Book Review: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games
Number in Series: 1
Format: Paperback
Pages: 374
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Release Date: July 1, 2008
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction/Young Adult/Fantasy

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Synopsis from Goodreads

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun...

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, the shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

    The Hunger Games is about a very brutal and sad dystopian world. Food has become very scarce in Panem (formerly North America). Panem is made up of 12 Districts and The Capitol (the government). After a major rebellion against The Capitol, they keep everyone in check. So The Capitol hosts a live TV show called The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games takes two tributes from all 12 Districts, a boy and a girl from ages 12-18. They dress them up, give them sponsors and televise them for the world to see. But most of all, they train them to fight. Twenty-four kids must go in and fight to the death. The last one standing gets money and food for the rest of their life. Unfortunately and fortunately, Katniss doesn’t make this easy.

    I have finally started not one of the most talked about YA series, THE most talked about YA series. Now with all the buzz about the movie coming out, I knew I had to get on the ball and find out whether this movie will be worthy or not. It is, it soooooooooo is. This is one of the most amazing books I have read. Every time someone talked about it, they always have this look that said, “You don’t know just how good that is.” Now I get it. If you are not one of the millions of people that have read this already, I don’t know what the hell you are waiting for. I didn’t know what I was getting into with this book, but it exceeded my expectations and more.

   Our main character, Katniss, is definitely going on my great heroines list. I absolutely loved Katniss. She was strong and smart. She lives with her mom and little sister Prim who she works hard to protect because her mother isn’t strong enough. Katniss sacrifices herself for her sister when she is called for the Games. She is scared out of her mind and hates everyone around her because they don’t care that soon, she will be dead. But she has been hunting and surviving for her family for so long, she might have a shot.

   I loved all the other characters as well. I am definitely Team Peeta . Since we follow things from Katniss POV, there were times when you didn’t know when he was playing a game or not. But I have faith. I loved Cinna, Katniss stylist for the Games. He isn’t a main character, but he helped Katniss more in this book then I would have thought. I hope we get more from him in the future books. Same goes to Haymitch. He was a previous winner to the Hunger Games (the only surviving one from District 12) and they made him the mentor for District 12. Sadly, he is a rich drunk. I loved how when we dive a little deeper into the story, we can kind of get a taste as to why he is the way he is. It is truly depressing.  And there are so many more, I wish I could talk about them all, but I’m afraid I won’t stop.

   I love the way the story progresses. Once they are done with their training and getting sponsors, they are sent into the woods. It is from there this book really gets to you because from the second it starts, kids start dying. This book gets very intense the further it goes and I won’t even lie, I cried a couple of times. This book was a lot more graphic then I would have expected it to be and some people are against it, but I am not. It made it feel more realistic to me. They are not living in a nice world, they are fighting for their families and more so, their lives. Well, there were people like Katniss who had those noble reasons and there were kids that were just obsessed with winning. I love how Collins shows the difference between these characters when they are in the woods. Nonetheless, there were no rainbows and bunnies here people. This is a tough book.

    Yet another awesome book that is hard to write about since it is so good. I have seen the trailer to the movie more times than I can count at this point. And I still get chills watching it. I pray Hollywood does this book justice. I hope it captures all the emotions I experienced when reading it. From the tears to that ending that had me screaming. The last few chapters will drive you over the edge, just didn’t expect that at all. The Hunger Games is so worth the hype even though the idea is very Battle Royale, I am not going to take anything away from this book. This is still a phenomenon that Hollywood should handle with care. And for those that must know, this is along the lines of Harry Potter, NOT Twilight. I need to let people know that, it is important. Seriously though, if this doesn’t end up as Movie of 2012, someone will pay.

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