The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
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Book Reviews of The Hunger Games
Book Review: Death As a Game
Summary: 5 Stars
The Hunger Games is set in a nation rebuilt after disaster; for a long time the people of Panem struggled against hunger as they worked to regain their lives. The Twelve Districts of Panem eventually overcome their difficulties with the help of the government, but a price must be exacted in order for no one to forget how and why survival occurred: Once a year, every year, a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen are chosen from each District to participate in The Hunger Games, where only one will survive.
Katniss has spent much of her life protecting her family after the death of her father, becoming an expert with a bow and arrow in order to bring in food and money for her mother and younger sister Prim. In the last year she's eligible for the Games, the unthinkable occurs: Prim's name is called. Katniss immediately volunteers in place of her sister and is sent away to the Capitol, along with the boy who has been chosen, in order to prepare for the ultimate killing game. Katniss and Peeta are from District Twelve, a District that's known only one winner in the last several years, and it's under his tutelage that the two must train. When Haymin, the mentor, discovers Peeta's crush on the harsh Katniss, he decides that will be their angle: star-crossed lovers having to compete against twenty two other "tributes" and finally, against one another. The Games are brutal, controlled by Gamemakers intent on ramping up the violence and misery in order to force the tributes to kill or be killed. Will Katniss and Peeta be able to survive until the end...and if they do, will either be able to kill the other in order to be declared the winner?
The Hunger Games is told in first person present tense by Katniss as she experiences her selection for the Games, her complete makeover in order to win sympathy from the national audience watching her every move, and her fight to stay alive and protect those she loves. At first I felt things were moving too slowly as we went through all the steps leading up to the Games, but as Katniss appears in the arena, I realized that all of the build-up was necessary in order for the audience to understand the transformation Katniss must experience. The utter brutality she faces as she attempts to simply stay alive is compelling reading; Katniss must decide what she's willing to do in order to survive. The idea that all of this is somehow "entertainment" for a nation is both disturbing and yet plausible, and the cold, calculated moves on the parts of the tributes are bone chilling. I wanted her to win desperately, but somehow find a way to outsmart the cruelness of the Games and I found myself feverishly turning pages in order to find out what was going to happen next.
The Hunger Games is a glimpse into what we could become if we allow our baser instincts to take over, and it is peopled with children who are too easily lost in order to satisfy the sadistic whims of government and nation. Hopeful and bereft, you're going to be waiting on your doorstep for the next installment in this planned trilogy. I'll be right there with you.
Book Review: Survivor on Acid
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh my racing heart! I now know why everything I've read about this book raves about it and tells you to make sure you have a period of time to devour this book start to finish. I really don't know how I have managed to put it down the last couple of days!
The book is set in North America after a huge war which leaves the Capitol the victor and the districts the losers. In the Capitol everything is peachy, but in the 12 districts, things are anything but. Katniss is lucky that she and her friend Gale are able to hunt outside of the district lines without getting into too much trouble, since she provides meat for her family and other important families in her district.
The title of the book, The Hunger Games, comes from an event that is held every year. Each child in a district, ages 12 - 18 has their name entered into a drawing that occurs before the games to select the male and female representative of their district. Some, like Katniss, have their names in there multiple times, because once a month they can add their name to the drawing in order to get needed supplies for their families. When her little sister, Prim, is chosen at her very first time of eligibility, Katniss immediately offers to take her place because she knows she has a much better chance of surviving than her sister. The male chosen in this year's game is Peeta, the baker's son (and yes, this is important on more than one occasion.)
Once the kids are selected, they are taken to the Capitol to be prepared for the fight for their lives, literally. The point of the games is to have one winner, the one who survives the longest. I will say that there is killing in this book, some of it is brutal, but when it comes to survival, these young children have to make an extremely stressful decision: to kill or to be killed.
