Summary
The theory of survival of the fittest brings a whole new importance when it comes to being chosen to compete in the annual Hunger Games. In the brutal nation known as Panem, every District (from District 1 to District 12) must give one boy and one girl to compete in the Hunger Games as repentance for rebelling against the Capitol. The Hunger Games have been going on for 74 years now and this 74th annual Hunger Games is in for an unexpected twist.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen has grown up in the impoverished District 12 and has had to find unorthodox means of survival. Every day, she goes out hunting (illegally) with her friend Gale in order to provide for her mother and sister, and his family as well. The family has learned to live from meal to meal and are barely squeaking by. While Katniss may risk death as punishment every single day when hunting, everyone knows she'll surely die when she volunteers to take her sister's place in the 74th annual Hunger Games. Along with the male tribute, Peeta Mallark, Katniss heads to the Capitol to await the day she'll be put into the arena with 23 other tributes, and fight to the death.
There's only one hiccup, though. Katniss doesn't want to kill anyone. Especially not the boy she came with, who saved her life many years back. The only things that Katniss has in her favor are her hunting and survival skills that she acquired through her years of hunting and gathering. Will it be enough to ensure her survival in this savage game? Will she be able to avoid killing the people she doesn't feel need to die? When it all comes down to it, Katniss realizes that the odds are definitely not in her favor.
Opinion
Scale of 1-10:
10
I must say that I went into this book thinking that I wouldn't like it as much as everyone said I would. I love the movies with a passion but I hadn't gotten around to reading the books until now. I was worried that because of the amount of hype it was getting, my standards for it were going to be too high. Might I just say.... I was insanely wrong!
It's hard to put into words how much I enjoyed this book. The sheer emotions that Suzanne Collins is able to portray astounds me. I can feel almost all the anxiety or relief Katniss feels throughout the whole thing. I'm also realizing that the movies do not do the characters justice, AT ALL! I fell in love with almost all of the characters and I felt the same love that Katniss felt towards the characters like Cinna and Haymitch (sometimes). I'm gonna struggle going back to the movies after this!
Note: This next part is going to be a slight spoiler for those of you who haven't seen the movie or read the book.
I really enjoyed the aspect of how Katniss struggles with her emotions towards Peeta. It wasn't a love story like you usually see. Even by the end of it, a part of her had affection and cared for him, but she also still felt that their love was an act in order to get more help from sponsors in the Hunger Games. Collins does an amazing job showing Katniss's pure uncertainty about Peeta, even at the end.
Age Rating
11+
I was surprised at how appropriate this book was for preteens. Despite the violence, and the theme of killing other people.... it's still a fairly appropriate book. There's absolutely no language at all and there's only a few kissing scenes throughout the whole thing. The only thing that would probably make some readers uncomfortable is the violent aspects of the book. There are some things that are mentioned like cannibalism and the torturing of other people.... it's real nice....
Other than that, though, despite the movies, this is really meant for preteens, in my opinion.
Here's the link to the book on Goodreads:
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