From the bookshelf of Gather Yourselves Together…

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Start date: September 1, 2009

Finish date: October 1, 2009

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Jennifer

(page 1 of 374)
— Dec 23, 2008 10:14PM

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Jan 07, 2009

Meg rated it:

Read in September, 2009

recommended to Meg by: Holly & Kirstie

I'm pleased to announce yet another category in the competition for Meg's Literary Honor Awards (only slightly less prestigious than the Nobel)--and that category is... drumroll... Sissiest Male Character Names in the History of Time! And the uncontested winner... you guessed it... the ever-effeminating Hunger Games! (alas, my Spell Check informs me that "effeminating" is not a word, but I must insist). Which strapping young man will Katniss choose to spend her life with? Peeta or ...more I'm pleased to announce yet another category in the competition for Meg's Literary Honor Awards (only slightly less prestigious than the Nobel)--and that category is... drumroll... Sissiest Male Character Names in the History of Time! And the uncontested winner... you guessed it... the ever-effeminating Hunger Games! (alas, my Spell Check informs me that "effeminating" is not a word, but I must insist). Which strapping young man will Katniss choose to spend her life with? Peeta or Gale? Perhaps her mentor Cinna can help her choose (yes, Cinna also has a Y chromosome). And the big, bad villain--striking fear into the hearts of all Hunger Games contestants? Cato. That's right, Cato--a name which, no matter how many weapons proficiencies he carries, will ever remind me of a pansy, Fabio look-a-like on a witness stand.

Other than the severely EFFEMINATING names chosen (darn you, Spell Check!)--which at least served to bring me a hearty chuckle every three pages or so--this book was pretty decent. Most of you would probably consider it a 4. A good survival tale action flick in a futuristic Coliseum of sorts, where 12 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 12 and 18 compete to the death. The winner gets food for their home district. The loser gets... well, death, because that's what a fight to the death means. Personally, I LOVED the protagonist Katniss--she displayed all the testosterone lacking in her male counterparts (and their names)--but she spent entirely too much time on her own. The book is almost completely bereft of dialogue, which is my favorite literary device, so it lost a couple of stars for me personally. But don't take my word for it! Others seem to love it, so read on! It is, after all, an award winner.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

"District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety." (Katniss)

So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong.

We're going to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death. Exactly how am I supposed to work in a thank-you in there? Somehow it just won't seem sincere if I'm trying to slit his throat.

"They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past!" (Katniss)

The arenas are historic sites preserved after the Games. Popular destinations for Capitol residents to visit, to vacation. Go for a month, rewatch the Games, tour the catacombs, visit the sites where the deaths took place. You can even take part in reenactments. They say the food is excellent.

"Destroying things is much easier than making them." (Katniss)

I climb dangerously high into a tree, not for safety but to get as far away from today as I can.

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Dec 03, 2008

Dave rated it:

Read in December, 2008

recommended to Dave by: Kristen Geurts

This has an awesome storyline and some good twists!

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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Feb 18, 2009

Meredith rated it:

bookshelves: science-fiction, series

Read in February, 2009

The book takes place in a really, really crappy future, in which every year 24 teenagers are forced to participate in the Hunger Games. The winner gets fame, fortune, etc. Everyone else dies. Literally. This book was super disturbing but extremely compelling. I couldn't put it down. And when I got to that cliffhanger ending, I pretty much spent the next 20 minutes screaming, "Nooooo!" I cannot wait until the next book comes out.

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Sep 23, 2009

Tiffany rated it:

Read in September, 2009

I may add a star after I read the second book. We'll see.

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Dec 03, 2008

Kristen rated it:

Amazing book, a must read.

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Jun 06, 2009

Jess rated it:

Read in September, 2009

So this book took me all of about three days to read. I really liked it. It was very gripping and I wanted to know what was going to happen. In some things I was disappointed at that lack of rebellion from the characters and the created "romance" it was annoying. Over all though I give it a five because I couldn't put it down. On to number 2 I guess!

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Dec 23, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Read in January, 2009

I got 7 chapters into this book and knew the subject matter would disturb me, so my rating is based on what I read. I went to the end, read the last few pages and was glad I hadn't read the whole thing. I didn't care to read about kids killing each other -- no matter if the baker's son ended up with the heroine.

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