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.

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What Members Thought

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

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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

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Oct 19, 2015 Kristin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, dystopian, favorites, audiobook, read-in-2023

October 2023: Reading for the 2nd time and all the emotions hit the same as they did the first time. I will forever be #TeamRue.

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 12, 2015 Morgan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, post-apocalyptic-dystopic-utopia, re-reads, audiobook

I originally read/reviewed this back in 2010, so this is a re-read of a 5 star book for me.

The reason the AUDIO version loses a star is the narrator.

She would be a great narrator for a lot of things, but not for this book. Not for YA really at all.

Katniss is 16. The narrator sounds like she's in her 50s? It's not a bad thing, but it's a far more mature voice and not a young one. It detracted from the story.

Also taking away was how precise and proper the narrator was speaking in an almost entir ...more

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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

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May 14, 2013 Rachel Willis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopia, young-adult, books-read-in-2014

I watched the movie first and completely loved it. The book was no disappointment, drawing me further into the world of the Hunger Games and now (I'm afraid) severely affecting my mood. Must pick up the next one a.s.a.p. ...more

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