The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jun 28, 2009 Kelly (Maybedog) rated it did not like it

Shelves: what-sf, why-try-again-later, other, what-young-adult

Update 6/6/25

Before you go at me or my review which was written when I was much much younger and naive--all of you so far have had valid points and I would have written my review differently today--my main issues are
1. One district was celebrating it when the person next to them was either going to lose their child or you would or both. Only one child would come back. I can understand feeling like you had no choice, etc., but celebrating it with a big festival? Ugh. I didn't say it would never Update 6/6/25

Before you go at me or my review which was written when I was much much younger and naive--all of you so far have had valid points and I would have written my review differently today--my main issues are
1. One district was celebrating it when the person next to them was either going to lose their child or you would or both. Only one child would come back. I can understand feeling like you had no choice, etc., but celebrating it with a big festival? Ugh. I didn't say it would never happen, just that I found it unrealistic. (I read that in Nazi Germany, most people didn't they were being sent to the gas chamber. In Sophie's choice which is mentioned below, which is a fabulous film, she's being separated from her child, knows the child will probably die, and is hysterical.)
2. The most important point: I just didn't like how it was written, which I felt was poorly, but the biggest issue was that I couldn't stand Katniss. She was horrible and I wasn't rooting for her.

As for it being a teen book, if we are not aware what our teens are reading, we are living in oblivion. I don't believe in banning books, but I also believe we should know what our kids are reading. Plus, this was written by an adult so clearly there was interest by an adult.

--------------------------------------
I know people loved this book but I hated it. I couldn't even get past the first few chapters. I found it trite, slow-moving, predictable, not written that well, and completely unrealistic. I didn't like any of the characters. The heroine is judgmental and self-righteous. The plot has been done much better most notably The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman.

Being a mom, I would fight to the death for my children (and I didn't give birth to them--I hear biological parents have even stronger bonds) and almost every mom I know is the same. To protect our young is our most basic animal instinct. (I'm a foster parent so I know there are some that wouldn't but it's actually quite rare--most believe they are doing what is best for their children when the kids are with them. Most parents fight for their kids in court no matter how bad they are at parenting.) I believe there would be mass rebellion rather than put up with this murderous game let alone make it entertaining. Plus, these are descendants of Americans, who culturally believe in rebellion and go to war at the drop of a hat, and it's not far enough in the future for that to have been beaten out of these people. I think this story would be absurd in most cultures but Americans have been indoctrinated into a culture of rebellion since the birth of the country.

The book might be entertaining for some but for me, it's completely ridiculous. ...more

40 likes · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2010 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-recommend, young-adult, ni-group-read, 2010-book-list, classics, audio, 2023-reads

I'm not quite sure how to write any sort of review for this. All I know is that I absolutely loved this book! I shied away from it for a long time after hearing it was about teenagers battling it out to the death (sounded pretty gruesome), but after all the reviews, I had to try it out. I'm so glad I did! I am officially obsessed with the series. It was well written, & sent me on a huge rollcoaster ride of emotions - excitement, anger, joy, anxiety, sadness, frustration. It reminded me in many w ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2009 Avigail rated it really liked it

A book that reminds of the the "Minotaur" myth from the Greek mythology. In the Greek myth The Minotaur was a bull-headed man, whom King Minos 2 shut up in the Labyrinth which Daedalus had built in Crete. The Athenians were then forced by Minos 2 to send every year seven young men and seven young women to be fodder of this famous beast.
Soundd familiar well I loved this book for the way that it is written, the idea of using mythology, gladiator arena and new technology was fantastic for me. The ...more

Like · see review

Mar 19, 2011 Khim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, favorites

Het gaat over Katniss. Ze leeft samen met haar moeder en zusje een erg armoedig leven in District 12, maar omdat haar vader haar voor hij doodging heeft geleerd hoe ze moet jagen, hebben ze toch altijd wel wat te eten. Maar de plek waar Katniss leeft kent één keer per jaar een duistere periode. Elk jaar moet vanuit elk district (er zijn er 12) een jongen en een meisje gekozen worden (niet geheel volgens een eerlijke procedure). Deze kinderen (tussen de 12 en 18 jaar) moeten het onder barre omsta ...more

Like · see review

Mar 11, 2009 Marla rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, middle-school, series, zz-2009, award-winner, caudill-nominee-read, girl-power, young-adult, with-reservations, romance

4.5 stars. The Dangerous Game meets Survivor. Very violent for YA and light romance between interesting characters.

I liked this book, but it is very violent, sad and dark. I like Gregor the Overlander series better, because it is less dark and violent, and I like the characters better in Gregor. I also think I can't give this 5 stars because of all the media hype...ala Twilight and Harry Potter, but I read those books before the hype got too out of control.

2011 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Bo ...more

Like · see review

Jun 18, 2009 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, natalie-bk-club, dystopian, young-adult

Very fun read. The story was part "Gladiator" and part "Survivor" as these teens fight to the death and try to survive for weeks in the wilderness. They are tributes for their section of the country in a post-apocalyptic North America. It was a fast read and I was very satisfied witht the twists and turns that kept you guessing and I only anticipated a few of them, so I had surprises. The ending is satisfying in one way but totally frustrating in another as it segues to Book 2. I will be picking ...more

Like · see review

Jul 15, 2011 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Katniss Everdeen lives in a post-apocalyptic North America called Panem which is ruled by a capitol with 12 districts. Every year 2 tributes from each district are sent to the hunger games in a fight to the death. Katniss volunteers to take her sister Prim's place in the Hunger Games and is sent with Peeta Mellark, the bakers son. The book does a good job of setting up the land and once the games got started I couldn't put the book down. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the s ...more

Like · see review