The Hunger Games
is one of those books that everyone was reading, but I wasn't that interested in. It wasn't that I thought it would be bad, but I just didn't think it would be my cup of tea. Finally after a few friends suggested that I read the book, I gave in. It's easier to say no when cyber friends tell you to read a book, but when real people go on about it to you constantly then you feel obligated to read it. And thank God I did, because I am a huge Hunger Games fanatic now.
The book actually started a little slow for me, but I only know this now because I wrote it in my reading journal. By the end of the book I was scrambling so fast to get to the end I could barely breathe. I love Katniss. She is one tough bitch and she seems so real. The approaches her problems in a very realistic way, which makes the strangeness of the book easier to understand. Katniss lives in District 12, the final district. District 1 is rich and makes electronics, District 12 is known for coal mining. Every year a boy and a girl are chosen from each district to participate in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are a competition to survive. It's like Survivor (which I hated) except that people actually die and that is the whole point of the game. You have to be the last one to survive. This is a spoiler, I guess, but I'm sure you've figured out that Katniss is chosen to be in the Hunger Games.
Katniss is responsible for many people. She takes care of her mother and younger sister, taking the place of her deceased father as the breadwinner. She hunts with her best friend and possible love interest Gale, who is also responsible for supporting his family. When Katniss is faced with the Hunger Games her number one fear is not dying, but how her absence will change her family. Katniss is strong, but she is also headstrong and a little impatient.
I thought the writing was exceptional for a young adult book. There were a few clumsy phrases that I stumbled over, but the story was so consuming I just got back up and kept reading. Usually I'm a lot harder on "bad" writing, but I honestly don't think Suzanne Collins is a bad writer. I kind of blame her editor for not doing a better job cleaning this book up. As for the subject matter, I think it's a very adult book. I probably would have enjoyed it as a teenager but I think I would have been significantly more bothered by it.
This book earned an A. My advice: Go read this book, but make sure you have Catching Fire handy for when you finish it!
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