The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Aug 23, 2011 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: super-private-journal, after-the-fall, teenworld

i just woke up from a disturbing little nightmare that strangely involved The Hunger Games. in the dream, i pull Hunger Games off of the shelf and out slips a paper thin cell phone. it is my sister's phone. she has recently come up from los angeles to visit and i know she's returned home while i was at work; clearly she's forgotten her phone. i'm amused, knowing how forgetful she can be, realizing that i'll now have a phone that i can use (my cell phone just died in real life - and in my dream t i just woke up from a disturbing little nightmare that strangely involved The Hunger Games. in the dream, i pull Hunger Games off of the shelf and out slips a paper thin cell phone. it is my sister's phone. she has recently come up from los angeles to visit and i know she's returned home while i was at work; clearly she's forgotten her phone. i'm amused, knowing how forgetful she can be, realizing that i'll now have a phone that i can use (my cell phone just died in real life - and in my dream too), and immediately call her husband on her cell to tell him that Sheila forgot her phone. before i can say anything, he says in a small voice, "Where's Sheila? I've been calling her and you for hours. The boys are scared". in the background, i hear the tv talking about murders. and then about plane crashes. and then about disappearances. i try to say something to him but my voice isn't working; i start to yell but nothing comes out. i know something has happened to her and i know that i have somehow failed her. my mind bends at the awful possibilities and i wake up, sweating.

so i took down Hunger Games and suddenly flashed back to that short, dreadful scene of Katniss hearing her sister's name called during the reaping. i knew it was coming; hell, it says so right on the back cover. nevertheless, it is a scene that is in some ways a moment out of time for me. short, basic, horrifying, primal...the idea of Prim being chosen, being slain, is not even a possibility on Katniss' mind. her mind doesn't accept the idea of her sister in danger, and so without thinking, she volunteers to take her place. i remember reading that scene, and that little shiver it gave me. Katniss acts in the way that all people who love those in their care would act: immediately and unthinkingly putting themselves in harm's way to protect their loved ones. it is an automatic, human reaction. it doesn't take an expert on the human condition to understand that. but it does take an excellent writer to convey such a basic human response so simply and yet so meaningfully. Katniss' action defines her completely, as it defines all people who would seek to protect others. throughout the novel, she does not veer from this course.

i was in alaska recently, camping. there was a person with us during this trip who was extremely worried abouts bears and bear attacks; and so conversation took place to reassure her, to keep things light. we talked about bears off and on throughout the day and then around the campfire. i've never been the sort to be paranoid about bears, but man when i went to sleep, that's all i could think about. and then twigs started cracking, followed by the sound of an animal snuffling and rustling about, right next to me; it happened throughout the night; i stayed awake until dawn. the next day i noticed some dry animal shit and discovered that i had placed my tent only a couple inches away from some little creature's burrow, one that clearly had much work to accomplish during the evening hours. not so frightening to think about now, sorta cute actually. but gosh, it is something else to be locked in fear for so many hours straight. my mind went through various stages, finally settling on a (now hilarious) acceptance that i would be attacked. i clutched my knife and waited, exhausted but somehow at peace that i could run, i could fight, i could live, i could die, but strangely content knowing that what will happen, will happen...as ridiculous as this particular situation turned out to be, i have had that same feeling during other situations where i felt Okay, well this is it, i suppose i'm going to die. this is a basic human response. you can only quiver in fear for so long until you weary, you become resolved to accept things.

on the plane ride back, i noticed a kid reading The Hunger Games and remembered my own enjoyment, and knew how gripping and intense the experience could possibly be for him. he certainly clutched the book as if his life depended on it, as if the rest of the world didn't exist. and then i also remembered those scenes in the arena, that acceptance that Katniss had: she may die, she may not die, but what will happen, will happen. i remember reading her thoughts about her future in the arena, her probable death, and realizing her thoughts felt right. The Hunger Games manages to get across a very complex yet also very basic human response, in a way that is direct, crystal clear, and thoroughly realistic in its detailing of a person's actual mental and emotional reactions.

so why do i ramble on about things in my life that have barely anything to do with Hunger Games, that only tangentially reminded me of this novel? well, i suppose to make a point about the book. if you are the kind of person who became lost in The Hunger Games, you know that it stays with you, it affects you in an emotional way...it comes back. but i'm also rambling to make a point about all quality Young Adult Fiction. this genre is well-loved, but it also takes its critical knocks as well. folks talk about the simplistic writing, the boiled-down tropes, the lack of complexity, the earnestness, and the basic, almost black & white palate of emotions and principles on display. but to me, these are the virtues of the genre. if done well, these are the reasons why these books connect with their readers in a way that feels right, that feels honest. no matter whether the setting is a wizard's school or an alternate england or a post-apocalyptic north america.

