The Hunger Games
Ratings2,998
Average rating4.1
I prefer my Peacekeepers as Sebations with body heat regulation issues. And the teenage romance made me more uncomfortable than the teenagers killing each other, but that may be my own personal issue. Katniss, though a bit too perfect at times, is an interesting character and the story is greatly improved by learning what's going on inside her head. Peeta creeped me out a bit.
I totally skipped the hype around The Hunger Games at that time. I heard about it and signed it off as a bad copy of Battle Royale with a Twilight style love story. Oh how wrong I was.
I recently saw the trailer for the second movie in the theater, and I thought hey this doesn't look so bad. It looked pretty new and fresh, in the middle of all those standard action trailers. So I gave the first book a shot.
And here I am. Finished it in a couple of days, and what a thrilling ride that was. It's full of remarkable and interesting characters. It has a perfect pacing and tense. There's even no snobby love story. What love there is, is perfect blended into the world and totally understandable.
This would even work as a stand alone book. If there wasn't more books I would be totally happy with the ending. But there are two more and I already got them ready. Lets find out what happens next.
Similar to JK Rowling Collins grabs the attention with a story in a slightly but not too different a world then we know. The story is quick and the narrative lean. An exciting plot with some nice surprises. The writing however is clearly not British and comes with some extra cheese. But not too much.
I liked it. Will surely read the other two.
I didn't heard of this saga until a friend of mine invited me to the movie a couple of years ago. So after the movie I bought the book, and I love it. It's so well written and so easy to read. A different type of world and an amazing universe. It's one of my favourite sagas of all times.
An all time favorite and an all time favorite character. Katniss is someone I relate to and the series is written so well. This reread (of the series ) was in honour of ballad of songbirds and snakes!
Such a great book. Loved Katniss. Looking forward to reading the bloodbath the next book will probably be
I'm only through the first book so far but even knowing the ending (there are two more books after all...) it was a gripping read.
If I hadn't expected something like Harry Potter, I'd have given this a 3. I overestimated this book. It has a linear adventure plot, with a not-so-intriguing world-building. And it turned out to be one-dimensional, probably because it was written in the first person. Wouldn't it be incredibly difficult to built a world, in a book written in first person?
And, the plotline seemed to change to suit the interests of the main characters. The ending was obvious from the beginning. It's more of a children's book than YA. I don't understand the hype.
In a post-apocalyptic world, one group of people who live in the decadent Capitol rule over the rest of humanity, who are consigned to 12 impoverished districts that supply resources to the Capitol. Every year, two teen “tributes” from each district are sent to the Capitol to compete in a gladiatorial spectacle to the death–and the winner earns food for their district for the year. District 12's tributes, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark must overcome the odds of professionally trained “Career” tributes out for blood and the treacherous political climate of the Capitol in order to avoid death. Collins' ability to build a desperate and yet believable world through specific sensory details and believable characters makes for a fast-paced yet thought-provoking book. Highly recommended for both male and female teens, although I might recommend it for middle grade on a case-by-case basis due to violent content and gore.
I love this book. No, really I LOVE this book and I have to restrain myself while writing this review because if I don't all you are going to be reading is declarations of my love for The Hunger Games and really who wants to read six paragraphs of that? I can't even think of any good negatives to list to even things out because really I can't find any substantial bad thing to say about this book and the only part that sticks out would be a spoiler and honestly it's not a big deal and I completely understand it and it doesn't bother me. Read more.
i didn't really like the depression and all but i continued the series anyways
This was good. I saw the movie first and resisted reading the book. It refreshed my memory on the storyline from the movie but it had a few differences or should I say clarifcations of the characters basic natures.
O.M.G. I think I held my breath the entire second half. Will definitely need a second (or third) reading.
Good stuff, although obviously not aimed at someone my age (or sex probably) I still enjoyed it, just felt I should read it before I see the film.
When I saw the good reviews this book got, I figured I'll give it a try, since I don't read much non-fantasy books. I'm glad to say that I did. Superb read.
The story is set in a dystopian future, where a girl was thrown into an annual competition, for her very life - the titular Hunger Games. The game reminded me of the reality TV series Survivor - a more brutal version. I loved the way the story flowed, and the first-person perspective was excellent. You simply can't help rooting for the protagonist, a girl trying to survive so she can return home.
I'm already starting the second book, and searching for the third. I'm thinking of getting the author's earlier books as well.
There are 12 districts in Panem. Each year, each district sacrifices two of their own to the Capitol to partake in the Hunger Games, a brutal fight to the death that is broadcast for the entertainment of the masses, and as a reminder of the power of the Capitol over their lives and their future.
If you've read enough science fiction and fantasy, it's impossible to ignore that there are a lot of elements of Hunger Games that you've seen before - the Games recall the Bachman novels The Long Walk and The Running Man, and poverty of the Districts is reminiscent in some ways of Soylent Green, and the concepts of the Tributes reminded me of Theseus and the Minotaur. And if there are no overly-clever English majors out there comparing Katniss to the goddess AthenaArtemis, well, I'll eat my hat.
The whole, though, is equal to if not more than the sum of its parts. Hunger Games is a powerful statement about how youth is fetishized, and how adult society demands the sacrifice of youth for its entertainment - in music, in sport, in all aspects of celebrity and media. Add in some strong characterization, well-scripted action scenes, and deft, subtle world-building, and you've got an excellent piece of literature.
I did not expect to be giving this five stars in the beginning of the book, mostly because I did not like the narrator very much, though she grew on me (speeding up to 1.3x definitely helped). But it picked up significantly and I've actually just spent the last 1.5 hours cycling in a big circle round local cycling paths just to finish this :)
I'm not very good at picking out what I like about a book, though I liked the pace.
There is no subtlety in this book. There were no major surprises (not in itself a problem, and maybe because I'd been spoiled slightly by all the hype for the books and the films otherwise Rue may well have surprised me), the things that surprised Katniss could be seen well in advance - at one point I actually said out loud on a public cycle path “FFS, it's obviously a trap!”. It's one thing to see things coming but when it took so long for her to realise things, I couldn't help but think she's an idiot.
Also, Katniss' wilful ignorance of Peeta. It was getting tired.