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Published Dec. 1, 2018 by Scholastic Audio.
COULD YOU SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN, IN THE WILD, WITH EVERYONE OUT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LIVE TO SEE THE MORNING?
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, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, 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 …
COULD YOU SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN, IN THE WILD, WITH EVERYONE OUT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LIVE TO SEE THE MORNING?
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, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, 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 weight survival against humanity and life against love.
Yeah, I read it. And I liked it, for the most part. I'm not a big fan of present-tense writing, but it does give the story a quick pace. The character pissed me off with her inability to understand her own feelings, but it seems like that's the way the author wants it, so I suppose it's forgivable.
Incredibly well written and suspenseful from beginning to end. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy
Quiconque aura lu ou vu Battle Royale reconnaîtra une intrigue très proche entre les 2 livres : des ados balancés dans une zone de bataille où ils devront s’entretuer par tous les moyens possibles jusqu’à ce qu’il ne reste qu’un seul survivant. Le tout étant filmé façon téléréalité, dans une société dictatoriale où chaque individu est obligé de regarder et de suivre assidument The Hunger Games. Bref, cette trilogie étant destinée à la jeunesse, on pourra être déçu par le réalisme édulcoré de la chose, car Battle Royale ne nous épargnait pas grand-chose. Passé cet éventuel a priori, on peut (ou pas) profiter du premier volume de la trilogie. Des ados donc, qui en bavent dans leur district, qui luttent pour survivre. Katniss, notre jeune et intrépide héroïne, nous narre son histoire au présent et se révèle une jeune fille responsable, aimante, mais habituée à garder ses émotions et ses …
Quiconque aura lu ou vu Battle Royale reconnaîtra une intrigue très proche entre les 2 livres : des ados balancés dans une zone de bataille où ils devront s’entretuer par tous les moyens possibles jusqu’à ce qu’il ne reste qu’un seul survivant. Le tout étant filmé façon téléréalité, dans une société dictatoriale où chaque individu est obligé de regarder et de suivre assidument The Hunger Games. Bref, cette trilogie étant destinée à la jeunesse, on pourra être déçu par le réalisme édulcoré de la chose, car Battle Royale ne nous épargnait pas grand-chose. Passé cet éventuel a priori, on peut (ou pas) profiter du premier volume de la trilogie. Des ados donc, qui en bavent dans leur district, qui luttent pour survivre. Katniss, notre jeune et intrépide héroïne, nous narre son histoire au présent et se révèle une jeune fille responsable, aimante, mais habituée à garder ses émotions et ses sentiments pour elle. Pour éviter à sa petite sœur une mort certaine et publique, elle se porte volontaire à sa place pour participer aux « Jeux de la faim ». De prime abord l’histoire m’a paru assez simpliste, surtout dans son traitement : jeune fille débrouillarde, une ado pleine de promesses encore à l’état de chrysalide qui va devoir se révéler devant un peuple tout entier, devant des millions de gens opprimés obligés d’assister à la romance naissante des principaux protagonistes. Au-delà de ces aspects cucul-la-praline, on peut voir une inquiétante version de nos téléréalités toujours un peu plus trash et indignes. Suzanne Collins porte cet art à son paroxysme, les participants meurent massacrés, les plus aimés du public reçoivent des « cadeaux » de la part de sponsors émus par leur personnalité, leurs récompenses étant conditionnées par leur comportements et tactiques de survie. Le soin que met l’équipe des stylistes pour présenter les candidats au mieux démontre à quel point l’apparence est un point crucial du déroulement des jeux. Chacun doit non seulement paraître à son avantage, mais doit correspondre à une image bien précise à donner au public. Ainsi Katniss, à moitié fille des bois à moitié garçon manqué, apparaît féminine, délicate et innocente lors des présentations. Car au-delà de la nécessité de se défendre, d’attaquer afin de survivre par les moyens, il faut aussi plaire au public et lui donner des frissons, en assurant un spectacle de tous les instants. Katniss devra elle aussi jouer un rôle, au point de se perdre et de perdre (un peu) le lecteur au passage. L’auteur essaie de jouer avec les nerfs du lecteur, mais les grosses ficelles sont vraiment très visibles, même si sur la fin elle s’en sort avec une ou deux pirouettes, toutefois pas très fines. Dans tous les cas, la sauce prend assez bien, malgré tout, pour me pousser à lire la suite dans la foulée.