i think of YA Fiction as our own modern version of fables and mythic adventures, stories that have as their purpose the telling of straightforward morality tales, tales of right and wrong and fighting back and loving others and being an individual and finding community. the best ones are transparent in their goals and do not clutter their prose with stylization, complicated narratives, writerly game-playing, ambiguous theme-building, and the like. the best ones tell a tale that resonates with readers at a deep and elemental level - and so the reader responds in kind. i suppose this is why many people can become obsessed with this genre's bestsellers - they speak to the reader in the most direct way imaginable. they may come with a context that is relevant to today's world (as does Hunger Games), but the best ones are also timeless (as is Hunger Games). the best of this genre warmly illustrates the strength of the human spirit yet can also be surprisingly unsentimental; often swiftly-paced and action-packed yet carefully, lovingly detailed when examining the things that matter to its protagonists; often despairing and full of a palpable sense of resentment and anger, yet open to the inevitable change and growth that can happen and that make us more connected to the world around us and to whom we truly are, at the heart of us.

The Hunger Games' place within all of this is obvious: it is a modern classic of the genre. and as with all classics, it is relevant and suitable for all ages. it is the kind of novel that grows in the memory. ...more

138 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2009 Brad rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2012, adventure, sci-fi, dystopian, exceeded-my-expectations, worth-reading-twice

WARNING: This review contains some vulgarity. Please don't read this if you are have a delicate sensibility. Thanks.

8 Things I liked + 1 I didn't + 1 I hated

8. It's cinematic. -- I don't know if I'd have appreciated this if I hadn't read The Hunger Games in anticipation of the film's release, but the March 23rd premiere precipitated my read, and I could see the action of this book on my "head screen." It's going to work as a movie, and Collins' successfully tranferred the action she saw moving i ...more

79 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2009 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult, teen-books-adults-can-enjoy, sciencefiction, thriller, dystopian

Katniss lives in a dystopian world where teens between the ages of 12-18 are all possible candidates for what are called the Hunger Games, a contest to the death.
When her younger sister's name is chosen, Katniss takes her place. With her hunting and tracking skills, and her fiery temper, she captures the imagination of the viewing public. But can she bear to kill her competitors, and her partner from her own region in order to win?
Gripping futuristic adventure that starts out strong and never le ...more

39 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, not-for-the-faint-of-heart, young-adult, owned-copy, warrior-woman, yearly-reading-challenge-2013, capable-heroine, favorites, hero-i-loved, beta-hero

I can't imagine how hard it was to write a novel about kids being forced to kill each other. Probably much harder than it was to read it. After all, in my limited viewpoint as a person who also writes (although unpublished), I really dislike hurting my beloved, lifelike characters, and much less killing them, or having them do terrible things, unless they are supposed to because they are evil.

But Ms. Collins had to take kids between the ages of 12-16 and force them to deliberately harm each othe I can't imagine how hard it was to write a novel about kids being forced to kill each other. Probably much harder than it was to read it. After all, in my limited viewpoint as a person who also writes (although unpublished), I really dislike hurting my beloved, lifelike characters, and much less killing them, or having them do terrible things, unless they are supposed to because they are evil.

But Ms. Collins had to take kids between the ages of 12-16 and force them to deliberately harm each other.

It's a journey into a world in which a whole society plans events and festivities around such barbarism. It's not the Roman Empire. It's a dark future in which North America has become a much smaller continent called Panem. The society is a dystopic one in which the resources are not so much limited as restricted and deliberately kept from those regions whose denizens participated in a rebellion over 40 years ago. Their punishment is to have twenty-four of their children, two from each District, selected in a process called the Reaping. Those who are chosen must go and fight in the Hunger Games. If you've seen Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, then the phrase "two men enter, one man leaves" sort of gives you the idea. Except in this case, it's twenty-four kids enter, and one leaves.

Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, grows up to the age of 16 in this world. She has been taking care of her family since she was 11, hunting illegally in the forests beyond the fence around District 12, bringing back fresh meat and wild plants to feed her young sister and mother. Her heart has become hard so she can survive. But when the day comes of the Reaping, and her young sister Prim's name is called, she volunteers to go to the games in her place, almost unprecedented. Most people know that they won't return, especially the poorly-trained and outfitted tributes from District 12. But her sister is not going to face the sure death that awaits her in the Games. Not when she can.

