She allows herself to bond with people she views as good, even though they're part of a system that's trying to hurt her and the people she cares about. She's not afraid of her emotions, only wary of how people will see them. And she never really learns how to play politics even though she has to, even when she puts on a performance effective enough to fool the Capitol audience.
I like that there were several different stories going on and we as readers are only privy to one. It makes me very curious as to how the movie is going to come out. Maybe I've watched too much reality TV, but as I read, I found myself also writing the Capitol's commentary, anticipating where the crowd's oohs and aahs would be. Was that just me? Seeing that at work in the movie theater I think will be amusingly metatextual.
This is a solid four stars for me because while I loved the story, the writing consistently had me thinking “This is totally written for kids.” As such, it wasn't as impressive as it could have been, but it was quite nice.
A book aimed at 16 years old girls, if it had focused more on the political conflict surrounding the characters, it would've been better.
4-4.5 keeping my original rating because i think 13 year old me deserves to have her enthusiasm and excitement registered on here. rereading this book was actually so much more fun than i thought it would be. there's a specific kind of joy to be found in knowing certain parts are going to happen but not remembering exactly how. this story is both incredibly harrowing and political and raw (and, as memory serves, those things will only grow stronger as the series goes on) but also surprisingly funny and heart-warming at times. suzanne collins knows how to balance the two well, and even though at this point in my (reading) life some things happened a little quickly or a little too obviously for my liking, i can easily see how important this book was and is. it set a standard for ya that i think very few other ya series have been able to meet. they've tried, but so often completely missed the bat as to what it is about this story that is so interesting. it's really not the love triangle, and it's really not (just) katniss being able to shoot stuff. it's the constant duality, the constant questioning of power; the power of the government, the power of ourselves, the power of our community. i got shivers when katniss receives the bread from district 11 after rue's death. the way collins lets us learn about this world, how unfair it is, how unfair it is to everyone all the time and we don't even know it (katniss thinks rue gets enough fresh food because she lives in district 11, she thinks peeta always eats well because he's a baker) because people in power don't want us to sympathise with each other and feel stronger in our unity, rather want us to be weaker in our division. tl;dr thg is and will be the og and it will always have a special place in my heart.
I read this book back as a teenager (many moons ago) and absolutely loved it. There was a certain part in the third act that HAUNTED me, it was so visual and creepy, that it because my favorite part over all. This is a great book for teenagers to read and I'd highly recommend it. It also introduced me to the Japanese film Battle Royale, which was interesting and branched me off into other international films, so I'm really grateful for the doors this book has opened for me.
I waited a while to pull together all my thoughts on this. I had never read the books before this and ran through the entire series very quickly. It is a good book. It just missed something and I think it is more I was not the target audience but I feel teenage me would've still given it 3 stars. As stated it was a good book with an interesting story but it just fell flat in the end.
I can say that I did first read this book with the whole big rush with the production of the movie, but I fell in love with this series. Katniss is a very inspired, generally believable character whom I feel I could actually relate to in real life. It is a rather short book; only taking me a little over an hour to read, this was disappointing but not a huge turn off for the book.
DNF - 11%
Why?
Because I'm bored and the world building makes no sense. Maybe it does later. I don't care. I'm perfectly sure this is one of those that's just me, because all my friends love this book. Sorry, guys!
Didn't finish book. The beginning was pretty good and interesting but it waned off and I got really bored, even with the violence. I can't see how this novel is as popular as it is.
80/100
The Hunger Games became a sensation for a reason. Its narration is laced with personality, the story is compelling, basically every aspect of it is in line with what's considered a “good” book. Beyond this there isn't too much to say; it's my least favorite in the series but still a very enjoyable read, and one that gets pretty sad at times too. I can't think of anything I didn't like about it, but conversely, I can't think of anything I loved. The strength in this series, in my opinion, is the fact that each book is better than the last.
The books are way better than the movie because of all the internal dialog.. I think it makes the story much more emotional and complex. The movie was still great, but I certainly recommend the books first.
There are lots of positive and negative things to say about this book. After much commotion about this series I finally got around to reading the first book. I adore the main character, Katniss. She is a very strong-willed, skilled, and intelligent young lady who is an excellent role model for girls. The story itself is interesting since it takes place in the future where society seems to have reverted back to its Gladiator days but with children. The Hunger Games itself started off intense, but then the ending of the book left me disappointed since I wanted so much more. If you like romance, you'll like the ending. If you're like me who wanted something more bittersweet, you may be disappointed too.
I watched the movie before reading the book, and I have to say I couldn't put it down, even though the movie adaptation was very similar. It was very interesting to understand the conflicted thoughts of Katniss. More than I was expecting, I started thinking about all the Panems we still have to this day and how often we ignore them, closed in our little bubble.
