Review Detail

My Thoughts: (Please stand back for an inarticulate gush-fest.)

Um, wow. First of all, why did I wait so long to read this?! And second, WHY DID NO ONE FORCE ME TO READ IT SOONER?!

I was absolutely stunned by this novel. Whats weird is that this story was exactly what I was expecting, yet not what I was expecting at all. Does that make sense? I knew it was dystopian, so I was prepared for the post-apocalyptic state of the world, or Panem to be exact. I knew there was a love triangle, but what a nice twist! And I knew there would be action. Thats where I was a bit wary. Im not huge on books that center around this one piece of action for the whole story. I am raising my white flag and surrendering. If this is the type of action I have been missing, my heart just broke.

Suzanne has created the world, or the districts, of Panem so that they crawl off the page with this desolate, clawing motion that just grabs a hold of your heart and doesnt let go. At least, thats what it felt like. I had this huge bout of sympathy for the citizens of District 12, namely Katniss, Prim, and Gale. However, as paragraphs passed, my sympathy turned to fierce encouragement. I was reminded how strong they were, how resourceful. Few books have caused me to have this strong of an emotion, let alone an emotion spurred by a setting.

Once in the Arena, my heart turned wholly to the characters. Katniss is a strong, stubborn, sometimes stupid girl, and by far one of favorite female characters in the YA world. Im seeing an upswing in strong girls as main characters and it absolutely makes my heart sing. Peeta. Oh Peeta. I love him, I hated him, I loved him again. He balanced Katniss perfectly. The other players in the Games were perfect as well. They had just enough back story for me to know whether I should hate them or love them. There was no unnecessary information, and nothing lacking either.

The Verdict: On my shelf of favorites, thats for sure. No book has tugged at my heart strings, made me scream, made me cry, or made me laugh asThe Hunger Games did.