The other tribute from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son. A boy who did a life-saving act of kindness to Katniss several years before, one she can never forget. She doesn't like him for that reason, also because he reminds her of what she doesn't have, as essentially a townie, when her family lives on the fringes, the offspring of a deceased miner. However, they will have to form an alliance dreamed up by their sponsor, Haymitch, who won the Games many years before. He's a drunk, but he is going to do what he can to keep at least one of them alive in the Games.

I wasn't looking forward to reading this. I don't care for dystopian fiction. And the thought of kids killing each other, well it doesn't work for me. However, I decided to give this a read and bought the book a few years ago. Managed to put it off until now. When the Action Heroines group on Goodreads selected it as a group read this month, the choice was made. I started it, and was crying, not too far into the book (made even more painful by the fact that I have a nasty cold right now with a bad sore throat). I was sucked in.

I love a tough, survivor heroine, and Katniss is definitely that. Not only a survivor, but a girl who made sacrifices for her family. She's without a doubt, a very well-developed character. I like the fact that Collins takes the effort to describe Katniss' thought processes so well in this book, her woodcraft, her no-nonsense approach to life. How she suppresses those soft emotions that would have been a liability to her in her present situation. But deep down, how Katniss has the potential for love, and she does love. When Katniss bonds with another tribute, a young girl named Rue, who reminds her of Primrose, I could literally hear and feel my heart breaking. We all know how this ends. And Katniss best of all. But that doesn't mean you can stop feeling emotions, even when the brutal reality of your existence and forced choices seem to dictate otherwise.

That's part of what makes this a difficult story. The fact that kids are forced into a world in which they starve to death, not because there is nothing to eat, but because someone feels that they shouldn't have the basic things like a full belly and a safe life, for political reasons. That's going on today in this world. It should break a person's heart, and it does. Is this so very out there, when in real life, there are child soldiers in the world right now? I know I'm going towards "Soapbox" territory, so I'll stop myself. Yeah, I guess that's the point. Why should I keep my blindfold on to these horrors and immerse myself in safe, happy tales all the time? And forget that events like this do happen (maybe not in this obvious, fictional landscape kind of way), but in a way that is lot less showcased, and much more brutal.

I admit I liked the role reversal here. Peeta, the boy is more emotional, more approachable, more in need of protection. And Katniss is tougher, more armored, the protector. That doesn't hold true across the map, for Peeta shows depths that surprise Katniss and the reader. And likewise, Katniss has her moments when she doesn't have it all figured out.

Since this is first person, we don't get to find out how the grown-ups feel about this travesty. But I can surmise that people like Haymitch, Cinna, even Effie feel their share of anguish for the roles they play every year, as they watch twenty-four more children go off, most of them to their deaths, even if it's well-hidden.

It's a mad world, and all this comes together in this story to propel me through a gamut of emotions, most of them uncomfortable. I could almost identify with the kids, that horror of knowing, "This is it." The Games are real. I was there with them, and I wasn't spared the realness. I guess that's another reason to respect this work, that the author doesn't soften such a terrible concept. She doesn't allow you to settle into a false sense of security that it will be alright. That would only be a form of contempt in my mind. If you're going to go there, then bring it. And she does.

My final verdict: The Hunger Games is tough reading. But it's complex and powerful, and completely involving. I couldn't stop reading this until I was done.

...more

36 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2010 Sandi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, audiobooks, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic-dystopian

A great book doesn't necessarily come from the use of new ideas. Sometimes, a great book comes from a writer who can deftly rework and recombine old ideas in a new way that's fresh and exciting. There is nothing new in The Hunger Games, but Collins puts the elements together so skillfully and creates characters that are so real and so compelling, that the work rises above its sources. It's a great book for all ages, not just young adults. That's why it's not going on my young adult shelf.

