The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Mar 28, 2011 Laura Kaye rated it it was amazing

Totally blown away by the worldbuilding, character development, originality, sustained intensity of the conflict, and her ability to both resolve the story AND leave us with a cliffhanger. Will be rushing out to buy book two and three right away!

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Mar 19, 2011 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

I've heard so much about this series and wondered what all the fuss was about, so I finally decided to jump into it head first and find out for myself. I'm glad that I did.

"The Hunger Games" is an amazingly gripping tale of a young girl that takes her sister's place in a deadly game. I was mesmerized not only by the game, but the fantastic characters. Katniss is one character that I cannot get out of my mind; she's everything you could ever want in a heroine. The other participants in the game a ...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Lyndsey O'Halloran rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I wish I could just write one word in this review. OMG! It is not often at all that I feel this way about a book but that is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about this book. When I started reading it at 11pm at night, I was only planning to read a couple of chapters. That turned into being awake until 3am and finishing the whole book. I could not put it down. Before, knowing all the hype surrounding this trilogy, I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to like it but thankfull I wish I could just write one word in this review. OMG! It is not often at all that I feel this way about a book but that is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about this book. When I started reading it at 11pm at night, I was only planning to read a couple of chapters. That turned into being awake until 3am and finishing the whole book. I could not put it down. Before, knowing all the hype surrounding this trilogy, I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to like it but thankfully, everyone seemed to be right in going crazy for it.

Katniss. What a fantastic female MC. I usually have an aversion to female MCs but how could I hate Katniss? The beginning of the book sees her do something so selfless and brave that I instantly liked her. I imagine me and my big sister in the same situation and I know she wouldn’t do that for me (Don’t take that wrong but she’s a bit of a wimp). Although I knew it was coming, it didn’t take anything away from the excitement and horror of what was happening. As the story gets into full swing, I only found myself liking Katniss more and more. There was so much more to her character than I originally thought and I loved finding out the other things about her and seeing how she reacted to the insanity that was being in the Capitol.

I wasn’t sure what I thought of Peeta, the other player from District 12, to begin with. He didn’t say much for a while but then as his character was revealed more, I could understand why he is so loved by other readers. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding Peeta and how the little things about him are revealed at a slow pace, due to him not being around for a good chunk of time. I can see the attraction between Peeta and Katniss although I was kind of hoping for another guy to be featured more and that was Gale. I am wondering now how much of a part he will play in the other two books in this trilogy and what problems he may cause. The relationship though, between Peeta and Katniss really adds another dimension to the brutal world that they are a part of. It adds a softness and tenderness to a story that would have otherwise been all about the action and tension of The Hunger Games.

So now onto the games themselves. I had ideas about how this was going to be before I read the book but it was not at all what I was expecting. YA novels are sometimes censored a little bit too much but this is where The Hunger Games stands out. The playing field of the games is truly terrifying and I would not wish being there on my worst enemy. The 24 contestants are placed into an arena where anything goes. It really is kill or be killed. Obviously, there are many deaths in this book but the ways in which they happen are creative and quite gruesome at times. Suzanne Collins does not hide from the fact that this is a battlefield and people will do anything it takes to stay alive. I loved the realness of this part of the book and I could feel my heart pounding at times when I knew something bad was about to happen.

I was not prepared at all for how emotional this book was going to be. Yes, I knew there was going to be a love interest for Katniss but that was not everything, for once. The friendships and alliances made throughout this book are really what it is all about. I guess I imaged this book to be all about the getting rid of other players in the games but not how it would feel to be there. I felt so much for some of the characters and not just the main ones. I loved Katniss and Peeta but there were other characters which caught my attention. I really liked that the story was not all about Katniss (even though the majority was). It is also about how other people cope and react in a situation such as this and what they are prepared to do in order to survive.

No wonder this amazing book is being made into a film. Think The Condemned for a younger audience with just as much action but with added romance and tenderness.
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May 11, 2010 Susan Mann rated it it was amazing

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is one of the most talked about books this year and deservedly so, it is awesome. So they’ve made it into a film, but before you watch the film, I urge you to read the book. The book is always better than the film, right. And this one is no exception.
The Hunger Games is set in the future in post-apocalyptic North America and is about a girl name Katniss who takes the place of her little sister for her District in the 74th Hunger Games. Each year each District ...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2010

Oh my God, I can't believe it took me so long to read this book. I've been aware of the phenomenal reviews but was hesitant because the reviews seemed TOO good, strange as that sounds. However, I finally decided to jump on the band wagon.

I devoured this book. It was amazing! From the first page to the last, I was in love. I love Katniss and Peeta, among several other great characters. ...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Carol Oates rated it really liked it

ETA: On second reading I'm bumping this up to four star.

I am still digesting it. The opening pages were so familiar that I couldn't get over the feeling I've read them before. Which was bizarre since I'm positive I haven't. Anyway, as I moved along I got caught up in the story. I did enjoy it very much until right at the end. After the games I felt it became very rushed as if it was a sudden need to get to the next book. Maybe it was intentional to show the head spinning drop back into the real ...more

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