In a dark vision of the near future, twelve boys and twelve girls are forces to appear in a live TV show called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.
When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
First published: 2008
Well, I’ve finally read The Hunger Games! I figured I should, what with it being SUCH a big hit and all, and I’m really glad I did. Once I actually started reading I was finished before I knew it. What a page turner! I actually don’t really know what to say about this books since most if not all of it has already been said, but I will give it a try anyway.
I went into reading The Hunger Games with little to no expectations: I’d not seen the films and I didn’t know how it would end (except for knowing what would happen to Katniss, of course). I’m really happy about this, because it made the reading experience a lot more exciting. After already finishing it, I figured out I could have known what happened to Peeta because of the blurb on the second book of the series — something I’d definitely read. I’m glad my brain decided not to remember that! Peeta’s fate was one of the aspects of this book that kept me turning those pages, together with Suzanne Collins’ lovely writing style. It might not be the most amazing prose ever written, but it sure makes you read and read.
This is the first dystopian novel I have read, aside from George Orwell’s 1984, which I read in high school (but should definitely reread). The whole concept of making twenty-four children fight each other to death is of course completely horrifying and really hard to imagine. When reading something I often try to think of how I would react to certain situations, and I quickly came to the conclusion that if I would’ve lived in Panem I’d probably want to curl up into a foetus position every year when the Reaping would come around. Or just in general, every day. Katniss is such a strong character, and I felt such admiration for her. But I also loved that she had some flaws and could sometimes be quite infuriating.
In short, I really loved this novel and I can definitely see why it is such a big hit. I can’t wait to read Catching Fire and Mockingjay!
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