The Hunger Games

I enjoyed The Hunger Games quite a bit, and definitely recommend it for a quick read. The writing is fairly utilitarian, but builds the suspense very well. The story is the real feather in the Hunger Games' cap. It deals with some heavy themes and concepts, but avoids getting too bogged down or intense, which older readers might find lacking, but seems perfectly reasonable to me for the intended audience.

Ultimately, I felt that the film handled some of these ideas in a more sophisticated way, but that's not to take anything away from the source material. A swift, enjoyable, and exciting read. Two thumbs up.

Happy to note how well this novel holds up as a re-read. Katniss' journey is as compelling as ever, and if possible, even more emotionally intense since I know what is to come. I love this series, with its cast of rag tag characters, and can't wait to read it to my own kids.

Did not live up to the hype.

Hoped for more, thought this could have been better. 2.5 stars. Character development was a little light, cold have been better. Nothing that really surprised me.
Read this because someone else told me they read that this appealed to adults as well as the younger audience. I felt it was more suitable for younger, not so much adults.

I started reading this book because of all the hype because of the movie opening. It seemed like it would be right up my alley as far as a story-line, and it was. You can tell that this book was characterized as a YA book but it was still entertaining. More substance than the other hyped books...Twilight and I enjoyed it. Loved the strong female character and the the afterthoughts that come up after thinking about if this world could ever develop in ours. There was something to think about afterwards, which is always a good thing.

Goodreads Says: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.

I have to admit that I jumped on the band wagon because I love it when books are made into movies. More often than not the book is better than the movie because of the details lost in trying to keep the movie to two hours or so. However, there are times when all the stars are aligned and the movie is equally good if not better than the book. Making books into movies is also and honor and secretly you always hope that the viewer will become a reader of the book/series. SOOO I was rooting for the movie and the series having not yet read the series yet with all the intentions in the world of reading the series prior to the movie coming out. Mission accomplished. :-)

With that said I was a little disappointed because I just wasn't understanding all of the hype with this first book. Mind you, I turned my son and niece onto the series and they were RAVING about this first book. I kept telling them “Guys, I don't yet get the big deal”. I felt that the beginning was slow. I had a hard time understanding/believing this wonderful relationship that developed between Katniss and Cinna. I didn't think they spent enough time with one another to develop this closeness out of all the people who surrounded her.

I think everything was simply written and eventually its simplicity is what won me over. I started to like the book when the games began. The author's ability to describe the feelings that Katniss felt as a tribute, the anxiety, the hunger, the panic, the desperate agonizing need to survive was amazing. You honestly felt all those feelings right along with Katniss and it was so clear. One of my pet peeves is when an author over explains scenes or gives to many details during battle scenes and ends up making a jumbled mess of it. Suzanne Collins definitely did not have this problem. I was a goner when Katniss teamed up with Rue. Katniss had been a bit a standoffish until then and she really was tender with Rue. So yeah going back to being a goner with the Katniss/Rue alliance... I cried like a baby and could not stop. That entire scene in the book was just incredible on so many levels. I could literally hear the song being sung and had already identified the melody and everything...I guess that's the singer in me.

By the end of The Hunger Games I was definitely a happier person in that I confidently could say I liked the book obviously with reservations but I could honestly say I did. In the end what won me over was the realness I felt in the third part of the book. What won me over was that this author was able to make me FEEL.

One other thing I want to mention is that the author did a great job with character development. Each and every character was consistent in their behavior. You could expect them to do or say what they did or said without thinking that was out of character. I don't mean that they were predictable because this is not the case but more that they were who they were, no questions. Another positive-Growth! Loved reading how some of these characters stepped up. :-)

I definitely think this is a book people should read. It can be gory/violent but think of the plot and what these children have been forced to do. It's meant to be violent. This book is meant to shock the reader. It forces you to contemplate a world not too far off if we don't change some of the things happening present day.

Look, the writing style is not of the highest quality or anything - the comma splices alone are sometimes incredibly distracting - but it is still so compelling! Even knowing everything that was going to happen, I couldn't stop reading.

