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The Hunger Games (Lesley)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Young Adult Fiction
2008 Scholastic Press
Finished on 4/15/09
Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)
Product Description:
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games.” The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat’s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve read such a good teen novel. While not quite as good as The Book Thief, it sure comes a lot closer than Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series. It may even be as good as theHarry Potter books.
The Hunger Games was my book club’s choice for this month’s discussion. We had a fantastic meeting, and yes, we all loved it. I’ve gotten to where I don’t read any reviews or even the dust cover blurbs prior to reading a book, as I prefer to go in completely unaware of what might take place between the covers. And since this was a book club choice, I just assumed I’d give it a try without really knowing what it was about. As I began reading, I immediately wondered what I was getting into. I’d heard very good comments about the book, but wasn’t aware of the premise of the “games.” I had an uneasy feeling that it would be a bleak, depressing story about killing and death, but I continued on and quickly became engrossed in the characters and story. I think the author did a very good job of keeping the story interesting and suspenseful without resorting to gratuitous violence and gore. There was no lingering detailed description of the actual killings and I never felt uneasy or disturbed by the acts of violence.
On life in Panem:
When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. Do my work quietly in school. Make only polite small talk in the public market. Discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money. Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics. Like the reaping, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games. Prim might begin to repeat my words and then where would we be?
On the Hunger Games:
The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.
Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch — this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. “Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.”
To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the other. The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.
Fans of The Giver
Final words: Highly addictive!!
The Hunger Games (Stephanie)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (384 pgs, Scholastic Press, 2008) is a fantastic dystopian novel that I’m using not only as a selection for the YA Reading Challenge, but also for the End of the World Reading Challenge!! Me loves a good dystopian novel!!
When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth, but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. Today is the day of the reaping.
For 16-year-old Katniss (and yes, I really hate this name!) Everdeen, the day of the reaping is a day to dread. Panem, the country that was once North America before natural disasters and war laid waste to it, holds a “reaping” once a year. It is the Capitol’s way of punishing the 12 districts of Panem for the “uprising”. Each year, the 12 districts hold a drawing that will provide one girl Tribute and one boy Tribute to the Hunger Games. The 24 Tributes are taken to an arena and dropped off. Imprisoned together, it is ever child for him- or herself. There can only be one winner of the Hunger Games, and it is a fight to the death.
Each child between the ages of 12 and 18 is eligible for the reaping. District 12, The Seam, is the coal-mining district. They have only had one winner of the Hunger Games since it started. On the day of the reaping, all the kids are brought into the town square for a televised drawing. But this year, when Katniss’ 12-year-old sister, Prim’s name is drawn, there is a volunteer to take her place. Katniss is not going to let her sister go to be slaughtered. She immediately volunteers to go as the girl Tribute instead of Prim. Along with Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son and the boy Tribute from District 12, Katniss is whisked away to the Capitol.
Because Katniss has spent the last few years providing for her family by hunting in the Seam, she feels she would have a better chance at survival than her little sister. Because frankly, being chosen for the reaping is a death sentence. Other districts have kids that are bred to be winners. But even if she can’t survive, at least she has the knowledge that her little sister will be saved.
In a very Shirley Jackson sort of way, The Hunger Games is a glimpse into a terrifying future. In a world controlled completely by The Capitol, people live in fear of what can be taken from them. Even the games themselves are controlled by the Capitol. Each child can have sponsors that give them certain items to help them in the games. And if there isn’t enough “action” to satisfy the powers that be, then the Capitol steps in and makes things more difficult for the contestants.
Collins has created a truly horrific look into the future. As a mother, the thought of such an events as the reaping or the Hunger Games makes me a little sick to my stomach. But as a reader and a lover of good fiction, this book is top-notch! Katniss is about as smart and as tough as a protagonist can be. I just fell in love with her. The Hunger Games starts out with a bang, but the suspense doesn’t let up…ever! As a reader, you know there isn’t going to be a good ending with this one, but Collins never lets you give up hope. From page one, you are immediately sucked in and just can’t let go!! I practically read this in one sitting, it was so intense. I just needed to know what happens. Although there is clearly an ending….there is still more of the story to be told. Again, there is a follow-up book that won’t be released till the fall. Damn. What is it with me and and the inevitable series reading?? Regardless of that, this is one intense read, and I highly recommend it!!
4.5/5
The Hunger Games (Amy)
Suzanne Collins
374 pages
In a future North America, now called Panem, Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12. There Katniss hunts to feed her family and to trade and sell for other necessities.
Once a year a lottery is held to choose two teens, one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight in The Hunger Games. Katniss winds up representing her district and she knows that she will be forced to fight to the death.
I have been seeing a lot of buzz around this book on the blogs and since I tend to really enjoy both survival stories and futuristic societies, I was thrilled to find out that there was no wait for this at the library. Either I beat the buzz to my branch or I am way behind it, I’m not sure which.
Katniss is a real survivor. She steps up and takes over the responsibility of feeding her mother and sister when her father is killed, she doesn’t like owing anyone anything, she faces her lot in The Hunger Games with grit and determination and she is as smart as anything when it comes to outfoxing her opponents. She is tough, abrupt, and almost mean at times and that’s to the people she likes.
Coming off of a sickness-induced reading slump, this was the perfect book to get me jump-started. Once I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. It’s violent and disturbing but I expected that once I knew it was about a death match and the circumstances which changed North America into Panem.
My only complaint is that I wish we would have seen more about the government. I kept wondering if I was seeing clues to a revolt or things not being what they seemed as I read. I guess I will have to wait for a sequel.
There’s also a sort of a love triangle going on here but, again, we will have to wait for the next book to see any resolution on that front.
I thought the names were a little lame but I really enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to the next one.(4.5/5)