How would you face up to the Hunger Games, at 16 years old? (The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins)

Member Name: Jonni_boi

Product:	The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Date:	02/09/09 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very cleverly written, really good, brilliantly gripping!

Disadvantages: the cover as explained in review!

I picked this book a few months ago, maybe longer than that. I've been uming and aring about it ever since, thinking whether or not I really want to read this. I think what interested me in buying this book was Stephenie Meyer's opinion of: "People often ask me for reading suggestions, and I'm always happy to share because books are exciting things to me. My latest excitement is this: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it. I've been recommending it to total strangers in Target. And now to everyone who reads my website. The Hunger Games is amazing." But then I still thought that I might not enjoy it.

My reason for thinking this could be due to the front cover. The front cover is pretty out of the ordinary compared to other books, as you can change the person in the front cover by swapping the back bit. The thing is, is that Peeta (a different character in the hunger games, but not the main character) doesn't quite fit into the front cover. I may have already complicated this for you but I don't think I can explain it any other way, if you come across this book in a book shop, I suggest you change the front cover to see what I mean.

Now before I give you the basic plot line I want to touch on the author, as I usually do. Suzanne Collins is a brilliant author... Well okay, so I'm judging this purely on this book, but isn't that what I did on Twilight and Stephenie Meyer? However, unlike Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins has a battle going on to try and get in on my top 10. Stephenie Meyer went straight in. Anyhow I might end up expanding my top 10 to a top 20 as there is a lot of new authors making me enjoy their books. Suzanne Collins has released a few books, before this book, in a series called "The Underland Chronicles" which I'm really interested in dipping into, and who can blame me after reading this book?

The plot outline for this book might seem really basic but it is made really well by this author. Katniss has been forced to do the Hunger Games along side Peeta. The Hunger Games is a place where children from 12 all the way up to 18 battle it out until the death. So that there is 1 survivor. When you become of age (which is 12 years old) your name gets put into a bowl once. However if you are poor and need food supplies that should last a whole year, you may put your name in again for each thing you need (such as oil, and grain). There is also the catch of the fact that the older you get the more of your name gets put in... (So when you're 12 you get put in once (or more) at 13... twice (or more), at 14... Three times (or more) and so on). Katniss is 16 and she has been supplying for her whole family since her dad died. Her mother became a nervous wreck and therefore Katniss had to grow up quickly! Her sister has now become of age and Katniss isn't letting her take grain and oil, because she's so young. But when it comes to drawing a name out of a bowl, her sister's name comes out. So Katniss has now choice but to volunteer.

So now it's up to Peeta and Katniss for district 12 who haven't had a victor for soooooooo many years. But is it possible for them to win (or even 1 of them) as there can only be 1 victor! But can our main character (Katniss) fight to survive? Read this epic struggle of 2 people being pushed into the Hunger Games and battle it out on a reality TV war show... You'll be rooting Katniss from where you are reading, and you're think that you're watching that TV screen!

I really enjoyed this, as you can tell by the rating. And I can't think of anything bad to say about it apart from the front cover, but that's hardly Suzanne Collins' fault is it? I like Reality TV shows, and I think I tend to watch most of the well-known ones. But this is a total different aspect, it's a reality TV show with a twist, and that what makes this book so good!


I read it in one whole day. I think I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I didn't. I ended up reading all day and all night up until 3am when I finally finished, and I was really tired. Only I ended up going to sleep at about 7am because I couldn't get to sleep, not with the way this book ended. The whole book seemed a brilliant concept and I couldn't wait to read the next book in the series, however I have soooooooo many books to read, I doubt I'll finish them all.

I wasn't the only person in my family who enjoyed it. Since February 2008 my mom had stopped reading, but when I gave this to her, it kicked the broken bit inside her and she couldn't stop reading. It took her 3 whole days, which would've annoyed me if I had taken that long, and she said that she hadn't read any book like this for donkey years. She also lost a hell of a lot of sleep thinking about it before she went to bed.

This book is now travelling from one person to the next throughout my whole family. And it's circling really quickly!

Also Lionsgate Entertainment has acquired worldwide distribution rights to a film adaptation of The Hunger Games. Whether the film will be the same as the book, I do not know, however it is stated that Suzanne Collins will adapt the novel herself and so therefore I can't see it being totally different. However if it is different I'll be terribly upset as this would make a perfect film!

Well that's all I can think of writing, I thank you for reading! And would like some feedback made by comments if you wish to do so.

Summary: /