This book is a fast-paced riveting page-turner that will keep you guessing about the final outcome up until the last - so much so that I dreamed about the book last night (before I finished it)! I can pretty much guarantee you that you will want more, but will find out that this is book one and I can tell you that book 2 isn't coming out until September 1st. I, for one, can NOT wait! (And if you're like me and tend to get impatient while waiting for sequel books to come out, read this one in August so you have less time to wait!) The ending is good and solid, yet there is still a lot of information that we just don't get in the first book. I am seriously chomping at the bit here, people!
Notes on the Cover:
I love the black. It really hits home the point of the bleakness of the lives of the majority of the people in each district, also of the situation the Capitol forces on the people of the districts. The gold mockingjay pin on the cover is beautiful. I just know there is more to the story of this pin, but I just haven't totally figured it out yet, nor have I figured out why the person who gave it up did, and what their motivation was. (In this book, it's all about the hidden objectives!)
Book Review: The Compulsive Reader's Reviews
Summary: 5 Stars
From the ashes of the civilization that was once North America came the Capitol, nestled high in the Rocky Mountains. Surrounding the Capitol are the thirteen Districts. As time passed, the Districts rebelled against the Capitol's harsh rule. Their punishment was the creation of The Hunger Games. Each year each District is required to send one boy and one girl to the Capitol, and there they will be thrown together in an arena and forced to fight to the death. Their fight is broadcasted on live television, and each citizen from all Districts is forced to watch.
In isolated District 12, Katniss Everdeen passes her days in school and illegally hunting in the woods beyond the fence that encompasses their community, scavenging and bringing down game to sustain her family. But when her younger sister is chosen to represent their district in the games, Katniss wastes no time in taking her place, even though she knows it mean near certain death. But when circumstances beyond her control twist the Games around, she'll have to fight against both the Games and what she knows is right in her heart to keep her life. One thing is for certain--people will remember this year's Games for a very long time.
Suzanne Collins has created an absorbing and utterly fascinating look at a futuristic world where a government has employed a brutal and heartless system in order to maintain complete respect. She paints a picture of a plausible future, adding to it interesting tidbits of information that you would come to expect of your average science fiction novel--mutant species, hoverboards--while at the same time showing readers a simpler view of life--homes without hot waters and towns barely able to feed themselves.
Collins' heroine Katniss Everdeen is a fierce and determined, angry at the ways of the Capitol, but conscious of the fact that there is nothing that she can do to protest. Her fear is tangible as she approaches the Games, and her wonder at a lush life in the city infectious. However, she really shines as she is immersed in the Games, where her wit and intelligence make themselves known, without understating the fact that she is a scared girl, struggling for survival. Hers is a coming of age story as she is forced to decide what she believes in and act accordingly amidst brutal circumstances.
Though the book doesn't introduce topics with quite as much depth as expected, it doesn't avoid them all together. Katniss's insecurities about death and love, for instance are still very present, and it is evident that throughout the story the author is laying the groundwork for the next two books in the Trilogy.
With an unexpected ending, dashes of tongue in cheek humor, and lots of quick thinking and riveting, suspenseful moments, The Hunger Games succeeds in capturing attention, and provoking thoughts. In its own way, it ranks high up along with Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and Neil Shusterman's Unwind; a completely scintillating book and wholly promising start to what's sure to be a spectacular trilogy.
Book Review: A different kind of world.
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine living in a world where government rules all and freedom is not existent. Where simple necessities such as food and clothing are scarce. Where survival is one breath away from death. This is District 12.
In Suzanne Collin's novel, The Hunger Games, our world of today is no longer. Instead North America was demolished during wars and once they were over The Capitol rose and Panem was born. Thirteen districts were created. All were peaceful, accept District 13, they rebelled and because of that rebellion, District 13 was destroyed. Panem's soul purpose is "peace", having it's people accept whatever the government sanctions and not questioning it. Making it's people live in fear. Hence the annual Hunger Games.
Ever since the down-fall of District 13, these games have existed. Every year a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen to participate in the Hunger Games. Two are chosen from each district and then thrown into an arena to kill each other. The last one alive, wins. Winning these games also means fortune and food. Which is something wonderful, seeing as most of the twelve districts are dirt poor.
