“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
Book Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Length: 384 pages
Genres: Dystopian, YA, Fiction, Science fiction, Adventure/Thriller, Romance
My Rating: 4.5/5
My Age Rating: 13+ (or 14+)
Content Notes: No sexual content, graphic violence and gore, emotional themes, suspense/fear, alcoholism, abuse, PTSD, mild language
“And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
Book Synopsis:
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .
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 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 weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
My Review:
I have always been scared to read the Hunger Games. Let me explain.
I watched the Hunger Games movies when I was 12, and being way too young and sensitive for that amount of violence and suspense, I was plagued with nightmares and a paranoia that followed me everywhere for months. I couldn’t go into our unfinished basement without feeling like a mutt was going to jump out and get me, and don’t even get me started on closing my eyes in the shower.
So I made a vow. I would NEVER watch the shows again, and swore off the books while I was at it.
I am now much older. And much braver. So I sat myself down in our unfinished, slightly creepy basement (where, unfortunately, our TV is located) and rewatched all the films. Four days later, I’ve had no nightmares, no paranoia, and I’ve even closed my eyes in the shower just to prove I could.
So, with my vow officially broken and my love for these films fully restored, I decided to read the books. And OMGosh, I LOVED them so, so, so much!!! I read the whole series in three days and had the biggest smile on my face the whole time. So here’s my review on the first book of this series.
This book introduces this world so well. The characters, the setting, and the challenges of this new story are written so beautifully that you easily catch on and never feel lost.
The writing style in this book is fantastic. It’s so easy to read, I absolutely blew through it. This book has a single POV, and the voice of the main character, Katniss, is one of my favourite POVs so far. She is spunky and strong willed. She isn’t perfect, in fact she is far from it, and she is constantly dealing with the act of doing the right thing even if it doesn’t benefit her.
This book deals with a lot of themes and life lessons. The moral dilemma of right and wrong is always at the center of it all, and it revolves around a world with extreme government corruption. I mean the point of the book is that she has been picked to go into a fight to the death that involves 24 children as punishment for past sins. So of course, this book is definitely one of the heavier books that I’ve read. It is full of graphic violence and gore, and many scenes are full of suspense and fear. There are emotional themes like grief, abuse and PTSD. As well as a character who is an alcoholic and is drunk for most of the book. One thing I did really like about this book is how there is only kissing, nothing more, and only a small amount of mild language. Taking all of this into account I would suggest this book for 13 to 14+, it fully depends on how sensitive you are to the violence and unjust themes featured in this book.
Overall this book is an AMAZING start to this series. It introduces this amazing, complex, dystopian world that is full of characters you can’t help but fall in love with, heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes and a romance subplot that will get you squealing.
Happy Reading,
Ava
Click this Link to read my review on the second book in The Hunger Games Series, Catching Fire
Click the Link to read my review on the third book in The Hunger Games Series, Mockingjay
Click this Link to buy this amazing (and terrifying) dystopian story
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