In my o ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2009 Nicky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, speculative-fiction, post-apocalyptic, children-s-and-ya

I've been intending to read The Hunger Games almost since it first came out, with the slow rumblings of everyone starting to talk about it. I was interested, but a little sceptical, and that attitude held through most of the first part of the book. "So far, so very dystopic," I think I said. Which is true, the set-up is quite typically dystopian, I could at that point have compared it to plenty of other dystopian novels and wasn't much more interested -- not turned off, since I like dystopia, bu I've been intending to read The Hunger Games almost since it first came out, with the slow rumblings of everyone starting to talk about it. I was interested, but a little sceptical, and that attitude held through most of the first part of the book. "So far, so very dystopic," I think I said. Which is true, the set-up is quite typically dystopian, I could at that point have compared it to plenty of other dystopian novels and wasn't much more interested -- not turned off, since I like dystopia, but not hooked on it. And then, at the end of the first half, suddenly something clicked and I began to flail... and I haven't really stopped. I really hope I have the ebook of Catching Fire, like I think I do.

It's hard to say exactly what did finally catch my attention fully. The romance between Peeta and Katniss is uncomfortable, and it's horrible to realise how oblivious Katniss is and how trusting Peeta is of her and her intentions. The build-up is nice, with Peeta giving her bread when she's younger and his reveal at the interview, and so on, although it's maybe a liiiittle obvious. I would've liked to have to work for it a bit more.

There were two things that bothered me about it, though they're linked. One was that, despite Peeta and Katniss's humanity and sympatheticness, most of the other Tributes were de-personalised and they were perfectly happy for them to die. I know it's a whole different world, really, where you know from a very young age that if you get picked for the Hunger Games, you have to kill or be killed. But it still didn't ring quite true -- caring so much about Peeta or Katniss or Rue, when Foxface's death was barely remarked upon. Which ties into my sense that for all they both survive the arena, against the rules, there's not much rebellion in it. There doesn't have to be, of course, but I guess I've come to expect dystopias to end with the downfall of the government. It doesn't feel quite satisfying if only one or two people survive and cheat the system, and there isn't any sense that the system will eventually fall. Of course, this is the first book of a trilogy, so maybe the sense of rebellion will grow, but Katniss's rebellion against the Capitol is so camouflaged and talked down after the Games that it doesn't feel like it's going to develop into anything greater than a small personal defiance.

I'm interested to see what happens, in the next book, about Katniss and Peeta -- and about Gale, too. It'd be nice if Katniss and Gale could go on being friends without romance, but that's my fondness for loving friendships in fiction showing, without any real conviction it's going to work out that way... ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2008 Kara Babcock rated it really liked it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, 2010-read, from-library, utopia-dystopia, young-adult, science-fiction

The perverse, contrary part of me enjoys panning books that receive wide acclaim. It's a calling (in the same way that being a creepy funeral home director is a calling). Giving a wildly popular book a bad review is almost as fun as giving a bad book a bad review. I'll be honest: it's an ego thing, a sense of smugness that comes from not succumbing to the hype.

So when I like a book, when I really like a popular book, as I did with The Hunger Games, I humour that sceptic-within. I comb through th ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 10, 2009 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf, young-adult

I got up an hour early to finish the book this morning, because I couldn't stand the suspense. Thematically, it draws on "The Lottery", "The Running Man", and "Ender's Game", but the author quickly makes the concept her own. It is very well plotted and well written: I couldn't read it fast enough. The characters are complex; even those who seem initially like stock characters have layers. I loved the tough and clever female protagonist. Although set in a dystopic future, the messages in this boo ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 07, 2011 Kevin Xu rated it liked it

I thought this book was not very original. Its like the most basic type of story where someone has to be sacrificed in order to make the god or other mystical creatures like dragons happy every so oftern. Most of all I thought the book was really bad version of Ender's Game. The characters are flat and have no emotion. Basically its Ender's Game without all the substance or anything that makes Ender's Game one of the most read/teached/related book of all time. Its no Ender's Game. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Oct 23, 2008 Carolyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, 5-star-books, science-fiction_post-apoc-dystopian, read-ya_16-and-up, 2009-read

Devoured this in one sitting - just as excellent as others have been raving - cliffhanger ending. REALLY looking forward to the next book Catching Fire. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Feb 20, 2009 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, ya, post-apocalyptic

We are introduced to Katniss as she hunts for food in the wilds of Appalachia. In District 12, where she lives, starvation kills on a daily basis. Only her wits and skills have kept her family alive so long. But a greater danger than hunger stalks the District. Every year, a boy and a girl from each district are chosen by lottery and sent to the Hunger Games, organized for the glory of the Capital and the humiliation of the Districts. The chosen teenagers fight to the death, and the final victor ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2009 H. R. rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2009, apocalpyse, science-fiction, young-adult, authors_suzanne_collins

