The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in YA and Beyond

Aug 03, 2011 Evelyn Swift (Featherbrained Books) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-have-reviewed, dystopia-postapocalyptic, my-ultimate-favourites, bad-ass-females, 5-star-books, made-into-movie, own-physical-book, love-the-heroine, great-secondary-character-s, read-more-than-once

I could write about all the thing I love about this book but it would be exactly the same as all the people who gave it 5 stars, so I will write about the one thing that I thought was VERY bad about the book (that I haven't seen anyone else point out).

For anyone interested in physics this book might piss you off. You cannot make matter out of nothing. I don't care how far in the future this is but it is impossible. The Hunger Games is a system designed by creating something out of nothing. If yo I could write about all the thing I love about this book but it would be exactly the same as all the people who gave it 5 stars, so I will write about the one thing that I thought was VERY bad about the book (that I haven't seen anyone else point out).

For anyone interested in physics this book might piss you off. You cannot make matter out of nothing. I don't care how far in the future this is but it is impossible. The Hunger Games is a system designed by creating something out of nothing. If you don't understand I will answer hypothetical questions so hopefully it makes sense.

Q: What if the game is just a hologram? It isn't because the Game has real visible touchable objects with taste, smells and sounds. When Katniss touches the butterfly in the movie isn't that proving how "real" everything is? And Foxface dies by eating a berry. The berry can't be more real than that.

Q: But what if all the objects are real life materials that in the future we can just move around at our will (like in the movie when they moved the tree over in front of Katniss and made it fall)? In the movie the dogs literally appear out of the ground though. Everything is created out of nothing in the Hunger Games, which again is impossible.

Q: What is the problem with having matter created out of nothing in the future, if it was possible somehow? Essentially this is the BIGGEST problem. If the Capitol can design a whole game that creates matter out of nothing then why don't they just create infinite food? Why don't they create all the materials they need that they are getting the districts to mine/gather for them? It just doesn't make sense.

Collins could have made the exact same book without having this "futuristic" gaming system. She could have just made a crazy game that was completely rigged with booby traps and movable trees but all of this done by intricate mechanical systems. Even the dogs could have been bio-engineered using the DNA from the fallen kids which would have been just as cool, or more so, than having these dogs appear out of no where.

So to sum this up it was very irritating that Collins didn't think this through. She could have put a little thought into the implication of this all powerful game.

P.S- The only reason I didn't give it lower than 5 stars is because while I was actually reading the book I was completely enthralled. All the physics problems didn't even cross my mind until after I closed the book and months passed and I watched the movie. So no, it didn't take anything away from the book but it's just an extra thought. ...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Dessa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: шокохолистични, как-да-си-дресираш-дракон, 2012, me-gusta, епична-калинка, четири-и-половина, awesome, 2015, break-my-heart-i-know-you-will, soft-bois-to-heal-your-soul

i mean, none of what goes down in this book is fair, but peeta, honey, i feel your pain.

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Jul 31, 2011 Janina rated it it was amazing

I've put off reading this book for so long.
But i loved it! At first i was like what the heck is this going to be about.
something crazy, i know.
But i loved the characters, Rue especially.
So sad. but can't wait for what happens next ...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Mackenzie rated it it was amazing

Wow....just wow. Absolutely amazing. Honestly, just as emotional and fantastic as the first time I read it. I don't even know where to start this review!

200 years earlier, the USA was destroyed and in its midst rose the Capitol with its surrounding 13 districts. Each district has its own way of living and for a time lived peacefully. However, after a time, the districts rose up against the Capitol and a rebellion ensued. With its superior weaponry and technology, the Capitol defeated the distri ...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Annis (New Dimensions Reviews) rated it it was ok

I'm almost as big of a dystopian literature nut as one can get so naturally I was thrilled to see that the genre almost suddenly became in vogue (I remember thinking something along the lines of ...dystopian fiction, of all things!). The fact that most (if not all) of the new additions popping up everywhere seemed to be YA didn't even tone down my enthusiasm too much. I went straight from children's books to adult literature (with the exception of Harry Potter) and never really looked back, so I I'm almost as big of a dystopian literature nut as one can get so naturally I was thrilled to see that the genre almost suddenly became in vogue (I remember thinking something along the lines of ...dystopian fiction, of all things!). The fact that most (if not all) of the new additions popping up everywhere seemed to be YA didn't even tone down my enthusiasm too much. I went straight from children's books to adult literature (with the exception of Harry Potter) and never really looked back, so I didn't really know what to expect.

