The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
I kept putting off reading The Hunger Games. Catching Fire had come out when I just started blogging and the whole internet seemed to be obsessed with these YA books that appeared to be equal parts love story and drama. Of course I was wrong, and of course it took me another three years to finally get around to reading the series (I'm in the middle of Catching Fire now!) and am totally jumping on the bandwagon.
For those of you who don't know, The Hunger Games is set in a future version of North America called Panem, where the area has been split up into 12 Districts. As a result of a prior rebellion each year the Districts have to send two tributes, A boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in the Hunger Games as punishment. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death with only one winner. Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old from District 12 takes the place of her sister Prim when her name is called against all odds. From then on Katniss is a tribute, and even though she's from a District that hasn't won in 24 years that doesn't mean she won't be a fierce competitor.
Like I said earlier, I wasn't sure about this series. Maybe it was because Twilight had made me weary of anything classified as a YA Series, with "Team" shippers, or maybe I hadn't yet learned to trust the amazing bloggers I follow to post honest reviews, but in the end it was my loss. The Hunger Games is short, around 370 pages, and each page is jam packed with a story that is compelling, even if it's easy to see where the book will end.
While I'm not a fan of Katniss as a character I do love Collins focus on character development and how it interacts with the very limited perspective Katniss as a narrator offers. Her fellow tributes are equal parts terrifying and intriquing because she has such limited knowledge of them. Even a character like Peeta can grow from being a mostly dull pretty face to a futuristic romeo figure without it becoming cliche.
I'm glad I finally joined the Hunger Games club, and am crazy excited to see the movie next Friday (okay, I thought it actually came out yesterday and had a minor fit when I realized I was wrong). It's totally worth a trip to your local library if your still not sold on the premise. It's a fast, fun read that you won't be able to put down, and if your like me you'll be running to your nearest bookstore to pick up Catching Fire within the week.
3 comments:
Admittedly, I skimmed your post a little because I'm just now reading The Hunger Games and I didn't want to accidentally see any spoilers. But like you, I wasn't into the whole YA-with-Teams thing when these came out and I didn't put too much trust in the reviews. But eventually enough people said "It's great" so I'm giving it a try.
Like you, I don't like Katniss. I was thinking that would change, but given that you still dislike her, maybe not. I am liking the book (and as you said, it's proving to be a quick read) but her, no.
Glad you finally joined the bandwagon! Soooo good! :)
I just finished this book as well and I admit, I don't get the hype. It was good enough but I could have done without the love story. Also, I'm getting sick of novels about reality television. But then again... anything that gets people to read can't be all that bad...
Post a Comment