The novel is narrated by Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old resident of District 12. She's a fierce protector of her younger sister, Prim. She's also an illegal hunter, doing what she can in the hopes of survival for her family. Her friend and possible love-interest, Gale, hunts and helps with her. Her sister Prim was the actual one chosen for the Hunger Games. But, instead of allowing her sister to go, Katniss intervenes and goes in Prim's place.
The boy chosen from District 12, is Peeta, the baker's son. He's nice, kind, and harbors a crush for Katniss ever since childhood. Katniss doesn't feel the same way, though during the games she plays along.
See, the games are a funny thing. They're all brutality, but they're something else. They're entertainment for the audience. It's reality T.V. at it's worst. Watchers place bets and sponsor strong contestants, (helping them when they are in desperate need of resources). So a basic note of survival is to play a long with a story tacked onto you from the beginning. In Katniss and Peeta's case, they played star-crossed lovers. Although, Katniss doesn't really need any of this backing, she's a survivor through and through.
It's a brutal book, and at times it's terribly hard to read because of the base line it has. Children not only die, but they are killing each other for glory. And yet, I loved this novel.
It's a book that shows both sides of the passed and future. What could happen if the government and the media ruled all. A very scary place. It has hints of the Roman Gladiator games. It even has a little Harry Potter (Goblet of Fire) feel to it, without the magic.
When I read something, it's very rare that I say I feel privileged to read it. But I say this whole-heartily, I feel extremely privileged to read The Hunger Games.
Suzanne Collins, you did literature well!
Book Review: It was hard to put this one down
Summary: 5 Stars
What a book! This is the first book that I can genuinely say made me bump up my traditional 4 star rating for a "good" to "pretty good" book to a tremendous 5 star rating for this one. The Hunger Games setting is a bleak one. America, as we know it, has been crippled/weakened by war, fire, famine, and drought. In place of all of that? A new country named Panem that's divided into 12 districts. There were once 13 districts, but the 13th district was defeated when it attempted an uprising against The Capitol of Panem. As punishment for the uprising, President Snow has an annual "Hunger Games" and Panem/United States has basically become a fascist/dictatorship of sorts. In the Hunger Games, 2 young representatives (also called "tributes") are chosen from each of the 12 districts each year in what amounts to a very warped/messed up contest where 24 tributes fight to the death, in what is required viewing for the citizens of all districts and dressed up in the form of televised entertainment in which just one will survive.
The story centers primarily around two young tributes in Katniss and Peeta, the chosen tributes for District 12. At first, Katniss' younger sister Prim is selected but Katniss volunteers in her place as the female tribute. The male chosen is Peeta, a son of a local baker and an unlikely competitor in a competition where other districts have trained their tributes their whole lives for. Katniss and Peeta are the underdog heroes from District 12 that everyone loves to root for. They're up against bigger and stronger competition that have been training their tributes their whole lives for these games in addition to the fact that they are playing for prides sake in a district that has been among the bottom feeders of the overall 12 Districts of Panem. Both characters are tremendous and you end up caring about both of them as the story goes on. That being said, the Hunger Games definitely was not a soft read. This was one of the first books that genuinely got me emotionally charged up in quite a while. When the reader is invested in the book beyond just reading the pages but emotionally as well, it rings in at a different level from me than just "good" books. The state of dystopia that the United States (and now Panem) is in gets to you, but the barbaric/blood-thirsty concept of The Hunger Games is just mind-numbing/blood boiling. The fact that such a corrupt system of power is in place and that these kids have to brutally slaughter each other at a young age just to survive for the sport of entertainment is crazy.
The ending was a little weak though. As part of a trilogy, that's somewhat excusable but Collins still could have given us a little more to work with for a resolution of Book 1. I know, I know...it's a trilogy but still, I felt like it wasn't as complete as it could have been. Perhaps that's the sign of a great book and maybe a little nitpicking. That's my 2 cents on it. If you decide to pick it up, you're in for a real page-turner and what hopefully is an excellent trilogy :).
-Travis S.