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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Suzanne Collins

Start date: June 1, 2014

Finish date: June 30, 2014

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last updated Mar 11, 2019 11:49PM

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What Members Thought

Jan 03, 2015 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction

To be honest, I have sort of become tired of young adult books. I'll always be a huge Harry Potter fan, and some of the YA books I read in the 70's are classic (Judy Blume or Paula Danziger, anyone?) Nevertheless, I just can't bring myself to read Twilight or any of the other teen vampire or witch stories. Fans, please don't hurt me.

That said, The Hunger Games is really good and I recommend it to anyone age 12 and up. It has upsetting violent scenes which I don't think most younger kids are read ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Shan ~A~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: siblings, family, crime, borrowed-libby, 1st-in-series, audio, series-trilogies-i-started, favorites, sci-fi, young-adult

Updated Review ~ 05/20/204 ~ 5 stars
Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark

This is still a 5 star read for me, but I realized that some of my perceptions of certain situations changed as they come to Katniss. I always thought that she was smart, and I still do, but this time I realized that Peeta was the better strategist or maybe he was just more selfless. He made his decisions to give Katniss the best advantages moving forward, not just in the moment.

Katniss is a survivor, so she takes each challenge ...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Katt Hansen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult

There is nothing to say that hasn't already been said. This book is compelling, exhausting, addicting...all of that. I could not put it down.

Which is about what others have said. So we'll leave it at that. Just do yourself a favor and go read it if you haven't already. ...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Barbara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

District 12 is considered low ranking to win in the fights they have to play for the Capitol. Each year the capitol will draw two names from each district to fight to the death. They will start with 24 kids, whoever is the last girl/boy standing will get supplies for their family for a year. A much needed thing since they are rationed out lightly.

If you want to get more food for the family you can add your name to the drawing for each family member you want to add. More chances to get picked. N ...more

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Jan 13, 2012 J. Lynn Else rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: awesome-female-leads

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not used to reading narrative in the 1st person as they experience everything as you read (versus retelling the story to the reader) or if I’ve read enough futuristic books before, but it took me a few chapters to really get hooked on the book. Yet soon enough I found myself lost in the world and trying to make sense of it all… in a good way! I wanted to peek out that train window and see the capital for the first time as well. Collins hasn't tied her future to a I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not used to reading narrative in the 1st person as they experience everything as you read (versus retelling the story to the reader) or if I’ve read enough futuristic books before, but it took me a few chapters to really get hooked on the book. Yet soon enough I found myself lost in the world and trying to make sense of it all… in a good way! I wanted to peek out that train window and see the capital for the first time as well. Collins hasn't tied her future to a specific date or weighted it down with too much finger wagging. I think it’s generally accepted nowadays that eventually we’ll wipe ourselves out with nuclear weapons, so it’s not a stretch for my imagination to get to Panem. While some points in the plot are slightly predictable, the way Collins gets to that point is a surprising journey.

As this is the first book in a series, not everything is resolved, and what is left unanswered is the central question: Has she sacrificed too much? We know what she has given up to survive but not whether the price was too high. Katniss is entirely focused on survival at any cost. It is her teammate, Peeta, who recognizes the importance of holding on to one's humanity in such inhuman circumstances. It's a credit to Collins' skill at characterization that Katniss (commonly being compared to as a “modern-day” if you will Theseus) who is cold, calculating, and somehow still likable. She has the attributes to be a winner, whereas Peeta has the grace to be a good loser. As she travels home she realizes her life will be entirely different. There will be no more hunting as everything will be provided for her as the Games winner. Her life will suddenly be one of luxury. So who will she be when she steps off that train back home?

About ¾ through the book, I began to get a little irritated with Katniss and her naivety regarding Peeta’s feelings for her. But after thinking it over, this is a girl who has never watched TV or read books. She does not know love stories or listened to songs about love on the radio. She hunts and trades and provides for her family. So she has no context of these experiences whatsoever especially since her father died when she was young. I can understand then why her feelings become so confused by the end. She has come out of these Games a completely different person. There’s more to life than just hunting and gathering now.

The scariest thing about this book is how entertainment is chosen over humanity. It isn't just the contestants who risk the loss of their humanity, it is all who watch. Who is the most inhuman? Those perfectly painted and dressed up capital residents who live a life of ease? Those who harvest grain, mine coal, and face starvation? Once a year, society’s entertainment is the tributes that compete in the Hunger Games. It’s “Survivor” without the teams. If you want off the “island,” you have to kill or be killed. There are no more choices in their world. It’s chilling but resonates so true.

I read that this will be turned into a movie, which begs the question: doesn’t that go against what this book is speaking out about? True, its not live, its actors, but it kinda seems to contradict the message of “entertainment” this story is making… In the meantime, I cannot WAIT to start the next book. Bravo, Collins, for a fantastic new world that resonates with a modern audience both young and old. ...more

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