The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in Mostly Sapphic

Jul 07, 2010 Elizabeth added it · review of another edition

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

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Feb 21, 2011 Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, kindle, booklending

Ok, I loved it, just like everyone said I would. I did have to read the first part (the first 10 percent) over because I found it slow and I got lost. But once into the story I couldn't leave the book behind, even to eat. Let's call this the book diet! The Hunger Games Diet!

Anyone who knows me know I love learning survival methods. I watch all those shows on Discovery, have loved long hikes with rangers describing the edible and poisonous plants and I love knowing how to help in case of emergenc ...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Alena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, children-ya, fantasy-sci-fi

Holy crap on a cracker.

Never, ever have I had a reading experience like this. I was drawn into the story right from the very start, was crying by page 20, cried a couple more times, and then probably cried straight through the last 100 pages.

What the heck?

To summarize briefly, if you missed it, Hunger Games is the dystopian story of 16 year old Katniss, who, by cruel fate, has to participate in her country's Hunger Games that pitch 24 teenagers against each other in a fight to the death that is Holy crap on a cracker.

Never, ever have I had a reading experience like this. I was drawn into the story right from the very start, was crying by page 20, cried a couple more times, and then probably cried straight through the last 100 pages.

What the heck?

To summarize briefly, if you missed it, Hunger Games is the dystopian story of 16 year old Katniss, who, by cruel fate, has to participate in her country's Hunger Games that pitch 24 teenagers against each other in a fight to the death that is televised live on TV.

I don't even know where to start. I just finished reading it and feel both empty and incredibly 'full' inside.

First off, yay for a strong girl protagonist. From page 1, I was with her. I felt what she felt, I saw what she saw. I can't point at anything in particular in regard to the narrative style, but it sure worked well. One thing I usually don't like very much is a first person narrator, but it was a wonderful perspective for this story. On the one hand your close to the protagonist and go through everything she goes through, and on the other hand it limits your knowledge and experiences to what she knows and experiences, leaving everything else in the dark. This makes it incredibly stressful to read, all my senses were on high alert. The narrative is flawless. The world is extremely well developed. It has enough history to back the present up, it takes place in well known location.

It's a bit predictive, but also has plenty of twists to keep you on your toes.

It's violent and brutal, both physically and psychologically, I can't wrap my head around the things these kids have to go through.

I'm sure that this is exactly what might make this book a powerful tool to teach kids about totalitarian societies, freedom of speech, freedom per se... the evil that reality TV can be, bullying, and probably a gazillion other things. I do believe in the power of emotion as a teaching tool, and if you read this and don't feel like you're there... well, what's wrong with you?

What I don't quite get is how someone comes up with things like this. I know nothing about the author, but these elaborate violent fantasies really scare the crap out of me.

Read it. It's worth the pain you're going through while doing so. Why that is is a mystery to me. I really don't enjoy reading about other people being tortured. There are sequels. I will read them. But for now I need a break. Something light and meaningless would be nice. Like tonight, when I can't sleep because I'll still be thinking about the Hunger Games. ...more

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Mar 16, 2011 MEC rated it really liked it

Shelves: spec-fic-sf-fantasy-horror, 2011-read-and-re-read, ya

Wow ... Young Adult fiction has come a loooong way. Stuff like the Hunger Games didn't exist - which is probably why I was reading Stephen King at 11 or 12 years old. Other than the age of the characters (16-18), there's nothing "kiddie" about this one. Set in the distant future where the Capitol holds sway over 12 defeated and impoverished Districts, two children are randomly selected from each District to be brought together and fight to the last one standing. Survivor has nothing on this. A f ...more

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Oct 12, 2009 treehugger rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, popular_lit, read_2010, myfaves, young_adult, zero-to-well-read

Holy cow, this book is addicting! On disk 2 and can hardly wait to get back in the car and hear what happens!!!!

Ok, this book is "knock your socks off while simultaneously blowing your mind and rocking your world" good (words stolen DIRECTLY from Madeline - she chose to think of them as words from an awfully awesome rock song, I choose to think of them as an awkward sexual position :)).

Anyway, despite the carnage, desperation, dehumanization, and creepy "Big Brother Is Watching"-ness of it, thi Holy cow, this book is addicting! On disk 2 and can hardly wait to get back in the car and hear what happens!!!!

Ok, this book is "knock your socks off while simultaneously blowing your mind and rocking your world" good (words stolen DIRECTLY from Madeline - she chose to think of them as words from an awfully awesome rock song, I choose to think of them as an awkward sexual position :)).

Anyway, despite the carnage, desperation, dehumanization, and creepy "Big Brother Is Watching"-ness of it, this book is like crack. It will steal your sleep, make you sit in the car until RIGHT before you have to be in your office, make you take extra long showers and even blow dry your hair so that you can listen to it while you're doing all of these things....that's how much you'll want to find out what happens.

The premise of the Hunger Games is so shocking....that it works. And the commentary about how TV is used to control people is...well...disturbing, when you think that the AVERAGE American watches AT LEAST 3 hours of tv a day. AT LEAST. Also, the juxtaposition of living in a world where everyone has a tv but lots and lots of people don't have nearly enough to eat is also interesting.

Working with indigent patients frequently makes you take a good long look at what people value and where their priorities lie. While patients in Honduras are happy to have enough to eat and medicines to help them regain health, some of the financially challenged people in America have different priorities. Do they have enough money to pay the cable/satellite/internet bills? How about 2 $4 packs of cigarettes per day? Are they driving a nice car, yet can't seem to be able to afford the basic essentials at the grocery store or pharmacy? While these aren't universal examples, they happen often enough to make this book give me pause....the people in this book actually have NOTHING, yet certainly have TV and at least a few hours of electricity per day to watch it, especially when the Games are on. Innnttteerrreessstttiinngg...

Could go on and on and on...but you should just read it. ...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: made-me-cry

Great plot and secondary characters. Could really do without the love triangle. I honesty just read this because of the hype, and overall I wasn't disappointed. ...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Molly rated it it was amazing

Awesome book. Really shouldn't start #2 right away because I have no free time, and the grad school textbooks just don't call to me in the same way as this story did... ...more

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