However, I still hate hate hate hate the “girl torn between two love interests” trope that dominated YA fiction of this era. I didn't particularly care for it even when I was the target audience, so I definitely don't care for it now. Even so, I will give this 3.5 odds in your favor out of 5, rounded up.

I was compelled to read this, the same way I was compelled to read Twilight. It was a page turner, but the writing was not great and the foreshadowing made me gag. (Don't think I'm a snobby adult, I even disliked YA fiction when I was a YA) Everyone I know loved this book. I didn't love it, but parts were good. Some characters were memorable, but few were really interesting. I think the drunk guy was the best.

When I first read Hunger Games, I quite enjoyed it. After having let it settle in my mind however, I found that my thoughts turned to disappointment when I thought about the story. The characters were unbelievable really, the world too brutal and ridiculous to really come off as believable either. The main girl's complete obliviousness to the love interest part of the story was ridiculous. And the final straw of the incredibly stupid mutant dog monsters at the end of the games ... Well, I opted not to continue with the series. Thankfully it took only a couple hours to read, as I won't be getting that time back!

This book seems to be hit or miss. You will either love it, or loath it.

Set in the future of North America (it never specifies if what is now Canada or Mexico are part of Panem), the government rules with terror. Each district (12 left as of this book) sends one teenage boy and one teenage girl to fight in an arena for the glory of their district.

Good if a bit amateurish. I guess you keep expecting the participants to hit back at the system but never happens. Somehow this book appears to be stuck between young adult and adult fiction. Quick and racy read reminding me of a toned down slower version of Matthew Reilly's Contest.

There are 12 districts in Panem. Each year, each district sacrifices two of their own to the Capitol to partake in the Hunger Games, a brutal fight to the death that is broadcast for the entertainment of the masses, and as a reminder of the power of the Capitol over their lives and their future.

If you've read enough science fiction and fantasy, it's impossible to ignore that there are a lot of elements of Hunger Games that you've seen before - the Games recall the Bachman novels The Long Walk and The Running Man, and poverty of the Districts is reminiscent in some ways of Soylent Green, and the concepts of the Tributes reminded me of Theseus and the Minotaur. And if there are no overly-clever English majors out there comparing Katniss to the goddess AthenaArtemis, well, I'll eat my hat.

The whole, though, is equal to if not more than the sum of its parts. Hunger Games is a powerful statement about how youth is fetishized, and how adult society demands the sacrifice of youth for its entertainment - in music, in sport, in all aspects of celebrity and media. Add in some strong characterization, well-scripted action scenes, and deft, subtle world-building, and you've got an excellent piece of literature.

In a post-apocalyptic world, one group of people who live in the decadent Capitol rule over the rest of humanity, who are consigned to 12 impoverished districts that supply resources to the Capitol. Every year, two teen “tributes” from each district are sent to the Capitol to compete in a gladiatorial spectacle to the death–and the winner earns food for their district for the year. District 12's tributes, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark must overcome the odds of professionally trained “Career” tributes out for blood and the treacherous political climate of the Capitol in order to avoid death. Collins' ability to build a desperate and yet believable world through specific sensory details and believable characters makes for a fast-paced yet thought-provoking book. Highly recommended for both male and female teens, although I might recommend it for middle grade on a case-by-case basis due to violent content and gore.

I don't get the hype surrounding this book. It was an enjoyable read and certainly very quick, but what is the great appeal? Why is everyone giving it 5 stars? Did I miss something?

