Awhile ago I did a Series Review on the Hunger Games but thought that this just didn’t give the individual books what they needed. So I’ve been meaning to come back to review them individually.
- Review: Hunger Games
- Series: Hunger Games Trilogy
- Author: Suzanne Collins
- No of Pages: 374
- Release Date: 31 October 2008
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don’t live to see the morning?
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love. — Goodreads
What’s happening:
In my series review I mention that I refused, absolutely refused to pick this book up. I was determined (DETERMINED) to not fall prey to something that everyone else was falling in love with. Why? Well, mainly because I’m stubborn really. It’s a flaw I know. But then my daughter and her friends start reading and THEY are in love with the series. I base a lot of what I want to read off of what they are reading and they were literally devouring this series like it was hotcakes at 2am. So, after grumbling a little I decided what the hay? If they like it so much I should enjoy it and even if it is a waste of time the premise sounded interesting and by this time the movie trailers for Hunger Games were out and making me drool (although I only admit that now!).
So, I start reading about this gal Katniss who is strong and brave and intelligent in a world where these are not favored in anyone. To have your own thoughts is to commit yourself to death. But she never backs down, she looks death in its face and laughs. You learn quite early what is pushing her to be so strong, her sister, her very few friends and her mother. They all play pivotal roles in creating who Katniss now is and why she doesn’t back down in the face of adversity.
When her sister’s name is called for the Hunger Games she knows she has no choice. To die in the place of her sister is just what has to happen. She is scared but once again she feels that she needs to stand up for a girl that can hardly take care of herself yet, much less survive the Hunger Games where some districts literally train their entire lives. Does she believe she has a chance? Not really, yet she doesn’t hesitate. It’s only when the boy for district 12 is called that she hesitates, Peeta. The boy who has always been in the background of her life and now she has to kill him or be killed.
My thoughts:
My thoughts!!!!? WoW!!! Just wow! I love Katniss, she’s a bit of a pain in the ass but who isn’t? The choices she makes before and during the Hunger Games may leave us cringing but those are the choices that also make us fall in love with her, or even hate her. She doesn’t get that she is amazing because she wasn’t brought up to feel that anyone was amazing so she doesn’t see the effect that she has on anyone. A lot of people criticize her for that but I just think it’s being honest. When you’re literally out hunting daily just to survive, smell like sweat and have dirt mucked all over you, yeah we wouldn’t feel pretty either. And it just gets better from there.
The characters in this book are amazing. I was cheering for them, hoping, caring, wanting something for each character. Well maybe not for some districts, we all know who THEY are. And if you haven’t read this book yet, I promise you it’s a surprise.
Katniss may not be loved by all but she definitely is a great fit to this story. Coming soon… Review for Catching Fire, book two of the Hunger Games Trilogy. Want more before then? Hunger Game Series Review.
Related articles
- REVIEW: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. (Review by Isabel Blackmore, aged 11) (booktopia.com.au)
- AudioBook Recommendations – The Hunger Games Trilogy (miscfinds4u.com)
My Seryniti 
[…] Awhile ago I did a Series Review on the Hunger Games but thought that this just didn’t give the individual books what they needed. So I’ve been meaning to come back to review them individually. If you have yet to read these, you may want to try my Book Review: The Hunger Games first. […]
[…] they needed. So I’ve been meaning to come back to review them individually, and here they are: The Hunger Games Book Review, Catching Fire Book […]