The Hunger Games - Iridescent Reads for Aotearoa Bookwyrms

Hardcover, 374 pages

English language

Published Oct. 25, 2008 by Scholastic Press.

ISBN:: 9780439023481
OCLC Number:: 181516677

(1 review)

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 weight survival against humanity and life against love.

46 editions

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Review of 'The Hunger Games' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I liked it. But, I'm not going to go raving about it - partly because I'm sure anyone who's interested has already heard about it, and partly because it lacked something I seek when I read: a real connection to the characters. And, I can accept that. I don't think that was the goal of this book. So, that's fine. It's YA. It's brief. It creates a sense of drama and suspense.
But, it also felt formulaic. Not least because it was actually divided into three parts ... 3-Act structure, anyone? Right off the bat I thought "This was written to be turned into a movie". To me, it was written for a movie-watching audience. That's not a terrible thing. And, it was a fun ride.
Oh, the other thing was that I thought it was way older than it is. It totally surprised me to see the "First published …

I liked it. But, I'm not going to go raving about it - partly because I'm sure anyone who's interested has already heard about it, and partly because it lacked something I seek when I read: a real connection to the characters. And, I can accept that. I don't think that was the goal of this book. So, that's fine. It's YA. It's brief. It creates a sense of drama and suspense.
But, it also felt formulaic. Not least because it was actually divided into three parts ... 3-Act structure, anyone? Right off the bat I thought "This was written to be turned into a movie". To me, it was written for a movie-watching audience. That's not a terrible thing. And, it was a fun ride.
Oh, the other thing was that I thought it was way older than it is. It totally surprised me to see the "First published in 2008" in there. Why? Because I am sure I've seen a movie on this idea previously. With adults rather than kids, but still. So, no, it didn't feel it was totally original and wow.
That's not to say it's not good. It's an enjoyable and (for me) light read.
I know some people would be like "What? Light?!" (where is that interrobang key?). But, yes, for me, light. I wasn't drawn into Katniss. And so, I didn't feel the losses. The drama felt designed to make me feel the losses, but I didn't. I think it's a show vs tell thing. We were told that Rue reminded Katniss of Prim. So, we could see that it would be sad for Katniss to see anything happen to that wee girl. But, because of the brevity of the book, a lot of the real meat of the characters was skipped over. So, no, I didn't feel much. I read it. And it kept me interested in just how things would turn out (I mean, it was obvious (people were gonna die, Katniss was gonna survive), but there were enough little twists to keep the "just how is she gonna play this?" alive).
It's a good YA story. And, it's worth considering the ideas presented. But, no, it's not my favourite read. I'm sure the movie is good, though.