The Hunger Games is an interesting story from a first person present point-of-view of Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl from a coal-mining district. Katniss is established as a tough, Bear Grylls kind of girl with a fierce loyalty to her little sister and bottomless distrust of her unstable mother. There are moments when Katniss is inconsistent and waivers, but overall the story uneasily stands on its own two feet. The first third of the book could have been half as long but establishes the supporting cast fairly well. The garbled shreds of quasi-relationship between Gale and Katniss was weak sauce at best and could have been easily cut without altering the rest of the book. Somehow, the dynamic between Katniss and Peeta doesn't become too contrived or mushy for too long. Clearly, the strongest part of the book, the meat of the story, are the games themselves, although this book fights hard not to disintegrate into unrecoverable teen drama. I hope the next installment will be lighter on the repetitive lists of foodstuffs and dinner scenes, when the most important conversations during the Games happen away from the table. My love for Koushun Takami's Battle Royale will keep me invested in Katniss' struggle against The Capitol in hopes that the story will continue to claw itself farther away from young adult and into something more.

it was oke , i know i'm in the minority but it did not Wow me/ still exited 2 read the sequel tho
and can't wait 4themovie

Such a great read! The last few chapters had my heart pounding and I couldn't sit still. I had to read while pacing XD I think I'm gonna wait a bit before jumping into Catching Fire. Just to give myself a little break :D

There was a few points the book can be considered slow but I liked the development of the characters in these parts and I thought had perfect pacing. I was a little shocked by the ending. Doesn't seem there is much to go on to get to the next book. I would have never thought to make this a three book series on so little. It may be enough to peak my curiosity and read the next book to see where the author and characters go from here.
I believe Katniss' blindness about Peeta and Gale. Before The Hunger Games she was a 16 year old with a lot of responsibility than most and is more focus on feeding her family so they don't starve.
The writing could have been better but the storyline wins out.

Why did I finish this book? First person present tense takes skill.

O.M.G. I think I held my breath the entire second half. Will definitely need a second (or third) reading.

Another book series that I could not put down.

This book is my new Harry Potter. Ok not really but I loved the story and Miss Katniss Everdeen. I can't wait to read Catching Fire.

In a dystopian future where the United States has collapsed and brutal regime has taken its place, young Katniss must participate in the Hunger Games. The games are a yearly spectacle, a televised fight to the death between 24 teenagers selected by lot. Think Gladiators + American Idol + Survivor. Katniss was forced to volunteer for the games in order to save her younger sister. It is basically a death sentence. This story is sad, violent, at times touching, at times even a bit humorous (in a ghoulish way), and often terrifying. I will have to read the entire series.

(One minor quibble with way the story is presented: From the description of the geography, the districts of the new country, Panem, are obviously the size of medium to large states or smallish countries. So why were both of the 12th District participants selected from just Katniss's home town. In fact, I got the feeling that the district consisted of just one town and surrounding lands. An artifact of viewpoint perhaps? Slightly annoying, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story.)

In the book The Hunger Games, is about a young girl named Katniss or Kat some people called her. She grew up in a world run by a place called The Capitol. In the country it is split up into 12 Districts and Kat lives in the last one, District 12. All she has ever known is life in District 12, till one day she volunteers herself for The Games. There on out, her life is on the line, the question is, will she survive or will she meet death before she comes back home?

I simple LOVED this book. It ends with a cliffhanger and that is why so many others end up reading the sequel, Catching Fire, of the book series.

I simple loved the dynamic Katniss has with the characters throughout the book. Her true colors and humanity shows when she is hanging around the character Rue and Peeta. What surprised me was the love-triangle. Susan Collins woven this story arc so perfectly and leaves you wondering who she will choose in the end.

What kept me reading the book was that some parts I could relate to Katniss in some ways, which I'e always found to be what a good writer has in making their books so popular (i.e. - J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyers).

I would recommend this book to both genders of reading. The women will love this book for the powerful image Katniss represents and the love triangles. For the men, it is the action and suspense that keeps you reading it till the end.

What truly struck me was thatStephen King himself loved this book! That right there is compelling enough to make anyone wonder, “why?” and set forth a reading journey.

in conclusion, the book overall was amazing. Susan Collins has written a world of fantasy that is beautifully stunning.

Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale, IMO.

This was a quick read with a fair bit of laziness on the author's part. The parachutes dropping from the sky were a little bit too much for me, for example.