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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Suzanne Collins

Start date: July 1, 2011

Finish date: August 1, 2011

Discussion: Former Group Reads

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Former Group Reads

* Reckless by Amanda Quick (September 2013 Group Read)
By Rea , Ghost · 9 posts · 20 views

last updated Oct 26, 2013 12:24PM

* Beauty and the Bounty Hunter by Lori Austin (September 2013 Group Read)
By Rea , Ghost · 2 posts · 8 views

last updated Sep 01, 2013 07:24AM

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What Members Thought

Oct 08, 2015 Sam rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: proper-books, fantasy, science-fiction, adventure, childrens, teens

I have to be honest, I really don't understand the huge fuss that has built up around this series, even having seen the films which are pretty good but nothing stand out amazing. Granted the writing is pretty good and flows well and there is plenty of action to keep things ticking over, there isn't really anything that new here though. The idea that a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society forces its subjects to battle each other for entertainment is a tried and tested story, both in books and movi ...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Jaime Stricklin rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2011

I have mixed emotions about this book. The plot was surprising and different which was good, but reading it was difficult. The Hunger Games are barbaric and cruel. I was hoping the story was going to be Katniss bringing an end to them somehow, but that was not the case. If I had known more about the story before I probably would not have read it, but now that I have, I am intrigued. I do hope that the Capitol will be challenged in future books. Surely this torturous behavior will not continue u ...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Jessica (BookRockGoddess) Bolton rated it it was amazing

This is an amazing book. Very different from anything that I have read in the last few years.

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Nov 21, 2010 Suzie rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2014

Grudgingly giving this one more star because I don't hate it quite as much as I did the first time round. Still a pretty bad book. Also Katniss is the worst, still.

***

First review, November 2010:

What is the point in this book?

Seriously. This book is completely pointless. It's garbage. I have no idea who on earth it's aimed at. Teenagers in the age range should surely be reading 1984 or Brave New World if they're wanting to start off with some dystopian literature? I'm not even fond of Brave New Grudgingly giving this one more star because I don't hate it quite as much as I did the first time round. Still a pretty bad book. Also Katniss is the worst, still.

***

First review, November 2010:

What is the point in this book?

Seriously. This book is completely pointless. It's garbage. I have no idea who on earth it's aimed at. Teenagers in the age range should surely be reading 1984 or Brave New World if they're wanting to start off with some dystopian literature? I'm not even fond of Brave New World, but surely it's a better start than this. Because this is just a MESS. For a start, the writing is dreadful. To be fair, YA literature is not always a bastion of good writing - 90% of it is crap, actually - but this... this stood out. It was hilariously bad. I mean, most of the time I write blogs/reviews/whatever in the middle of the night and I'm more than aware that my syntax/grammar/spelung often suffers for that. But this got PUBLISHED. Even though it could have been written on the back of a cereal packet. With a crayon. It has that weird feeling of being about things that are in no way suitable for children, but having been written with the general vocabulary, clumsiness, and awkwardness of someone with a writing level of a ten-year old.

Then there's the characters. Katniss (fun note: Katniss is a plant, also called Arrowhead. Katniss-the-character is good at archery. Excuse me while I KILL MYSELF) is just rubbish. She is. She's not a convincing human being at all. Pretty much her only attributes are that she: a. runs about, b. shoots things, c. if faced with a choice, will do the stupid thing. Everything about her is irritating. Nothing about her is remotely sympathetic, and mostly, I just hoped she would hurry up and get killed. I also find the way she treats Peeta (another flaming stupid name - try saying that without sounding like a three-year old trying to say Peter) annoying. While he's a horrible "Mary Sue" - for want of a better expression - he's at least trying to be nice to her. But Katniss isn't very good with people being nice to her, or nasty to her, or anything to her. I kind of imagine Katniss a bit like my dog. My dog doesn't like people much, despite the fact that everyone loves him. He doesn't even like my boyfriend, who loves dogs and despairs at this fact. He ignores people, runs away from them, and generally acts like the majority of people who don't live in my house are not in fact there - he only acknowledges us because we are the BRINGERS OF FOOD. This is because my dog is a grumpy bastard. The only things he does like are food, water, sleeping and pissing everywhere, much like Katniss (I may be exaggerating here, but you get the gist). Thing is, my dog's adorable and fuzzy and sometimes if you're lucky he'll sleep on your feet and heat them up (but not because he likes you). Katniss doesn't even have the courtesy to do that. She's just. There. Being shit and grumpy.

Anyway. Back to something vaguely resembling the topic at hand. The plot is a horrible cliche. It's painful. I read the first two yesterday, and am a few chapters into the third one, and I'm yet to discover if Collins has ever had an original thought. There's no character that isn't drawn with broad brushstrokes, no character that behaves remotely believably, just... nothing to like about this book. Also there's no sense of humour about the thing at all, and while often I CAN get over this, it's about the only thing that would have redeemed this from the heep. I don't really know why I'm still reading, except to confirm that what I think happens at the end does happen. I know that's what the internet is for, but I seem to be a glutton for punishment. Just... don't bother. It's not worth your time. There is nothing good here. Read anything else instead. ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Tamsin rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian

Well, what a book! Once I got absorbed in the story it was hard to put down, which was just as well considering I have been reading it whilst off sick. Fantastic story with such a colourful (and brutal!)storyline - the characters are so believable and I really felt for Katniss even before the reaping. Looking forward to reading the other books as soon as possible and i think it will be interesting to see how the film turns out...

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Jun 08, 2011 Kris-10 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, book-to-movie

WoW!!! I had heard a lot of great reviews about this book, but never took the time to read it myself. And boy, was I ever a fool...... This book is ahhhh-mazing!!! And I think I will die if I don't get the sequel, like, RIGHT NOW!!! <3 ...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Al rated it liked it

i enjoyed reading this book obviously, considering its 374 pgs and i finished it in just over 10hrs. it was a nice story that just kept me going. kinda like harry potter, da vinci codes/angels n demons, and to some extent twilight. it was just one of those kind of books. it was interesting cause it deals with a dystopian future North American country and it does go into the problems people have with their system of government, however its a overshadowed by the game and Katniss survival of the ga ...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Shannon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: listened-to

This reminded me alot of Stephen King's The Long Walk. It was very good. I think Katniss really cared about Peeta and was torn with having to pretend at the romance. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. ...more

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