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

Jul 24, 2010 Barbara ★ rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, read-2010, post-apocalyptic, banned-books

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

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May 04, 2010 ilovebakedgoods (Teresa) rated it really liked it

Shelves: killeen-library-paper, series, young-adult, strong-women, 2010

Other than the first-person point-of-view, I enjoyed this book. The subject matter is pretty horrific but I liked the main character and I look forward to the next two books in the series.

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Apr 25, 2010 Chris rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, scifi-fantasy-paranormal, dystopia

I liked it - there's a lot to like - but I didn't love it. That may be because I purposely didn't allow myself to just give myself up to the book; with too many other things going on I could only read it in brief snatches of time.... and this is a book that calls for being picked up and not put down until the last page is turned. Most people know the basic storyline: dystopian post-America where most people live hand-to-mouth and are forced to give up children each year in a fight-to-the-death r ...more

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Feb 22, 2011 A. S. rated it really liked it

With the hullabaloo surrounding the Hunger Games casting, I finally decided to read Suzanne Collins' post-apocalyptic political thriller. I can see why people are very upset over the casting decisions now and why the fandom is so rabid. It this isn't great literature--more like a written version of Battle Royale or a re-imagining of Lord of the Flies in a world where the adults exist, but that they can't really help you. But it's one of the better offerings in YA at the moment by far. The Hunger With the hullabaloo surrounding the Hunger Games casting, I finally decided to read Suzanne Collins' post-apocalyptic political thriller. I can see why people are very upset over the casting decisions now and why the fandom is so rabid. It this isn't great literature--more like a written version of Battle Royale or a re-imagining of Lord of the Flies in a world where the adults exist, but that they can't really help you. But it's one of the better offerings in YA at the moment by far. The Hunger Games' protagonist Katniss Everdeen (ugh, almost all the names are so stupid in YA lit now) is both realistic and admirable.

One thing I liked from the get-go was that adults do exist in Katniss' world, and they are given realistic reasons as to why they cannot help their children. Katniss' father died in a mining accident, and her mother suffered a complete mental breakdown afterwords. Katniss isn't a Bella Swan--she actively resents her mother's weakness, which I think is a both realistic and fair emotion to have. And at the same time, the reader feels a lot of sympathy towards Mrs. Everdeen when we learn a bit about her past and that with medication she's able to function a lot better. The alcoholic Haymitch is both irritating and cunning; I'd like to see where he progresses in Catching Fire.

In Katniss' world, North America has been transformed into one nation with a capitol city surrounded by 12 districts. At one time after a period of natural disaster, there were 13 districts, but district 13 rebelled against the restrictions set by the Capitol. In response, they were crushed hard--eliminated. To ensure that the remaining districts stay in line, the government imposes an annual competition that uses children as its players: the Hunger Games. Every year, each of the 12 districts must send two tributes--one boy and one girl--as competitors to the Capitol. There they will be shunted off to an arena made to resemble the wilderness to fight to the death. There is only one winner, which means you need extraordinary skill and luck to be the last one standing out of 24. The winner gets fame and fortune, which in Katniss' mind would make it possible for her to feed her family without worry. But staying alive is a real challenge, even for a girl accustomed to the wilderness and hunting.

Food insecurity plays a big role in this book. I kept wanting to go downstairs for a snack as I read because Katniss' worries and descriptions of food made me hungry. In Panem, each district specializes in a different area of production. District 2 produces luxury goods for the Capitol. District 11 focuses on agriculture. District 12, Katniss' district, is a coal miner's district, and her father was a coal miner who died in an explosion. Collins hints at complex socioeconomic relations within and between districts. For example, certain districts' tributes seem well fed. Katniss comes to find out that the agriculture district, 11, doesn't have well-fed citizens as she once thought. Even though they produce the food, the government takes it away. Within Katniss' own district there is an economic stratum. Katniss' family lives on the Seam, which is largely coal miners--super poor and food insecure to the point where many starve to death. This almost happened to Katniss and her family, but they were saved due to Katniss' resourcefulness: hunting, trading, and adding her name to the Hunger Games lotto more times, which gives you modest increases in rations. Peeta's baker family lives in town, and they are slightly wealthier: Peeta may have enough to eat, but they usually eat the stale bread left behind. Katniss' mother was a townsperson as well, being the daughter of an apothecary. Katniss' sort-of friend Madge is the Mayor's daughter, and while this means she doesn't have to sign up extra times for the lotto, she still has to have her name in the pot, putting her in danger of being called. Only the people of the Capitol seem well-fed and preoccupied with shallow stuff.

