The Hunger Games

4.5 stars, still holds up in 2021.
This reading, I listened to the re-recording of the audiobook by Tatiana Maslany which was read beautifully. She did sigh a little too much on the beginning which was a little jarring and distracting, but overall the performance was fantastic.
I wanted to reread the series in preparation to read the prequel (which i just found out about!) and figured it's a good time to get my partner to read the books which meant a lot to me. Thankfully he agreed to listen along.
Suzanne is such a talented author and i think i only appreciate this book more after reading the overlander series for the first time last year and can recognise the similar themes and the ways she's grown her voice.
I'm so drawn in to the characters and world in this story and genuinely care so much about what happens to them, even feeling attached to the minor characters. generally, I'm not one for romance or mushy feelings but I'm so invested in the tangled up relationship between Katniss and Peeta and the complexity of her feelings and the heart break when he realises she doesn't necessarily feel the same way. It can so easily be played off as ‘poor boy getting cucked by bitchy girl' but i think Suzanne handles this very delicately and with subtlety that feels very genuine. Even though it's a dystopian YA, everything just feels so real.