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

Mar 23, 2012 Josefine rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, childrens-ya, 2012

Since everyone is going on about it with the movie coming out and certain friends kept telling me to read it, I finally caved and downloaded the audiobook (originally for my bus journey to London, but I didn't get around to listening to it then).
The book certainly knows how to grasp the reader's attention (well, after the first few chapters anyway) and the narrator is easy to follow - but I'm still not quite sure if it's really a good thing people are fawning over these books which basically te ...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Elaine Burnes rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

OK, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I was not impressed. It’s not a bad story, it just did not live up to the hype, and there was a lot of that. A coworker dressed as Katniss for Halloween. She and another can’t say enough good things about this series. Stephen King couldn’t put it down. It got very good reviews. It’s compared to the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

So what’s my problem? Expectations, perhaps.

I’m not familiar with the YA genre and don’t really know what i OK, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I was not impressed. It’s not a bad story, it just did not live up to the hype, and there was a lot of that. A coworker dressed as Katniss for Halloween. She and another can’t say enough good things about this series. Stephen King couldn’t put it down. It got very good reviews. It’s compared to the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

So what’s my problem? Expectations, perhaps.

I’m not familiar with the YA genre and don’t really know what is meant by young adult. I assumed this was written for teens because the main character, Katniss, is 16. By 16, kids can read pretty sophisticated stuff. So my first hesitation came when I opened the book. Large type, wide line spacing. Even the first Harry Potter wasn’t formatted this way. It immediately made me think kids’ book and wonder just who the audience was.

Then the writing. It’s just so…bland. Basic, no frills, and full of clichés. Katniss bites her nails “like there’s no tomorrow.” Really? That’s the best you can do? Hackneyed phrases like “thin veil of protection,” her lungs feel like they are “actually being cooked.” Lots of weak modifiers. I didn’t like her voice. Descriptions are as bland as, “the day is glorious,” the “food’s wonderful.” Those are in the same sentence. There are also errors. You don’t hone in on something, you home in. Like homing pigeon. In a book for young people, who are still learning these things, getting it right is important (IMHO). I found myself editing as I read. Never a good thing.

It’s told in first person, present tense, which leaves little room for any ongoing analysis. The pace did pick up once the Games started and it was an engaging read. You know she’ll survive since there are more books and it’s first person, but how had lots of potential. Yes, it’s wonderful to have a strong, girl protagonist (though she never got her period). There’s good action and interesting strategy.

It could have been a Handmaid’s Tale, a Solitaire, Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," but it ends up a poor, seemingly rushed, imitation.

Reviews have commented that the story is very savage for teens. I’d bet any number of computer games these kids and those younger play are probably a lot worse. When I was a kid, I could handle brutality much more easily than I can now. There was nothing like a good monster story. But even now, the violence in this book is pretty tame when you consider what goes on in the real world. Child soldiers, anyone? The whole thing reads like a computer game. Reality TV, the Next Generation. It wasn’t shocking. It wasn’t life altering. It wasn’t even a particularly good read.

I have only a mild curiosity to see what happens next, but my wife bought the others (she liked it a lot), so I’ll read them. I’ll watch the movies. The trailer for the first one has stunning visuals, something I didn’t get from the book. I’ll probably like the movies better. Sadly.

All I can say is it’s a good thing I wasn’t the acquiring editor at Scholastic.
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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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Mar 24, 2012 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012

Compulsive page turner, not so much for the gore, but Collins' placing equal importance on the scrounging and haggling involved in just putting dinner on the table -- and gaining access to decent health care.

But, pssst! One hipper-than-thou reference to Battle Royale and you can dismiss the whole thing, right?

Nope.

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Feb 01, 2015 Rae Storey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

m a little late to the party here, and I wish I hadn't waited so long to read these books. I'm not a YA reader, but this book was picked by a member of our book club an I was amazed at the magic Suzanne Collins has with words. This trilogy was a quick read, and I was sad when it was over. ...more

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