If you have a teenager in your life who likes reading current works of fiction, chances are that you’ve heard of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. After its publication last fall, it quickly became the talked about young adult novel all over the literary media. Like other well-known novels that have come before, this book presents us with a postapocalyptic world and focuses its attention on the life of a young woman struggling to help her family survive. The intensity of this story comes when the central character is sent off to ‘The Hunger Games,’ the nation of Panem’s (what we know as North America) yearly competition pitting youths from each of the twelve districts in a fight for survival, with only one winner allowed. Without giving away too much of the plot, I can safely say that there are remnants of Gladiator arena competitions, tinged with reality television style spectatorship, all under the ever powerful hand of the Capitol.
This book sucked me in from the opening lines, and my heart pounded uncomfortably throughout the entire thing. To write a synopsis of the story doesn’t come close to doing the piece justice– the plot taken alone initially sounded silly and unbelievable to me, but as the characters were developed, it becomes frighteningly possible. This is not my usual go-to literary genre, and I admit to not having much experience with Young Adult fiction since the time I could still claim that identity. But, I was captivated by this story, and the voice of the protagonist gives the reader a front and center perspective, making me feel as if I were by her side as she navigated this horrific adventure. This book left me contemplating the paths that Power can take and what that does to the basic tenets of humanity.
I adored the main character Katniss. All the typical teenage character traits are there, yet they’re more often than not overshadowed by the burdens of trying to survive, both before and during the Hunger Games. She is beautifully created and her voice rings so straightforward in this novel. Violence and terror are central to the story’s plot, but the depictions remain appropriate for a middle to older teenage audience’s level.
In my book club, the idea was debated that this is the type of book that is more likely to be enjoyed by teenagers than adults… perhaps I’m just young at heart, because I was thoroughly engaged. While I didn’t know from the onset that this book was the first of an intended trilogy, as I neared the end I became curious about how the story would wrap up. I am seriously waiting with bated breath for the next installment, Catching Fire, due to be released this fall.
We are pleased to add this book to our list of 5 Star Reads.
Dawn reads anything she can get her hands on- including the bottom of a tissue box in a pinch. Her blog, my thoughts exactly, is a hodgepodge of cute kid stories, rantings, and senseless blather.
Loved this book. I received an ARC at the BEA, and it sat on the shelf for a while. Then my husband read it, I read it, and passed it on to other booksellers. Everyone at my bookstore loved it.
Ok – I keep hearing about this one…I’ll have to drop by the library to see if I can pick it up today. Thanks for a great review. B.
Thanks for covering this very current and popular work.
Amanda (age 10 1/2) just read this, so I asked her thoughts and she said, “That’s a really good review of the book.” I asked her about the intensity, and she said, “It is very intense,” and then tried to get her to make a recommendation (I was going for who should or shouldn’t read the book based on the subject), but she said,
“It doesn’t matter what kind of books you like or don’t like, anybody would like this book.”
hi there, saw your post about Hunger Games and had to chime in — my daughter raved about it and I fell in love with it instantly. I’m an author and fairly dismissive of many YA books — my girls read too many “pink” covers — but this one was extraordinary.
Kelly Simmons
author of STANDING STILL
I’ll have to look for this one!
Well, we finally got around to reading these recently. I picked up The Hunger Games on a whim at a book fair, and was immediately hooked. My son and my fiancee have also gotten in on the action, and it was very fun to have the book to talk about together.
Maybe we were lucky, because we read them at a time when I could easily pick up the rest of the trilogy at the library. Great discussions in my household, and wonderful to see my son (a very reluctant reader) wanting to read and see what happens next.
So great to hear, Barb, and thanks so much for coming back to this old review to comment!
It was VERY hard to wait between the books- nice that you could simply go from one to the next with ease. Now your only wait is for the movie! 🙂