I also find it interesting how all the economic stuff ties in with race. This is one area where I can understand the grievances from the readers about the casting call for the movie. Katniss is described as olive skinned with straight black hair--traits common in people of color. Her mother and sister do not look like the rest of the people in the Seam as they are pale, fair-haired, and light-eyed. All this points to Katniss being mixed-race or being white but with a Mediterranean background. In my mind, I could see Q'orianka Kilcher, Vanessa Hudgens (looks-wise, not acting), or Lyndsy Fonseca as fitting the description well--all girls of color/mixed-race or Mediterranean. The casting call made a specific note that they only wanted Caucasian actresses, which blows my mind. Their choice to go with a pale-skinned womanly-looking Caucasian Jennifer Lawrence infuriated me. Lawrence is a phenomenal actress, but she's just not right for the role. Saying she can fit the description just by dyeing her hair is a slap in the face to non-white actresses who wanted the part and non-white girls who just wanted to see a girl like them onscreen. It is Avatar: The Last Airbender-levels of fail. To me, the best choice would have been Hailee Steinfeld. She's equally as good an actress as Lawrence, fits the racial description (not too white, not too non-white, ugh), and looks very young just like Katniss. As in real life, they are using the side characters to get a bit of diversity in there: the producers confirmed that they are seeking black actors for Rue and Thresh. Thank you white America, for allowing at least those two characters to be accurate to the book. District 11 hints that it is based on sharecropping, which was primarily done by poor black families. Currently a great number of miners are Latino, mostly because evil corporations know that they can often exploit them. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where all the straight black hair and olive skin comes from in District 12. A lot of the richer characters are implied to be white, or at least paler. Peeta is blonde and Madge also has lighter features. Accurate casting could have been a great way to critique existing power structures. I guess I won't be seeing this movie, then.

Anyway, the action scenes are really exciting. This book is fast paced. And it's nice that Katniss focuses more on survival than boys. While she fakes a romance with Peeta, she is slightly confused about her feelings towards him versus how she feels towards her childhood best friend Gale. But Katniss, ever practical, only dwells on this a few times. The majority of the time she's figuring out how the heck she'll survive, and if she does, what does that say about her personality.

Truly this is an exciting, interesting book for teens with a lot of complex themes for those who look for them. I'd say it's almost on the level of the Animorphs series in terms of dealing with complex topics for a younger audience (and that's high praise coming from me). ...more

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Sep 02, 2010 Melissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: comes-highly-recommended, kindle-books, i-would-read-again-and-again, young-adult, fantasy, read-2012, mbl-owned, read-2014, movie-tie-in

UPDATE 3/13/14:
I wanted to re-read the series, after recently seeing Catching Fire. I still really love this story...maybe even more than I did the first time around.

I felt a lot of peer pressure to read this book...starting with both my sons, my best friend, co-workers, even our swim coach. I have to say I enjoyed this much more than I enjoyed Twilight. I thought the characters were better drawn, if a little one-sided, since we see everything through Katniss' eyes. However, I totally get how bo ...more

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May 14, 2011 Roxann rated it really liked it

I liked this book. It was set in the future. Appeared to be a grim future with the government keeping people in line with fear and lack of food. Female lead is another likeable character-can be soft, but independent, tough.

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