In honor of The Hunger Games Movie opening tonight, I'm posting my review of The Hunger Games from August of last year. I really enjoyed this book an I'm really excited for the movie! Some members of my bookclub and myself will be checking this movie out tomorrow night. Are you excited? Will you be seeing The Hunger Games this weekend?
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Release Date: October 31, 2008
Format: Kindle
Pages: 368
Source: Download Destination
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Review Date: August 22, 2011
Rating: 5 bookmarks
Wow. This book was crazy, but in a good way. Before I started this book I read some of the older reviews, and they made me really nervous to read this. I could see that people in general, either loved it or hated it. It seems like the majority loves it, but there is a very loud group that hate it. Personally, I really enjoyed it. The book was a quick read and was pretty entertaining. It was like an action packed adventure, only in the most horrible circumstances. I can understand why a movie studio would snatch this up. It would make a good movie if done right.
The Hunger Games came about as a way that the Capitol (aka the government) maintained control over the Twelve districts left in what used to be called North America. In The Hunger Games, the players are drawn in each of the twelve districts, both a boy and a girl are drawn.
I really liked the strong female protagonist, Katniss. She's brave, she's smart, she's about taking care of business and most importantly, she's about wining the Hunger Games. She and her counterpart from District 12 (Peeta) were fun to read about. I liked the growing friendship between them. It was cute how Peeta had puppy love for Katniss since he first saw her. It's taking Katniss a while to catch up to that, she had some type of friendly feelings toward him, but not at that level. They were thrown together in a situation that would bond two people, which obviously made her feelings for Peeta grow, I can understand how Katniss would be confused by her feeling for him, coupled with unsure feelings about her longtime friend and hunting partner Gale, who was back home.
The fact that these games are live on television takes the cake. The things the players do to get face time on air so that they are able to get gifts from the sponsors is a bit surreal. How Katniss and Peeta are instructed by their games "mentor" to play up to the audience and make it seem like they are in love, its a bit comical, but it gets the job done. :-) A kiss here, a longing stare there and poof, you get a gift floating down from the sky from your mentor (whom is working to get sponsors on your behalf). Now, these gifts are necessary, they need them to survive out in the wilderness. The gifts could be anything; water, food, medicine, whatever they may need at a particular time.
I can see how some readers could have a negative reaction to some of the things going on in the book. But looking at it from a very simplistic, in an "it is what it is" kind of way, this book was good. Very good. It may have some things that rub people the wrong way, but it's a fictional story and I personally will not nitpick it to death citing what's wrong with society as a whole, what's wrong with the government, etc...I read for fun and this book is fiction, end of story.
Bottom line, this book is great. I can't wait to start on the next installment of this trilogy.
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Release Date: October 31, 2008
Format: Kindle
Pages: 368
Source: Download Destination
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Review Date: August 22, 2011
Rating: 5 bookmarks
Wow. This book was crazy, but in a good way. Before I started this book I read some of the older reviews, and they made me really nervous to read this. I could see that people in general, either loved it or hated it. It seems like the majority loves it, but there is a very loud group that hate it. Personally, I really enjoyed it. The book was a quick read and was pretty entertaining. It was like an action packed adventure, only in the most horrible circumstances. I can understand why a movie studio would snatch this up. It would make a good movie if done right.
The Hunger Games came about as a way that the Capitol (aka the government) maintained control over the Twelve districts left in what used to be called North America. In The Hunger Games, the players are drawn in each of the twelve districts, both a boy and a girl are drawn.
I really liked the strong female protagonist, Katniss. She's brave, she's smart, she's about taking care of business and most importantly, she's about wining the Hunger Games. She and her counterpart from District 12 (Peeta) were fun to read about. I liked the growing friendship between them. It was cute how Peeta had puppy love for Katniss since he first saw her. It's taking Katniss a while to catch up to that, she had some type of friendly feelings toward him, but not at that level. They were thrown together in a situation that would bond two people, which obviously made her feelings for Peeta grow, I can understand how Katniss would be confused by her feeling for him, coupled with unsure feelings about her longtime friend and hunting partner Gale, who was back home.
The fact that these games are live on television takes the cake. The things the players do to get face time on air so that they are able to get gifts from the sponsors is a bit surreal. How Katniss and Peeta are instructed by their games "mentor" to play up to the audience and make it seem like they are in love, its a bit comical, but it gets the job done. :-) A kiss here, a longing stare there and poof, you get a gift floating down from the sky from your mentor (whom is working to get sponsors on your behalf). Now, these gifts are necessary, they need them to survive out in the wilderness. The gifts could be anything; water, food, medicine, whatever they may need at a particular time.
I can see how some readers could have a negative reaction to some of the things going on in the book. But looking at it from a very simplistic, in an "it is what it is" kind of way, this book was good. Very good. It may have some things that rub people the wrong way, but it's a fictional story and I personally will not nitpick it to death citing what's wrong with society as a whole, what's wrong with the government, etc...I read for fun and this book is fiction, end of story.
Bottom line, this book is great. I can't wait to start on the next installment of this trilogy.
Get the paperback version here: The Hunger Games
