The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)

Reader reviewed by nova

Wow! It's unusual for a book to have as well-developed a protagonist as Katniss and still maintain an edge-of-your-seat, suspense-filled plotline. The Hunger Games delivers. All of the accolades and attention this book has received are merited-- I've seen fan sites where readers propose their own casting for the movie. It's great to see people so worked up over books! Twilight readers, science fiction fans, everyone should enjoy this book.

Reader reviewed by inconceivably

I just re-read this in anticipation of the sequel coming out in a couple of weeks. Its the first book I've actually re-read since joining GR about a year or so ago...which is about the highest praise I can give it. I love it, it is *almost* as addicting the second time around, even knowing how it ends.

It is one of the few books that actually lives up to ALL the hype heaped on it, in a sick way its just as addicting as the actual Hunger Games probably would be if they were real. Its brutal, sometimes sad, but you just can't look away

Reader reviewed by Carly

If you have not yet read this book....go and buy it NOW!! This is easily one of the best books I have ever read and I don't say that about any book. It keeps you captivated and riveted until the very last words. It is a mix between adventure and just enough romance. This book will have you flipping pages faster than you ever have before.

Reader reviewed by GBC

Probably one of the most exciting YA books in  long time...The Hunger Games provides excitement with every page!  In a future world, the Capital keeps its control over the 12 districts by holding the annual Hunger Games.  By random drawing, Katniss is forced to participate in a barbaric competition where she will need to fight, to the death, other teens.  During the battles, Katniss befriends Peeta and the two try to find a way to make it out alive--together.

Reader reviewed by kileyrue

i liked this book because for once there's a strong, smart girl who's the main character of the book. its also interesting because of the picture it paints of a world where you have to hunt for your daily food and there are no longer the "comforts" of home that we live with every day now.  I can't wait to read the second in the series

Reader reviewed by Rachelle

If you haven't read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, get on it!  It is by the far the best YA series in a long time.  There is enough of a romance to keep anyone hooked, but it's not the main plot of the story.  Survival, family ties, bravery, and maybe a little love are all thrown in to make a wonderful, fast moving read that you can't put down!

Reader reviewed by Penultimate Page

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.

Reader reviewed by Kaitlyn

Hunger Games is a book set in a dystopian, futuristic world. Katniss Everdeen lives in this world, but wishes she didn't. She lives in one of the poorest districts of this world, and she has to illegally hunt just for her family to survive. People die of starvation around her everyday. Their world is covered in coal dust. To make things worse, once a year this poor district of the world must send both a boy and a girl to participate in an all-out death match between the various districts. Only one will survive. When Katniss's tiny 12 year old sister is chosen to participate, Katniss volunteers in her stead.

The premise seems awfully similar to Battle Royale, but I have read both books, and I liked Hunger Games more and thought the two were astoundingly different. The Hunger Games had an astoundingly well-developed setting. You could almost feel the coal dust on your skin as you read the book. You find yourself hating the government just as much as the characters do. Speaking of the characters, I loved them. They are three dimensional, likable, (or hatable, if need be,) and you can really understand their motives and personalities.

This is one of my favorite books, and I would highly recommend it. I do have one warning, though. If you are going to buy this book, I'd buy the sequel, Catching Fire, as well. Because as soon as you are done with Hunger Games, you will be wanting Catching Fire, I guarantee it.

Reader reviewed by Misty (Book Rat)

Briefly: Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl fighting to survive in
District 12. She hunts illegally in the forests outside of the fence;
she does whatever it takes to keep her family alive. When Katniss'
little sister's name is drawn as one of the twenty-four tributes to go
into the Hunger Games-- a battle to the death, where only 1 of the 24
participants will live -- Katniss volunteers to go in her place and
learns what it really means to fight to survive.

If you haven't
heard of the fabulousness that is this book, I think you've been living
in a hole. It's hard to describe this book or review it without talking
in circles or giving something away, so I'm just going to do a quick
little review where I rave about its fantasticness.
We all know I'm a fan of dystopia, and this one is a prime example.
You
have the classic struggle: Katniss, and all of the other inhabitants of
the twelve Districts, are at the mercy of the ruthless Capitol, where
the yearly deaths of the tributes is entertainment.
You have the
humanist aspect: There are good people in the midst of this, on the
District side as well as the Capitol side, allowing you to gauge the
"wrongness" of this dystopian world.
You have the ?: a triangle no less, but if you haven't heard of Peeta and Gale...again, hole.
You
have the questions, the myriad 'why's that come with a great dystopian
novel, that make you discuss it with friends and coworkers, and let it
invade your brain and analyze yourself and what you hold true.

All of the factors of a great dystopia are there.

But
The Hunger Games is more than that. Katniss reads incredibly authentic;
I never felt like I was reading Suzanne Collins, it was always Katniss.
Collins keeps a great tone throughout, and makes Katniss likeable even
when she's being a bit bloodthirsty/obtuse/naive, etc.
There is
great gray area in the book, which I love. Every one seems so human and
flawed, and therefore it is sometimes painful and heartbreaking, but
always engaging and powerful.
The idea of the Hunger Games
themselves -- a Roman arena-style fight to the death, taken to the
extremes that modern and future technology make capable -- is
brilliant. The idea that the Hunger Games are not just entertainment
for the rich Capitol-ites, but are punitive measures taken against the
rest of the country (the Districts) for an unprising, is brilliant.
There is an ominous tone, and that fantastic eerie psychological
quality that abusers use -- "you brought this on yourself" -- taken to
the extreme, as well as the fact that the Districts are essentially
having to send off their children to fight to the death, while they are forced to watch it on TV -- disturbingly brilliant!

If you haven't read it, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???

Reader reviewed by Katie

Let me just start with saying that I think this book was awesome. It's set in the future but it feels like it's happening right when you read it - and you are in it as a third-party observer. Katniss and Peeta [and everyone else] will steal your heart. Katniss knows what she wants and is not afraid to try and get it. Usually, with stories with even a touch of romance in them, the protagonist loses their way at least once. She doesn't - although she does waver a bit sometimes. Katniss is the kind of person you would much rather have as a friend than an enemy. That doesn't mean she's not wonderful, though. Fans of Graceling and Fire should read this book.