The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 384 pagesthe end of the world II; young adult challenge
I was trying to write a little review of this page-turning, young adult dystopian novel, but I got distracted by Survivor because they just voted out Tyson! It was an awesome blindside! Although actually, there are some similarities between Survivor and The Hunger Games - trying to survive until the end, and documented on television. Unfortunately, in the book, it's real survival of young kids, two from each of twelve districts in a futuristic America fighting to the death. It's not pretty when it's described like that, but the story telling is excellent as is the writing, and the main character - Katniss, a young teen who has been keeping her small family alive, is a wonderful narrator. She is not perfect and she makes mistakes but she tries and she is smart. Haymitch, the mentor to the District Twelve candidates, was a particularly fun character.
The only bad part of the book was that is was To Be Continued at the end. I understand that this is a proposed trilogy. The main story finished up nicely as a stand alone book, but there are still relationships to explore and this future world to see. I don't usually find books at the beginning of their run, so it'll be a while until the next one is released, but I'll be looking forward to it.
Wasn't this just great!?! I can't wait for the 2nd one.
ReplyDeleteAnd, HA! to Tyson! I am so glad he was blindsided. That was the best thing ever. :)
I agree, Katniss is not perfect, which is what I liked about her. I could never be quite sure what she was going to do.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this! I already have it on my shelf and expect to get to it in the next couple of weeks.
ReplyDeletejoy - the only thing better than Tyson going is waiting for the inevitable Coach boot. Once I decided to think of him as a Kramer from Seinfeld character, I was able to stop throwing things at the TV when he was on.
ReplyDeletecharley - Katniss was a great character. I'm not sure if she'll make the sme type of great decisions once she's dealing with the romance in her life, but that's why there will be a few more books. Her intuition doesn't seem to work as well regarding the male characters.
joanna - enjoy the read! It will go quickly once you pick it up.
LOL
ReplyDeleteAlso, I laughed at your comment to Charley. "I'm not sure if she'll make the same type of great decisions once she's dealing with romance in her life..." That strikes me as hilarious. Hilarious in a true-nature-sorta-way. Maybe I'm just a tad giddy this morning - who knows? :)
I am usually not the biggest fan of dystopian stories, but I've heard so many good things about this one! I might cave and read it.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering - it sounds a lot like the Crete/Minotaur business. Is the book a retelling of that story, or is it just using the same sort of idea?
joy - her confusion over her partner's feelings leads me to think this. I think a giddy joy is kinda cute.;)
ReplyDeletejenny - After a wikipedia check on Crete/Minataur, I don't think so. It was more the Romans and the Gladiators, in that the contestants were the poor people from the provinces, and the rich people in the capital watched the proceedings for their amusement. The games were adjusted to make the viewing most entertaining for the audience.
I'm looking forward to reading The Hunger Games someday too.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that blindside completely wonderful? I liked Tyson, but to keep him around longer would have been silly. And Coach.... man-o-man I can NOT WAIT to see him leave, although he is entertaining, in sort of a watching-an-egotistical-habitual-liar way. His "warrior alliance" lectures drive me crazy. I'm taking a tip from you and will now think of him as Kramer.
I think the sequel to this is out in September if I remember my blog-reading correctly!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it yet because I am getting it from the library and the wait list is long...
I love dystopian novels and am kind of glad to know it's going to be continued because that gives me a good excuse to put off buying a copy, at least for now. As much as I'd love to read The Hunger Games, I'm working hard at not spending. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteAck. I can't believe I just read this post!! I have Survivor taped (I usually save it to watch with the girls!) Oh well...at least it makes me happy. Of course, I SWORE last week I wasn't going to watch any more because I literally want to damage my TV every time Coach is on. I haven't hated a contestant as much as him in ages!
ReplyDeleteI loved this book. I liked Katniss....she's a little dense, but a great character.
Sometimes I feel like I am the only person not reading this! Not a part of the cool-kids club...Ha! :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds great, but the whole 'series' aspect of it is really putting me off it now since the other two are not out. I am an idiot that way sometimes.
I'm soooo looking forward to reading this. As soon as I finish "Graceling" (another book about a powerful female character), I plan on devouring this. I can't wait! Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeletewww.whosabiblioaddict.com
That is good to know about the ending...I had this book checked out from the library but didn't have a chance to get to it. I won't rush out now as I'll be able to wait until the next one comes out too :)
ReplyDeletelori - the Kramer thing is the only thing that makes him bearable - a buffoon character. And I didn't mind Tyson that much, I think he was trying to be funny, but I have Stephen in a pool, and I like he and JT working together, so it was a good move for them.
ReplyDeletekailana - I don't usually buy hard cover books, but I have kids who will read it too, so I splurged. Also, my library didn't have it.
bookfool - I understand completely. I don't pay full for many books, especially hard cover.
stephanie - I am SO sorry I spoiled you for Survivor. It's just the editors made it look like Coach was going last week, and then they did the same for Tyson, so we were expecting it not to happen, just the editors playing with us, so that when it actually happened it was so exciting. Again, my apologies for being so excited and giving away the ending.
about Katniss - I expect the next book to become more teenage romance, mixed messages because of her denseness. Without the Games, it may be less dystopian. Hopefully not.
carl v - some books become viral and it seems everyone is reading it at the same time.
ReplyDeletejspeyton - hope you enjoy it and that it hasn't been built up too much.
samantha - I usually like finding a series after several books have been written, but the Harry Potter phenomenon made people anticipating books a whole event. Maybe the publishers are hoping for that again.
Yours is the second positive review of this book I've seen. One more and this book is going on my TBR (I usually wait for 3 good reviews, or else my TBR would be taller than Jack's Beanstalk)
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Survivor since the second season, but you're right! The Hunger Games is very much like the show, as it's a reality show broadcast to the entire country. I love the book (as did everyone in my book group) and can't wait for the next installment.
ReplyDeleteI just finished this book and loved it. I agree the to be continued was a little irking. Everything seems to be trilogy or series these days. But I guess why not if you can make the money of it.
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