The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
US Release Date: October 31st 2008
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Author Info: Suzanne Collins' Website
Source: Borders (This was... :'( before they went out of business)
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Series: #1 of The Hunger Games
Rating: 5 out of 5
Buy It: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
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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.
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Plot: Suzanne Collins creates a whole other reality flawlessly. The plot for The Hunger Games seems basic enough; a girl trying to win in a competition where kids kill each other, but there is so much more to that. If you have read the second books you know how well this sets up everything that happens with the Capitol and Katniss. You see how obviously corrupt this government is and how all Katniss is doing is trying to survive without completely losing herself. All the twists and turns while she's in the arcade just take your breath away and keep your eyes glued to the page and your mind intertwined with Katniss. It's amazing!
Pacing: Perfect, that's all I gotta say. Even reading it a second time I never got bored.
Characters: Katniss is one tough chick. She has been living in a life of poverty and is the only thing between her family and starvation. She knows what she has to do survive. She is strong and smart but she also has a soft side that she reserves for only a select few. Overall she is a fantastically dynamic and strong character. Peeta is so good! He is a nice guy despite all the horrors and near-death experiences he faces within the arena. He doesn't want the Capitol to change who he is and they don't. No matter what Peeta is caring and not to mention pretty clever. Haymitch and Effie are both fantastic characters that display both ends of what the Capitol can do to you.
Suzanne Collins creates her characters so well that you even get a good feel for all the other tributes Katniss notices, even if you don't know their names.
Writing: Suzanne Collins' writing is perfect for being inside Katniss' mind. It is not super flowery or romantic because that just isn't how Katniss thinks. However, it still allows you to feel everything that Katniss is feeling and truly become attached to her.
Also, through Katniss' eyes she manages to create a world that is almost real. Her writing allows the reader to feel the suspense of the arena to the over-flowing luxury of the Capitol to the harsh reality of District 12 as if you were there.
Overall: 5 out of 5, easy. Maybe it's just because Im super excited about the movie or maybe it's because I finally realize the awesomeness of this book but, I think I like the Hunger Games even more now than I did the first time I read it. Thanks to Suzanne's skill and attention to detail I understand things within the novel in a whole new light. In many ways it felt as if I was reading the novel for the first time in the way the twists and turns surprised me and every conflict Katniss encountered made me super tense. Suzanne Collins is a phenomenal storyteller and this epic trilogy about self-discovery, good, evil, and love is truely remarkable, even from the very beginning.
5 out of 5 stars
Should you read it?
YES! Especially before you see the movie!
Should you buy it?
YES! I would definitely say this is a must-have.
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