The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Summary

Life in District 12 isn't easy for Katniss and her family. Ever since her father died, the girl has spent her days by hunting (which is punishable by death) to keep her mother and little sister, Prim, from starvation. But worst of all is reaping day. Once a year, the government chooses two children from each of the twelve districts between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete against one another in a live and televised show. Twenty-four teens enter, and only one survives. When Prim, age 12, has her name called, Katniss exchanges herself without hesitation to compete alongside her schoolmate Peeta. To survive in this game you need to win the heart of your audience, and so District 12's trainers come up with a plan. What would happen if Peeta and Katniss were in love with one another? Would the Capitol audience sympathize? But in a game where only one person can live, Katniss will have to use all her brains, and instincts to determine who to trust and how to outsmart the game's creators.

I Like

Katniss. Oh, Katniss. Ms. Collins created her perfectly! She was strong and stubborn, but not a total tomboy. Cold and calculating, and yet likable, even lovable.

The love triangle was awesome. I mean, Ms. Collins is a genius. If you browse around some forums, you can find that most people are more Gale fans then Peeta. We had about 20 pages with Gale, and most of the book with Peeta. And yet...

Also; some people are protesting, saying that “The Hunger Games” is just a different version of “Battle Royale”. To those people, I refer you to this quote:
“Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.” ~ T.S. Eliot

I Don't Like

Most of the other contestants don't say any more than variations of, “I'm going to kill you now.” I know this can't really be helped, or it doesn't matter, but 2D characters are kinda my pet peeve, no matter how small a role they play.
And also, kids murdering each other in general. I didn't think about it until I finished the book. But as I sat there, with thoughts of the characters swirling around in my head, as they always do, I realized: that was pretty effed up! In a good way, but still.

Oh, and if you know any HTML, I've left a link for you... [ctrl+f "you found it"] ;)


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