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

Title: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic

Publishing Date: October 2008

Length: 374 pages

Genre: YA, fantasy 

5/5 ***** The Hunger Games- a fast-paced, action-packed novel that doesn’t let you catch your breath for a single second. Go out get it and get ready to play, this is a must read! 

  

~ The Author ~

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In

New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles.

Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.
She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

The books she is most successful for in teenage eyes are the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books have won several awards, including the GA Peach Award.

Author profile by Goodreads 

For further information check out http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/

~ The Novel ~

The Hunger Games, released October 2008, is the first novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. Followed by Catching Fire in September 2009 and Mockingjay in September 2010, this series became a huge bestseller.

~ The Story ~

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel 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, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, 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 will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Summary by Goodreads 

~ The Review ~

The story is told from Katniss’ point of view who has lived through many losses and deprivations, always knowing about the omnipresent danger of death. Her clear line of thoughts and rational analysis of situations are combined with flashbacks and personal memories. When it comes to the ones she loves, Katniss can’t but fight what makes her the touch heroine we always wanted to read about. She is a very likeable protagonist because she is wild, loyal and true to her heart.

Our male protagonist Peeta, a quiet and inconspicuous character in the beginning, grows to new strengths in the arena.

It is Katniss’ physical strength and her rational analysis and Peeta’s empathy and big heart that make them a perfect team. I really enjoyed reading about Katniss and Peeta growing into a team while the other districts mostly fighting on their own, never trusting anyone. We are bound to district twelve, the home of our protagonists Peeta and Katniss and although we like them so much together, we already know there will only be one winner. One would think there is not a single second to give love room in an arena of death, but what would you say if allowing love and emotions was the only way to survive?

The idea of a world that is dominated by a small group of superiors, playing with the life of humans so easily is unbelievably cruel and abhorrent. Suzanne Collins created a dystopian novel that doesn’t let you rest till the last page is turned, like you were in a race to win the Hunger Games yourself, never able to stop.

Despite its cruelty the Hunger Games appear as a fantastic idea and major element to produce a new kind of YA novel.

The thrill of the enemies getting closer, never knowing their exact position, always hiding, fighting supernatural powers and feeling the need to survive that must run through our protagonist, seems to be passed on to me and  I couldn’t wait to know what happens next.

The Hunger Games is told from a first person narrator and is written in present tense. I usually prefer stories written in past tense, but for The Hunger Games present tense works perfectly.  The applied present tense expresses the unstoppability of current events. Like Katniss herself, I never knew what to expect next. A fight of life or death is best told from the present tense, the moment it’s happening to realize its significance and danger at the same time.

So beside the overall more than thrilling storyline, this element of writing style contributes to establishing a highly successful novel.

24 tributes, 12 districts, 2 lovers and only 1 victor. In a fight of life or death, there is no way to slow down. The Hunger Games had me up all night.

~ We love this book because… ~

1) of a friend and a gift in form of a small golden pin

2) it is like a big game itself, a game as exciting and adventurous as no other before it

3) of the valiant behaviour of a young girl

4) a single song can shut out the loudest sounds of war

5) we are fans of berries 

~ The Verdict ~

Everybody enjoys a game with a good bet, so how could you resist a game as grand as The Hunger Games, a game with the most precious bet there could be- your life? Don’t hesitate and join Katniss and Peeta in their battle against death and human nature itself! Start reading The Hunger Games and feel the adrenaline rushing through your body in unit with this electrifying novel!