Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publishing Date: October 1rst, 2008
ISBN: 9780439023481
Pages: 374 pages

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary from GoodReads:
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

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.

My Review:
Well, I think I may have been the last person on earth who hadn't read these books but now I can check that off my list. I am not usually one to read books while there is a huge hype about them. I wait for a while for the hype to die down. I just find that I am sometimes disappointed by a book if there is a too much hype; I find myself setting my expectations way too high. That being said, the hype with this book is right on. It is an amazing book about a girl, Katniss, who is forced into an arena where she has to kill 23 other children/teens for the amusement of her government. I have to admit that I am partial to dystopian novels and this one really hit the mark. It is years after our society has been practically wiped off the map and what is left of the US has been divided into 13 districts. The 13th district rebelled against the Capitol and as a result it has been wiped off the map. To remind citizens that the Capitol is in charge they designed The Hunger Games, a game in which one boy and one girl from each district is put in an arena and forced to kill eachother. The last man/woman left standing is the victor. This book reminded me a bit of the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell which is essentially about someone who likes to hunt human beings in the jungle.

From the moment the book began, I fell in love with Katniss. She was just so naive and had a great sense of responsibility towards her family and friends. Throughout the entire novel she is oblivious to the fact that both Gale and Peeta are in love with her. She believes Peeta is playing the game and she has no idea how Gale feels for her. I have yet to decide which team I'm on for this one. They both have so many amazing qualities but at times I wonder if she would be happier on her own. She is just a strong character and she has mentioned a few times that she doesn't want to be married in the future. I love that while she was forced into this killing game she kept her sense of integrity and all her kills were in self-defense. She never went hunting for people in hopes of killing them. The novel is touches your heart and there are a few parts where I found myself close to tears. I don't want to give too much away in case you haven't read it.

Collins is a fabulous writer and I loved the concept for this book. I have already finished Catching Fire (I'll post a review tomorrow) and I am currently reading Mockingjay. I haven't been able to devour these books fast enough. I would definitely recommend reading these books if you haven't already. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.