This is a well done merging of the themes previously done in a large number of classic novels, including The White Mountains, Battle Royale and The Tenth Victim. Hemingway claimed there were really only three stories endlessly rewritten. The fourth, I think, is '10 little indians'. A timeless theme of an ethical individual caught in a survival contest defined by an authoritarian state. I struggled with the gap between the innocence of the protagonist and the leap to capital one offenses, but, he ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2009 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kids_and_y-a, to-reread, dystopia, book_club, award_winner, ebook, lendable-ebook, there-s-a-movie-too

somewhen in the future, north america has become a collection of districts ruled over absolutely by the central capitol. as permanent penance for the long-ago lost revolution, each district must send an annual tribute of 2 teenagers to fight to the death in the capitol's arena. when hunter Katniss' sister is chosen as tribute, she takes the younger one's place and is shipped off to be brusquely prepped to kill her peers in the annual hunger games.

though it's tempting to dissect this down to it's ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 09, 2010 The Crimson Fucker rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Girls are weird… I sometimes find myself comparing girl’s hunger for attention to that of a black hole… you know how they eat and eat and eat and it don’t matter how much they devour they just get bigger and want more…(now! don’t start calling me a misogynistic bastard (yet)) first you need to know how black holes can produce light… they suck everything around them so fast that that the friction it creates generates light! They can get really really bright! Like girls! Think about it! Have you e Girls are weird… I sometimes find myself comparing girl’s hunger for attention to that of a black hole… you know how they eat and eat and eat and it don’t matter how much they devour they just get bigger and want more…(now! don’t start calling me a misogynistic bastard (yet)) first you need to know how black holes can produce light… they suck everything around them so fast that that the friction it creates generates light! They can get really really bright! Like girls! Think about it! Have you ever seen that MTV show about girls having their sweet sixteen parties….? Or maybe one of those shows in that chick network where they plan weddings and shit… they will consume an exorbitant amount of resources and man power to make em look pretty on their special day… it’s all about make em them look great, beautiful, romantic, breathtaking… (ok… not you it’s a good time to start calling me a misogynistic bastard) Still! the reason why I’m mentioning all this is because of something Katniss said in the beginning of the book when her little sister Prim (?) gives her a compliment on her cute dress… and Katniss(?) complains about looking nothing like herself… that quote made me smile! I was like yeah right! Some chick that don’t care how she looks! This may be interesting! Now for what I gather for the few reviews I read about this book the heroin was supposed to be really smart and really into the whole thing about being independent… and she is supposed to be smart and all that… and I thought that was what I was gonna get…but to my surprise she spent the rest of the book concentrating on what the world must be thinking about her! Her looks, her actions, her emotions…. Dear Jesus Christ during the whole flower funeral scene when she knows for a fact that everyone is looking at her… I was praying for the fire balls to come back! And hopefully hit me in the face and end my pain! And don’t get me started in the whole romantic interest routine… dude! That chick is a bitch! That poor dude!!!! Ok… I get the whole everything to survive theme… but what the fuck!? How stupid can she be to know that that poor baker was crazy about her… GOD DAMN IT! She didn’t kill him in the arena! She killed that poor dude in the ride back home… but all that aside the book is highly entertaining story… I’m looking forward to read the next one!
...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 05, 2010 Rob rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

I have mixed feelings about this book. At times I really like it, at other times it seems to drift towards something familiar, which should be hard to do for a dystopian book about gladiatorial games for children, but it manages it. I think the problem is that while I haven't met Katniss before, I've met her predecessor in Heinlein's much more gently treated Holly in his short story "The Menace from Earth." Something about Collins' style reminds me of Uncle Bob's, even though, as I said, Katniss ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2009 Taueret rated it liked it

Shelves: have, speculative-fiction, ya, dystopia, audiobook

I enjoyed this well enough. I listened to the unabriged audio version from Audible, read by Carolyn McCormick (an excellent reading). While it didn't quite "transcend the YA genre" (I had to keep reminding myself why certain things in the book were presented the way they were), I did find it interesting and a bit less overly didactic than say "the Giver". I went on eagerly enough, without a break, to the second book "catching fire". ...more

Like · see review

Jul 03, 2011 Tatjana rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-ya, fiction-speculative, fiction-dystopian

I enjoyed this book more than I had anticipated.
It's a complex story that deals with somewhat complex issues and doesn't end the way you think it will. Furthermore, the protagonist is a uncompromisingly strong girl that is well balanced and interesting. I'm looking forward to the second book... which I'm planning on doing on CD. ...more

Like · see review