From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Suzanne Collins

Start date: December 1, 2010

Finish date: December 31, 2010

Discussion: Books of the Month

Why we're reading this: We voted and this one won for the category of YA.
[close] We voted and this one won for the category of YA.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 163 topics — 23,393 comments total

Books of the Month

* The Names by Florence Knapp - Sep 25 Adult / Non-Fiction BOM (starts 16 Sep)
By Moderators of… , Challenger-in-Chief · 19 posts · 106 views

last updated Sep 24, 2025 01:40AM

* The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - Sep 25 Theme BOM - South and South East Asia (Starts 5 September)
By Moderators of… , Challenger-in-Chief · 44 posts · 83 views

last updated Sep 22, 2025 08:30AM

showing 10 of 322 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 19, 2010 Lisi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-german, 2010-reads

Ich muss sagen, dass ich dieses Buch schon öfter im Buchhandel gesehen habe, aber noch nie in Versuchung geführt wurde, es zu kaufen, bis ich die Reviews von anderen Mitgliedern hier auf goodreads.com gelesen habe. Dann ließ mich der Gedanke an dieses Buch einfach nicht mehr los. Ich habe es innerhalb von zwei Tagen verschlungen.
Nordamerika existiert nicht mehr, aus den Ruinen ist Panem entstanden. Das Kapitol regiert das Land und hat es in 13 Distrikte aufgeteilt, von denen jedoch nur noch 12 e ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Jan 20, 2010 BJ Rose rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, library-books, futuristic, dystopia

In this futuristic dystopian society, an unnamed apocalypse has wiped out all of North America. Rising from the ashes is one nation called Panem, which is comprised of 13 Districts surrounding the Capitol, the seat of power and government. Well, there were 13 Districts, until those districts rebelled against the abusive government - and lost. In retaliation, Panem Central obliterated District 13, and in the treaty that followed, established the annual hunger games, in which each district was req ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As I was saying above, that when the series was first released in 2008, I tried to read it and was unsuccessful, something in it just didn't click with me but this time around and I don't know if it's because I'm in a different frame of mind or the fact that I'm in a state of reading more and more dystopian novels but I loved it and this time round fell more in love with Peeta as when I first read it , I was a close shave between Peeta and Gale.
The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian world, that ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2010 Ashley rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, post-apocalyptic-dystopian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. *** Possible Spoilers***

I have waited until I finished the series to write my review of the Hunger Games. From early on in 2009, the Hunger Games was everywhere. I managed to stay in the dark on the content of the story, which I think was the best way to experience it. The only thing I really knew is that there was a kick-ass young girl as the heroine. I'm always a sucker for these types of stories so that was more than enough to go to the top of my TBR list.
Since it was so big, I also waited un *** Possible Spoilers***

I have waited until I finished the series to write my review of the Hunger Games. From early on in 2009, the Hunger Games was everywhere. I managed to stay in the dark on the content of the story, which I think was the best way to experience it. The only thing I really knew is that there was a kick-ass young girl as the heroine. I'm always a sucker for these types of stories so that was more than enough to go to the top of my TBR list.
Since it was so big, I also waited until after the release of Mockingjay to start reading. I have found with my love of series, that it becomes increasingly difficult to hang on for a incomplete series, because by the time the next book comes out I want a refresher, and frequently end up re-reading.
I started The Hunger Games on a vacation, which was an excellent place to read it, because it was so engrossing from the moment I started. If I had started it during a normal day, I'm not sure much "living" I would have done besides eating and cat naps! :)
Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl. She and her family reside in the twelve district in what remains of North America. The "Capitol" is the governing force that basically forces all districts into submission by holding a lottery of sorts gladiator battle to the death between the district's children as a way to keep them in line. Even more dispicably, they televise the event.
That is enough to know that this story packs a wallop. Children forced into killing other children, served up as faux entertainment and used as a tool for a dominating power. Katniss, though only 16 has been exercising the role of parent in her household. Her mother is unstable following her father's death in a mining accident. On Reaping Day, which is the day that the children are picked for "The Hunger Games"; Katniss' sister Prim is chosen as the female child for district 12. Katniss immediatly volunteers to take her younger sister's place.
What follows is an epic journey with Katniss in the Hunger Games. I won't say much except that the story was heartbreaking, tragic and extremely resonating. Stand out moments are with Rue and Katniss' moments with Peeta, the other contestant from her district. I will continue the review with the next book... ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 13, 2011 Nairabell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended-by-friends, 4-star, read-in-2011, teen-ya-dystopian, read-in-2012

In a future where North America has been destroyed and replaced with a country called Panem, a yearly event called the Hunger Games takes place. A teenage pair of 'tributes', one male and one female, are selected from each of Panem's 12 disticts and placed in an arena with a single rule - kill or be killed. When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the Games, she believes it is a death sentence. Only one competitor from District 12 has ever won, but there has never b In a future where North America has been destroyed and replaced with a country called Panem, a yearly event called the Hunger Games takes place. A teenage pair of 'tributes', one male and one female, are selected from each of Panem's 12 disticts and placed in an arena with a single rule - kill or be killed. When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the Games, she believes it is a death sentence. Only one competitor from District 12 has ever won, but there has never been a competitor who has had to fight for their survival like Katniss has in the past.

I'd heard good things about this trilogy so picked up the first book out of a love of distopian novels. Initially, I was pretty disappointed as the book is slow to start and the plot is pretty derivative. Although the author interview at the end of the book claims the idea came from channel surfing between the news and reality TV this is incredibly similar to Battle Royale. I also prefer the kind of distopian novels that start out with a world that doesn't seem that bad, whereas here Panem seems pretty awful from the start.

However, as the Games begin (no pun intended) the plot picks up pace and we soon get to see Katniss in a new light. At the beginning of the book she is pretty irritating to read, whereas I liked Peeta (the male District 12 tribute) from the start. Katniss grows up a lot as she takes part in the Games, but by the end of the book it's clear she still has a lot of growing up to do. I also liked a lot of the supporting characters, especially Katniss's stylist Cinna.

I did like how the spectacle of the Hunger Games was handled, and it is one of the things that stood out from the book. While the Games were invented to remind Panem's citizens that the Capitol reigns supreme after a failed revolution, it has become a media circus. Given the current media attention given to reality TV it isn't too far-fetched to believe a show like this would garner that level of attention, if not more. The way in which the tributes are treated before the Games begin reminded me a little of beauty pagents - costumes, grand entrances, talent testing and interviews.

The way the book ended means that this part of Katniss's story is complete, but still leaves it open for the other two books in the trilogy. I really liked the ending, and it definitely made me look back on the book in a different light.

All in all this was a good read, and I'm looking forward to Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 42/50 ...more

Like · see review