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

Aug 15, 2010 Emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, science-fiction

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that I’ve been so involved in that I’ve nearly missed getting off the train at the right station. Reading the The Hunger Games I managed to look up just in time to make a run for the doors before they closed. And boy was I annoyed my reading had been interrupted.

I absolutely loved this book; the premise, the characters, the story and its twists. It’s such a cliché but I really could not put it down. I kept putting off anything else I had to do, desperate It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that I’ve been so involved in that I’ve nearly missed getting off the train at the right station. Reading the The Hunger Games I managed to look up just in time to make a run for the doors before they closed. And boy was I annoyed my reading had been interrupted.

I absolutely loved this book; the premise, the characters, the story and its twists. It’s such a cliché but I really could not put it down. I kept putting off anything else I had to do, desperate to find out what becomes of Katniss and Peeta, and all the other teenagers chosen to fight to the death in these horrific games.

Reflecting afterwards there are a few things I could pick on that I didn’t have time to think about because of the pace of the story. There is certainly a lot of violence. I didn’t think it was misplaced in such a story but I felt in the end its shock value was a little wasted. I wish more was made of the history of Panem, the cruel hold the Capitol has over the other twelve districts, how it manipulates and oppresses the citizens with these games and Katniss’s desire to rebel against it all.

The final moments in the games arena also somehow fell a little flat for me considering that this was the climax everything had been building up to and how impressed I was throughout the rest of the story. It was a little predictable and then all seemed to happen too quickly.

The other thing I didn’t like was the last four words: END OF BOOK ONE. Yes, initially because it was fantastic and I had been enjoying it so much. But the ending is not really an ending; the story shows no sign of stopping and seeing these words on the last page reminded me of when you watch a TV series on DVD and realise how the storyline is completely constructed around commercial breaks ie. money. It’s not that I don’t like series – I’ve read plenty and count a lot of my favourite books among them – but sometimes such obvious cliffhangers smell just a little too much like a marketing ploy… But then, writers and publishers have to eat and I was probably really just annoyed because I was so addicted to the book didn’t want it to end!

Anyway, I’m nitpicking. I did love it, didn’t even hesitate with the 5 stars, have already starting recommending it at every opportunity and will definitely follow Katniss’s story in the next two books as soon as I can.
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Oct 27, 2009 martha rated it really liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, year-2009

I didn't want to read this because the concept is so horrifying, but it came so highly recommended I gave it a try and then literally couldn't put it down. It's been a long time since I was so into a book that I read it outside while walking from point A to B. I'm really excited for the rest of the books, and hoping for some of the more subtle motivations of some of the characters (that Katniss of course missed) will be drawn out.

There was one part I found really gratuitously gory and upsetting, ...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Jessica Haider rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1000_books, serial-bowl, young-adult, its-the-end-of-the-world, dystopia

I give this somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 stars. the book did a great job in both roping me in and holding me captive and made me want to read the next book in the trilogy.

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Aug 27, 2011 Dina rated it it was amazing

I loved this and had a hard time putting it down. I can't wait to read the other 2 books in the series! ...more

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Nov 28, 2010 Danielle rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2010

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Jul 08, 2011 Courtney rated it it was amazing

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Dec 22, 2009 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy-and-sci-fi, lotsa-buzz, dystopian-and-post-apocalyptic, book-club-read, favorite-series

The dystopian future described in the beginning is old hat (at least to someone who spent their youth reading YA sci-fi - one in particular from my youth stands out, I wish I could remember it ... humans were kept as pets by these triangular shaped aliens, and one girl escapes the domed city by sneaking out a drainage ditch). One interesting side-effect - this is SO dystopian, the people live in SUCH horrid circumstances, it's SO depressing ... that anyone's life seems better by comparison! So, ...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Heather rated it it was amazing

I really liked this book. I found Katniss to be an easy person to cheer for and loved the way the story was told in her voice. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
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