Book Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Blurb: Winning will make you famous. 
Losing means certain death.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Cover Review: I love The Hunger Games cover because it's distinctive. Once you've seen it, it's hard to forget. The gold mockingjay and white letters stand out wonderfully against the black background. The whole thing suggests something serious.

My Thoughts

I was one of those kids who wasn't allowed to read these books when they first came out. It took a long time for me to convince my mom to let me read them. When I finally did, I fell in love, although that's a weird expression to use for these books.

Plot: The plot for The Hunger Games is beautifully balanced. While it can be face-paced, especially during the games, it also has it's down moments. There's enough of both to have nice pacing. The romance doesn't slow down the plot, it gives some extra tension.

Suzanne Collins went with a strong political message in this book, but she makes it work. The Hunger Games is a brutal, barbaric custom, and she shows it as such. The thing I like best about the book is that it doesn't glorify what's going on. The story takes a look at both politics and their affect on the normal people of the country.

Characters: I love Katniss. She's the shining star of these books. She's fierce, strong, and flawed. Despite all the hard choices she has to make in this book, she manages to make it through. The other major character is Peeta, whose name is an irony all by itself. He's Katniss's other half during the games, helping sell their romance to the crowd. While I don't like him as much at Katniss, he's still a good character.

Collins put a lot of other characters in the book, but they all are easy to tell apart. Personal favorites of mine are Haymitch and Effie. And her villain, while not entirely evident, is evil and psychotic.

World: This book has an amazing world. Not that the world itself is amazing, but it's well-built. Collins put lots of thought into the way things would work, including things like history and politics. I admire how she made this dystopian society that works so well and highlights the flaws of our current world.

Other: Another thing I think she did well is talking about the injures people got during the Hunger Games. When Katniss got hurt, it actually mattered to the plot, because real people don't heal instantly. Peeta almost dies from a wound that is left untreated for some time. I don't like gore, but I do like when authors take time to make realistic injuries.

My Rating: 4 stars

The Movies

The Hunger Games series was also made into movies, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, as I'm sure you know. I just finished watching them and I think they are one of the best book to movie adaptations I've see, right up there with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. It changed a few thing, but it was closer to the books than some other movies I could name. It's shot in a gritty, war film style and Jennifer was amazing as Katniss. I totally recommend you watch them if you like the books. You wont' regret it.

Let's talk! Have you read The Hunger Games? What are your thoughts on it? Tell me in the comments.