Difficult suspending disbelief about the character's political situation, but overall thoroughly entertaining.
Amy is the one who requested this one. She'd read it with her granddaughters, and been deeply disturbed by the premise, of children being force to kill each other, and wanted to hear what other adults thought of the book. Collins has stated that she was writing about war, trying to view it through a child's eyes, but it could just as well be an allegory about adolescence, and the seemingly life and death decisions that are made in middle school. We wandered from this book to other recent YA novels, like the Harry Potter and Twilight books. There had been a line out the door when each shipment of Harry Potter books came in, and the library had had to set up a separate staging area to hand out the holds.
3.5 stars. Good book. I recommend it to all.
This is a good, riveting story, very hard to put down. When I first starting reading, I expected the premise to remind me of Shirley Jackson's tale The Lottery, but this story is different; The Reaping is a type of lottery, but only those aged twelve to eighteen are in danger of being its victims, and also everyone knows that the playing field is not even; some of these children have had their names entered more than others, in exchange for more food for their families. All of this abuse is punishment for earlier revolts, meant to remind the downtrodden that one group of people have absolute power over them.
This series features some strong female characters, mainly sixteen year old Katniss, who the reader knows from the beginning is a real survivor. Actually, most of the characters are interesting. I don't feel that there's anything very special about Collins's …
This is a good, riveting story, very hard to put down. When I first starting reading, I expected the premise to remind me of Shirley Jackson's tale The Lottery, but this story is different; The Reaping is a type of lottery, but only those aged twelve to eighteen are in danger of being its victims, and also everyone knows that the playing field is not even; some of these children have had their names entered more than others, in exchange for more food for their families. All of this abuse is punishment for earlier revolts, meant to remind the downtrodden that one group of people have absolute power over them.
This series features some strong female characters, mainly sixteen year old Katniss, who the reader knows from the beginning is a real survivor. Actually, most of the characters are interesting. I don't feel that there's anything very special about Collins's writing style, but it flows well, it's well-paced, and the storyline is intriguing.
It's catching fire:)
The Hunger Games remains a compelling look at political and personal power, inequality, and social injustice.
I re-read this book for the first time in over a decade. The first time I read it, it was because of a required school assignment; the second time, it was because I’ve been watching the films, and decided I ought to revisit the series with a more mature perspective and give the series a fair shake. On my first read, I pretty much hated the book, particularly due to Katniss, so I never bothered with reading the sequels. I don’t think I even ventured beyond the first movie when it was released. All that is to say that I never really had a ‘Hunger Games’ era, so I’m starting it now.
On the re-read, I noticed that some of the same things bothered me as before, so perhaps it wasn’t just my teen self being overly combative or contrarian. For instance, Katniss’s narration is quite questionable; I’ve never been …
I re-read this book for the first time in over a decade. The first time I read it, it was because of a required school assignment; the second time, it was because I’ve been watching the films, and decided I ought to revisit the series with a more mature perspective and give the series a fair shake. On my first read, I pretty much hated the book, particularly due to Katniss, so I never bothered with reading the sequels. I don’t think I even ventured beyond the first movie when it was released. All that is to say that I never really had a ‘Hunger Games’ era, so I’m starting it now.
On the re-read, I noticed that some of the same things bothered me as before, so perhaps it wasn’t just my teen self being overly combative or contrarian. For instance, Katniss’s narration is quite questionable; I’ve never been the biggest fan of first-person narratives, but even so, Katniss’s voice is barely convincing. Her thoughts sometimes made me wonder if she actually had brain cells to go along with that immense archery skill. Yet, other times, Katniss reveals to the reader some random bit of lore about Panem that she couldn’t possibly know—and of course, it is framed as something she learned in school, but I don’t buy that Katniss would know or even remember such a thing for a second. She’s off hunting game and struggling to survive, and I’m supposed to believe she’s paying attention in dull history lessons at school?
I did somewhat begrudgingly appreciate the classical references more this time around; I was aware of them on the first read too, but as a teen, my reaction to Collins’s appropriating ancient Roman names and aesthetic was one of derision—it felt diminutive of the originals. Now, as an adult, I am able to appreciate her inspired design for Panem, even if it is a bit overwrought at times. I also made a more conscious connection to the Cretan child sacrifices and other mythological elements. The hints of Collins’s intentions for the narrative and the major themes of the novel did strike me as being more prominent than I remembered; having the benefit of hindsight and age, I can appreciate certain themes and ideas a lot more now.
