Review : The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Pages : 374
Genre : Young Adult
My Rating : 
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated.
As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat’s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
After hearing so much praise about The Hunger Games and its upcoming sequel, Catching Fire, I was worried it wouldn’t meet my expectations. Popular reads seem to be hit or miss with me, and I usually end up loving them or loathing them. The good news is, The Hunger Games definitely fell in the first category!
Of course, for some of you The Hunger Games’ idea might not sound like something new. You might first think of Shirley Jackson’s Lottery. More recently, in 1999, the Japanese Battle Royale offered a similar plot (but in a more violent and bloody way). To my knowledge though, it’s the first time such a dangerous game is written for a young adult public, and while the violence might be a little tone down, the action certainly isn’t.
I found Katniss to be a wonderful heroine. She had a strong personality, and while at times she doubted herself, she was, mainly, very confident and resourceful. She is joined by a wonderful group of characters, the most important being Peeta Mellark. With him, Katniss shares more than a past life in District 12, and the way their story is used to the Games’ profit isn’t unlike what we see nowadays in popular reality shows.
One of Collins’ strengths is her description of action and scenes; reading The Hunger Games felt a lot like watching a suspenful movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Without detailing too much of Katniss’ actions, Collins described just enough to bring the scenes to life, as if I was there with her – now, that’s a scary thought!
Another great aspect of this book is that it would be a great book to discuss. I think it gives an interesting view on society, and its thirst for blood. I know some people don’t believe that we could go this far, but I have my reasonable doubts, and I loved how the book touched this question with a dystopian reality that was so captivating to follow.
(Since we’re on the subject, what is your opinion? Do you think The Hunger Games is pushing it too far with this deadly reality show?)
There were a few things I didn’t like much; the romance sometimes felt too important, and Katniss’ attitude towards it seemed either naive or simply self-serving at times. In the end though, the entertainment factor was so intense that I had to give this book a 5/5. I have the feeling that some of these problems might have been there to create some suspense for the next book, as where some of the questions that were left unanswered. The Hunger Games was a fantastic read, and I have no doubt it will be in my top 10 of the year!
I haven’t had a chance to read this yet, but my husband read it and Catching Fire and he can’t wait for the third book to come out.
I love this book and have read it three time this year. I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype but it is SO good.
I liked the “romance” in it, mainly because I don’t consider it romance. Katniss was doing what she had to do to survive, and the romance is too jumbled up to know what was real and what wasn’t. I don’t find her naivity about Peeta’s feelings unbelievable. She’s so self-confident and intent on manipulating the games her way that she’s convinced everyone else is, too. I think her shock and realizing maybe he wasn’t pretending the whole time really speaks volumes, and it makes sense. She’s too blind to her surroundings, because she’s so focused on trying to survive.
We had a great book club discussion about this last Tuesday. There were a lot of references to old roman mythology and practices that I didn’t realize. I don’t find it unlikely at all that our society could get this way – societies have done so in the past.
I so loved reading this book. I could NOT put it down until I had finished because every chapter seemed to end on a cliffhanger for me. I did get pretty upset at Katniss’ not seeing how much Peeta cared for her. But the story was wonderful and I agree it made for a great segue into a sequel. (One I’ll for sure be watching for). Thanks for your great review – I’m glad you liked it.
I don’t think it was going too far for a YA book. There wasn’t too much gory detail. But there was a lot of action and tension. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
My book club read this one, and we talked about it for a couple of hours. It was a great discussion.
–Anna
I just reviewed Hunger Games a couple of posts ago. I put off reading it because I had heard so many good things and all that jazz, I couldn’t tell if I’d be disappointed or not.
Boy am I glad I finally jumped on the bandwagon. Katniss is an amazing heroine (I totally agree with you). And I agree with Amanda as well. Sure I would get frustrated because I, in my omniscient bubble, knew Peeta was truly in *luv* with her, but Collins portrayal of Katniss and how SHE would handle the games was outstanding. As much as I was rooting for Peeta to get the girl, I’m glad that Collins didn’t cave and allowed Katniss to grow into her own.
I CANNOT wait until Catching Fire comes out. Seriously. I devoured Hunger Games (luckily I was on vacation and didn’t have to call in to work!) However, that might change come September 1st.
Thanks all for your answers! 🙂
Amanda and Christina : Even though I didn’t like this aspect of the book as much of the rest, I don’t disagree with you either. You make some good points! I did think Katniss’ reaction was believable, and I liked how she used it to her advantage. What I liked less, I think, was the way her true feelings were balanced with what was happening around her… it’s hard to pinpoint what I didn’t like, exactly. It’s probably only a matter of “like and dislike”! It’s not that I wanted her to fall into Peeta’s arms in the end, either, but parts of it I didn’t like as much as other aspects of the book… not that much, though; I still give the book a 5 out of 5! 🙂
If the book had been a stand alone, and ended up with this, I would have been unsatisfied; considering there is another book coming, I think it leaves a great opening for different possibilities. We can’t be sure of what exactly will happen, and I like that uncertainty.