Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Now let me start this off by saying that I can  be a very stubborn sort of person. I was pretty much damned and determined to not read this book. The summary of the book just didn't appeal to me - and needless to say, seeing it posted all over my Tumblr on a daily basis might have played a small part in my defiance. I wasn't going to read it! No one could make me! I didn't care if one of my best friends kept telling me that it was good - wasn't having it!

But per the norm, I finally gave in. I blame my coworker as she came to work raving about how wonderful it was. What made her different from my best friend you ask? Well, it's simple - my coworker does not read very often. Especially not a whole book in a matter of a day. She even said that her husband buying her a Kindle Fire was a bit pointless as she didn't read that much.

That sealed the deal. And boy, am I glad it did.

Now I will admit, this book starts off slow. Like "I'm about to bang my head against the nearest wall if something doesn't pick up soon" slow. And I almost put it down a few times as I can't handle a storyline that drags. But that just wasn't me - I rarely just stop reading a book all together no matter how bad it gets. Come on, I made it through the Twilight series - I can make it through anything.

So a little on the book: "The Hunger Games" takes place in a post-apocalyptic world name Panem, which used to be America. Panem is divided into The Capitol, which houses what you would call the government and the richest, most flamboyant people I've ever had the pleasure of reading about, and 12 districts. Each district has their own specialty - there's one for machinery, one for agriculture, one for mining etc. We, of course, start off in District 12.

The heroine of the story is Katniss Everdeen. Yeah, I know - what a name. But it grows on you after a while. I have a feeling 2012's top baby names will include Katniss now. But I digress. Katniss lives in District 12 with her mother and sister Primrose (or Prim for short). Her father was killed in a mining accident along with the father of her best friend Gale (who is indeed male).

I'll admit I liked Katniss right away. I could tell she was a strong girl. She didn't let the dreariness of District 12's poverty get to her. She was self-sufficient, having taken on the responsibility of providing food for her family. She was resourceful, sneaking into the forest to hunt illegally and never getting caught. She was loyal, working alongside Gale to feed both of their families. Katniss, in my opinion, was a true heroine even before the Hunger Games occurred.

Now every year, the Capitol held what was called the reaping - creepy, right? The names of the children who are between the ages of 12 and 18 are put into a drawing only once unless they request more chances. Two names are drawn from each district, a male and a female. These children are known as the "tributes" who will represent their district in the annual Hunger Games. So in total, there are 24 tributes participating in this bloodbath.

I don't want to give away the entire book so I'll just take it from here.

Part One of the book almost drove me mad. It dragged it's butt across the carpet of the library. I was so aggravated after a few chapters due to the rambling nature of the storyline. I didn't understand why it was necessary to detail out every little dish of food they ate - we get it, you lived in poverty and didn't have a lot of food. But any more of this and I'll be thinking that it was called The Hunger Games for a completely different reason. And the really bad part? The food they described sounded horribly gross.

Moving on, though - I'm rather glad I didn't put this book down (or throw it at the wall, tempting as that may have been) because once I got to Part Two, which is the actual 74th Annual Hunger Games, I couldn't put it down.

I will say that if you are a person who can't read gory details, this may not be the book for you as the deaths some of the tributes succumbed to were a bit gruesome if, like me, you have an overactive imagination and visualized them. But all in all, it was well-written. It kept me captivated for the rest of the book. And I can proudly say that despite my slow start, I finished the book within 24 hours.

Katniss Everdeen stole my heart - even with her flaws - when she gave Rue (the female tribute from District 11 and Kat's ally) her final send off. And her final move in the Hunger Games was what really got me. I saw it as a selfless act. Sadly, those in the book around her did not. But that's another review.

All I can say is that if you read this book, have the second one close at hand as you will be dying to continue the story once you close the book. Thankfully I was able to purchase and download the book from Amazon.com instantly to continue my journey alongside Katniss and Peeta.

My rating? 4 stars. It would have been 5 had that first part not almost killed me.

...and I still haven't admitted to my coworker that she was right. Let's just keep it our little secret for now.