Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Year: 2008
Page: 384
Genre: Yound Adult; Dystopian
New to me author? Yes
Read this author again? Definitely Yes!!
Tearjerker? Yes to me...
Where did it take place? What once was the US
FTC Disclosure: I won a book give-away from Goodreads.com.
Summary (from amazon.com):
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.
First Sentence:
When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.
Why did I pick this book?
I entered for the book give-away on Goodreads as I thought the premise sounded interesting (haven't never read any dystopian books before). I won this back in 2008 I think (definitely BEFORE all the reviews on blogsphere!! I had never heard of it before). For some reason just never got around to reading it (okay I totally know why... I have a tendency to read the books I borrow from the library first, rather than from my own bookshelves, because I felt like I should, so others can enjoy the books from the library too... so yeah, I hardly ever read the books I buy!) Since I hadn't had a chance to go to the library after I got back from my trip (returned all my books before I left), I thought I should pick something from my shelves. I hadn't read for 3.5 weeks, so I definitely wanted to pick something that'd motivate me to read again (I was tired from the trip). This book had such great reviews everywhere, so it fit the bill. And boy, don't I miss reading once I start reading this book! I stayed up late one night just to finish it even though I still had jet lag.
My thoughts:
- My first thought after finishing this book - this should be made into a movie! Surely enough, google tells me that someone has bought the rights to it :) It'd be fun to cast the movie! Although I don't know enough young actors/actresses (definitely don't want anyone playing lead roles from Twilight movies... I haven't watched them, and have nothing against them, but the 2 books are different enough that they should be played by different people!) What do you think - who should star in the movie? This could be fun :)
- My second thought is - why isn't this book more popular than Twilight? I thought Twilight was just okay (maybe a 3 stars from me) - I can see why Twilight was popular but this book offers so much more - the characters are well developed (though I have to say some of the 24 contestants were a little lost on me, though to the author's credit she didn't try to give details to all of them and just focused on the main ones), the plot was exciting (perhaps not the right word... I mean, with people dying and all...), and the relationships between the characters were believable even though this is set in the future. I just love all the characters, even the bad guys :)
- I can identify with Katniss, though I have a soft spot for Rue for some reasons :)
- Now, Team-G or Team-P? I think I may have to wait till I read Book 2 before I can decide because I don't think it's fair to choose right now (leaning towards G a little...) I can't wait to read Book 2 (and 3!)
- Why not 5 stars? Well, I don't know if I'd re-read this one (I hardly re-read books) and it hasn't really "changed my life". So it's more like a 4.25 for me - however, since I can only choose between 4 and 4.5, I'll bump it up to 4.5 only because I like it better than the other 4-stars book I gave so far.
Quote:
"Katniss," I said aloud. It's the plant I was named for. And I heard my father's voice joking, "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve."
Rating:
Have you read this book?
If you have, I would love to hear what you think!
I'll link your review here if you wish!
Challenges:
100+ Reading
Read Your Own Books
Young Adult
Posts
Great review. I ADORE this one. I can't wait for the film.
ReplyDeleteI was leaning on Team-G until book two. Now I'm leaning on Team-P.
great review. I really loved this book and thought Catching fire was a good middle book. I'm looking forward to the final book in the series.
ReplyDeleteI've also wondered why this is not more popular than twilight!
I am a late one to this also, I think I am going to read it soon though, I stayed away due to the hype but i'm getting more excited now. And many of you are discussing the Teams, I want in.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I can't see Twilight and The Hunger Games having the same fans (shrugging my shoulders) I didn't read Twilight, I watched the 1st movie and not interested.
@Juju - Ha, now I can't wait to read Book 2 to see if I change my mind about P or G!
ReplyDelete@Serena - I hope the series ends well! I am thinking Twiligh's success could just be due to being at the "right place right time"...
@MarceJ - I wish I had read this sooner, before all the hype, so I can say I discover this author lol :) But at least it leaves up to the hype! You are probably right that the target audience is probably different to that of Twilight... I can see why Twilight is popular with teens, but it seems like a lot of older/non-teen females love the Twilight series too and that's what I don't quite get... I don't find Edward that attractive... Haven't watched the movie and probably won't...