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

Feb 28, 2012 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: spring-2012, favorites, good-fiction, permanent-library, classics, sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult, sci-fi-dystopia

A Big 5 Stars

SUMMARY

In the ruins of what used to be America, post-apocalyptic Panam has emerged. To remind its people that going against the Capital as District 13 did, the remaining 12 Districts must have “volunteer” a boy and a girl tribute to play the Hunger Games. Only one will survive. Added to this sacrifice is the insult that everyone must watch the televised Games. As the residents of District 12 gather in the Town Square, Katniss Everdeen prays that her name is not called. It is no A Big 5 Stars

SUMMARY

In the ruins of what used to be America, post-apocalyptic Panam has emerged. To remind its people that going against the Capital as District 13 did, the remaining 12 Districts must have “volunteer” a boy and a girl tribute to play the Hunger Games. Only one will survive. Added to this sacrifice is the insult that everyone must watch the televised Games. As the residents of District 12 gather in the Town Square, Katniss Everdeen prays that her name is not called. It is not. The name is Primrose Everdeen. Making the ultimate sacrifice, Katniss volunteers to take her little sister’s place as tribute. To her dismay, the boy tribute is called: Peeta Mellark. How is she to kill the boy who gave her the bread after her father was killed in a Mine explosion? She must, if she is to survive. She can’t afford not to. Katniss can’t trust her mother after she fell into an immobilizing depression. Prim doesn’t have her cold and calculating temperament that is needed for hunting. Prim can’t go under the fence into the woods of what was Appalachia. With out her, the remnant Everdeen family will starve. Let the Games begin. The Huntress becomes the hunted.

MY THOUGHTS

1.) Katniss is a wonderful character. She is a survivor. She had to become the head of her family at a very young age. It is no wonder that she seems cold at the beginning of novel. She found out that she can’t trust anyone (with the exception of Gale) at the tender age of 11. She will never marry and sacrifice her children to the Hunger Games. She is wary of any kindness given to her. But she grows as demonstrated by her affection for Rue. My heart broke and tears ran down my cheek as Katniss sang the lullaby to the dying child and covered little Rue with flowers. The gift that Rue’s district gave Katniss and Thresh’s sparing of her life showed that character development. Her joy when it was announced that 2 tributes could survive if they were from the same district was genuine. She really did like Peeta and reflected a small amount of humanity that Peeta spoke of on the roof top in the Capitol. She did slightly disappoint me when she broke Peeta’s heart at the end. My heart ached for him. I thought Collins would have let Katniss explore her warm feelings toward him. Remember the warmth and butterflies she had when Peeta kissed her the first time when he wasn’t medicated or in pain? I enjoyed those scenes in the cave.

2.) I found it very interesting that the vanquished 13th District was the original 13 American Colonies where America declared her Independence from England to form a government of We the People. Panam’s Capitol is in the Rockies, not Washington, D.C. and Panam’s government is the opposite of the Founding Fathers: Totalitarianism. The tribute Games reminded me of an ultra-modern take on Shirley Jackson’s THE LOTTERY.

3.) The writing is exquisite. Collins use of the 1st person from Katniss’ POV worked and necessary. It is her story. The action is almost nonstop. The descriptive scenes at the Capital were amazing! I could see the “girl on fire” and her twirling in her gemstone gown and her amazement when Peeta declares he’s been in love with her since they were five. I loved Rue, respected Thresh, hated the Careers and the Capitol. I loved Cinna, too. I can understand the appeal this novel has; it is amazing!!!!! I loved, loved it.
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Aug 27, 2012 Moondance rated it liked it

Reality TV at its worst. Children killing children to atone for a rebellion. I think I may the last person to read this and now I need to read the others to see what happens. 3 stars

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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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May 17, 2012 Nancy Brady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, ya

A well-written YA novel in a future society (Panem) where teens are sacrificed for the government's continued control. These selected teens fight to the death on a reality-based TV program. It sounds a bit gory, but was less than expected. ...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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