The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jan 20, 2012 Kristin rated it it was amazing

Seems like most of my coworkers were reading this series and I didn't want to feel left out. I've been through most of the Harry Potters, all of the Twilights, and have no interest in the 50 Shades of Grey or Steig Larrson books, so this was the only extra popular series left. As with the other books I read, I choose the books first before seeing the films because I like forming my own images of the events taking place rather than trying to remember how they were portrayed in the movies.
Definite Seems like most of my coworkers were reading this series and I didn't want to feel left out. I've been through most of the Harry Potters, all of the Twilights, and have no interest in the 50 Shades of Grey or Steig Larrson books, so this was the only extra popular series left. As with the other books I read, I choose the books first before seeing the films because I like forming my own images of the events taking place rather than trying to remember how they were portrayed in the movies.
Definitely enjoyed this one, reading about 2/3 in the first couple days and the rest of it within a couple more. Unlike the other two series, I think I will read these consecutively, as it seems like they were meant to be read that way, such that the events from the early books lead right into the next, and I don't want to forget what happened in between.
The criticism I've heard from parents of the teenage target audience is that the violence of kids killing kids is inappropriate, and I can see where they are coming from as the combatants are all 12-18 years old, but other than the character Rae, who is described as small and very young, I imagined all the others as young adults instead.
The concept of the book is an interesting one, that North America ceases to exist and instead is broken into 13 Districts and one all-ruling Capital. Each District is responsible for one segment of the economy, and a class system rules. The lower the number of the District, the more affluent its residents are, with protagonist Katniss coming from District 12. District 12 is the coal mining district, located in Appalachia, so most of the residents are poor, and Katniss' family is extra poor since the death of her father. After the 13 Districts tried to rebel against the Capital, the Capital fought back by instituting the Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death welfare system held every year that pits one boy and girl from each District against each other, and the lone survivor from the Games wins a year's food supply for the home District. Lower number Districts have enough resources that their competitors can afford to train year-round and participate for the glory rather than the food bonus, but Katniss and her peers do not have the luxury and instead ask for the sub-par rations from the Capital just to keep from starving. However, each request for these rations gains them one more entry into the pool to be chosen to represent their District in the Hunger Games.
Most of the book focuses on Katniss and Peeta, the boy from District 12, as they prepare for and compete in the Games. District 12 only had one winner in all the previous Hunger Games, and he is supposed to mentor both of them, but has fallen on the hard times common to people of District 12, leaving Katniss to rely on her own intuition and skills to try to survive. The Hunger Games are mandatory viewing across the 12 Districts (#13 was destroyed in the rebellion) and Katniss knows her mother, little sister, and best friend may end up watching her die live on TV.
I like the competitive nature of this book and the weapon skills because it reminds me of playing my favorite RPG series, Dragon Quest, where I've always done well with pure weapon attacks rather than magic. Though my players fight monsters instead of other players in the game, this book reminded me of a narrative of one of those games. However, in reading the previews of the next two books, it sounds like the story moves away from the Hunger Games towards the history of the rebellion and efforts to end the brutality of the Games, so it remains to be seen whether I enjoy them as much as I did this one. ...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Anastasia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, 2015, class-issues, 2011, dystopia, 2017

First read May 24, 2011. I can't think of anything I didn't like about this novel. It was well-written, with a fast pace and an engaging protagonist, and a great story line.
Second read: June 27, 2015. Enjoyed it just about as much as the first time, except I didn't have the same jitters about not knowing what to expect, and this time the images in my head all came from the movie.
Third read: January 21, 2017. Read it with Zane. It was fun to share this with him and share our reactions to all the ...more

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Dec 22, 2011 Gina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I didn't think I would like this book, but after the urging of several friends, including the one who gave it to me, I decided to give in and read it. Not only did I enjoy it, but I couldn't put it down. ...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: feminist-themes, middle-grade-and-young-adult, fantasy, sci-fi, frequentlybanned-challenged

The action starts right from the first chapter and keeps you turning the pages right up until the end. Looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy to find out how the story turns out.

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