Well, it's nice to see that all kinds of audiences are getting to experience the dystopian feel now. After having read three of the new crop of offerings so far (Delirium, Matched, The Hunger Games) I have mixed feelings, to be honest. These all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I had a hard time digesting the loss of what could have been true instant classics in the hands of skilled writers and/or stories intended for adult audiences. Brave New World I haven't found anywhere near this latest pile yet but admittedly that one's ranked so high in my opinion you'd need even more of a dazzling, eye-opening book than BNW was for me when I was thirteen years old. So that's not a fair comparison.

Anyhow. I struggled giving this a fair score - I hovered between 3 and 4 so much I'd have liked to have given it a 3.5 if I could. I feel three is kind of measly but I can't in good conscience rate something like THG a 4 and BNW a 5. So three stars it is.

The Hunger Games threw me for a loop: I had never expected it to be straight-laced, minimalist storytelling excempt of twists and turns but with negligable character depth (that one can be overlooked if the following compensates in quality, but it wasn't to be) and so-so worldbuilding. Yes, we got the basics of the society Katniss lives in and I know there are two more books to go but as a standalone this dystopian effort felt rather flat. It had some rather enjoyable style of writing and overall, I enjoyed the first 150 pages immensely, ie. everything up until they actually shoved the tributes into the arena. What followed was fairly gruesome but overall was also an okay-ish adventure/survival story, nothing more and nothing less.

While I loved the (admittedly none too subtle, but at least it was there) societal commentary and reflections during Games' preparations (the train ride, arrival in the city, the "interviews", etc.) for me the dystopian vibe almost completely stopped when the games begun. The few bits that we learned here and there throughout the games about how they manipulated the players weren't anything surprising and sometimes seemed to be put there just to serve as reminders that this was indeed a dystopian world, that the whole of (what was left of) North America was watching Katniss' every move. With lots of survival and adventure slash "action" going on it was easy to forget. As I said before the characters didn't get developed a lot but I did like the way they treated Katniss' conflicting and complex feelings towards her 'lover' in the last few chapters. That was a nice touch but it made me hungry once again for more exploration of human contact in a world so vapid and violent as theirs - and then the novel ended. Any contact be it with Rue or Peeta was really welcomed after Katniss had traipsed through the arena for more than 35% of the Games by herself.

So, in summary, this isn't bad, but nothing to write home about either as a standalone. Despite some great scenes and a particularly fantastic start, the rest just kind of made me wish for more. More worldbuilding than "the districts rebelled agains the Capitol so now, more than seventy years later, they let 24 teens brutally murder each other on live tv each year", more reasons and details behind how and why Panem became the way it is (or more details in general), more character development, more psychological insight and psychological terror considering the absolutely nightmarish situation these teens found themselves in, more sociological reflections and societal criticisms, more philsophical bait that could provide at least some food for thought after closing the book. As it is, The Hunger Games felt just what the back cover had made it out to be: a fact-paced adventure story with some knock-'em-over-the-head-with "symbolism" and a with a hint of "dystopia" to give the whole thing a context. I didn't object to the violence as much as some did because I feel this book would've been devoid of even more social criticism than it already was (and I'm a complete wuss so it's not that I enjoyed reading about violence).

That's not to say that this was bad; no, to the contrary, it was an enjoyable, solid read. But I hope the dystopia-shaped hole in the wall doesn't indicate that the whole trilogy has taken the action-over-substance route. Maybe that's one of the reasons it's so popular? I'm sure I'll read the next one to hope it'll prove me wrong on that assumption. ...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Rebecca rated it it was amazing

Loved them all. They are all action packed and you never want to put it down. The characters are all great. The political atmosphere makes it exciting. I must say I didn't necessarily like the end...but I guess I can't have every story end on a note that I find happy. It was an ending that was exactly how it should be, which made me sad for a few weeks, but I guess that's what makes it feel real. Overall great writing!! ...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Salma added it

Love this book but I HATE the ending! -__-

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Jul 18, 2011 Megan rated it it was amazing

This book was slow at first, but once the games began it got good. A little terrified to read the next two!

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Aug 07, 2011 Laurie rated it really liked it

fun and fast paced

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Jul 21, 2011 Erika rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, ya, dystopia, watched-movie, read-no-discussion

The storytelling was ok, but i didn't like much (view spoiler)

Also some parts seemed a little bit predictable to me, but some other parts were amazing, though.

the four stars are because I've read a lot of good comments for this book, guess i had greater expectations for this one. ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Shawn Bird rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya

This is a great read! The descriptions suck you into this dystopian world. Mysteries abound, and one can't help but turn pages frantically waiting to see how it will all work out! Violent, but empowering.

2nd read-through, March 2012- developing a novel unit for my class. ...more

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