Yet, going back to the first-person voice, this is a major limitation for the novel—you can only explain so much of your worldbuilding when your only voice is that of a sixteen-year old girl who mainly cares about her family, hunting, and not much else. Being able to see other perspectives, for instance Peeta’s or even Haymitch’s, would’ve added a certain complexity to the narrative and much more detail to the world. We also get compelling backstories and sympathies for the side characters, but Katniss’s sob-backstory doesn’t help me sympathize with her much when she acts uncouth and boisterous. The love triangle angle also seems quite contrived at points.
Aside from all my complaints, it is really fascinating reading perhaps the book that started the YA dystopia craze, even if not for the first time. I have a better understanding of the context before and after this book came out. I also have seen at least three of the four currently released movies, so I have greater insight into and understanding of how Collins organizes the story in anticipation of its eventual end. This time, I’m going to make it through the series so that I can read the prequel, and I feel that this experience will give me the cohesion I need from this series. I really ought to give it credit though—silly love triangle shenanigans and odd narrative voice aside, The Hunger Games falls into that rare category of YA dystopian books that not only takes its message seriously, but is even still quite relevant.
Amazingly compelling dystopian tale in which a very tough young woman is forced to fight for her life in a violent form of future reality TV. Thought-provoking and impossible to put down.
I’ve seen the movie; Death Race and Gamer so it was interesting to read a book where last man standing/fight to the death for entertainment was the central theme. I have to admit that I was worried about reading this; I thought it was be sappy teenage romance junk – since it shows up as a favourite book, with people that like Twilight – but this was dark and a well-paced dystopian adventure. I decided to read this at the guarantee that it was nothing like Twilight and at the recommendation of fans of dark YA fiction (following the whole YA is too dark article in the WSJ).
The Hunger Games is the story of a 16 year old girl that takes the place of her younger sister to compete in the annual televised event ‘The Hunger Games’. This is an even were a young boy and girl are called …
I’ve seen the movie; Death Race and Gamer so it was interesting to read a book where last man standing/fight to the death for entertainment was the central theme. I have to admit that I was worried about reading this; I thought it was be sappy teenage romance junk – since it shows up as a favourite book, with people that like Twilight – but this was dark and a well-paced dystopian adventure. I decided to read this at the guarantee that it was nothing like Twilight and at the recommendation of fans of dark YA fiction (following the whole YA is too dark article in the WSJ).
The Hunger Games is the story of a 16 year old girl that takes the place of her younger sister to compete in the annual televised event ‘The Hunger Games’. This is an even were a young boy and girl are called up randomly to participate in a fight to the death for survival for the entertainment of the rich and powerful. While this has been done in movies a few times; I think the book was written well enough to combine that sense of action found in those movies with the required storytelling of a decent novel. Katniss; while a weird name; she is a strongly written character, with all the normal awkwardness you would expect from a teenager, having to deal with love, death and loneliness in this dystopian world that she lives in.
For a dark, violent and fast paced Young Adult book, I would definitely recommend The Hunger Games. While I would have liked a darker book, I think this book would be enjoyed but readers of all ages. I try not to use cliques like ‘Page Turner’ or ‘captivation’ but I think that would sum up just how good this book is. I really don’t think I want to continue on with the trilogy, I think as a stand-alone book, it’s fantastic; but if I try to predict the rest of the series and all I can see is love-triangles, fighting authority and a lot more romance. If this isn’t the case, I might read the other books, I just think it works better as a single story.
Expert pacing and a clever premise make this young adult dystopia an incredible read for teen and adult alike.
The Hunger Games had me gripped. It might be marketed as young adult, but its content is certainly not just for teens. The world is violent and uncertain, where teenagers from each district must kill each other or be killed on live television. If you don't want to get invested in the whole trilogy, I think this works as a standalone novel and is definitely the high point.
Literally had me running out the door to get the rest of the trilogy!
Fast-paced and enjoyable read, but didn't get me thinking enough to give it 5 stars. Great concept: The Running Man meets Lord of the Flies meets 1984!
Read?/Ignore?
Read.
