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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My Rating
Book: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publication date: October 31, 2008
Synopsis:
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 is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.




My Review:

After reading the last page and closing the book with a disbelief written all over my face, I knew right there and then that this was going to be my favorite book. This book had it all, the drama, thriller (gore!), suspense, comedy, and (YES) the romance! My expectations from the beginning were extremely high, from all the amazed reviews and positive comments... it even exceeded my expectations and completely WOW'ed the heck out of me. So let's start with the pro's of this book, because there are oh-so many!


The Plot:
The plot was a constant thrill. I never knew an author could be so creative in creating suspense on so many different levels. At the end of each chapter (I promise you I am not over exaggerating) there was a cliffhanger. That just made the whole book going, which was very fast paced from beginning to end. The plot was consistently exhilarating, which almost made me feel guilty every time I put the book down as I always wanted to check up on Katniss Everdeen (the protagonist of this magnificent story) and how on earth she would wrangle and untangle herself from one knotted situation to the next. I have never read anything like it, and so far still haven't ran into another plot like this.

The Characters:

There are many superb characters in this book, which genuinely made the story. But I will only discuss 3 of the main ones (in my opinion):

Katniss Everdeen- Katniss Everdeen in the protagonist of this book. She is the girl from district12 who volunteers on behalf of her sister, Prime, to be the girl tribute of the hunger games. She is an amazing, strong-willed, individual, determined, brave (etc, etc..) character. She is a kick ass girl whom is even more lethal with a bow and arrow in her hands. She was, and still is, the most favorite character I have followed in a book. Her charisma and personality are very believable, making you root for her the moment you turn over the very first page of the book.

Peeta Mellark- Peeta Mellark is the boy of district 12 who gets chosen by the Capital (the wealthy, barbaric, controlling government of Panem) to compete in the hunger games, alongside Katniss Everdeen. Peeta is a (emotionally) strong, self-conscious, devoted and (very!) lovable character. You can't help but falling in love with his personality and who he represents! I was definitely rooting for him ;)

Cinna- Even though Cinna is not one of the main characters of this book, I found his character the most symbolic. He is the stylist of Katniss before the hunger games. He is the rock of Katniss, supporting her and keeping her grounded throughout the ceremony prior to the hunger games. Cinna is a wonderful character. Suzanne Collins described and portrayed him in such a way which made you consistently grateful that he is there throughout all the madness.

Writing style: 

The book is written in first person, through the eyes and mind of Katniss Everdeen. I definitely favor this writing style. As a reader, you are"literally" living and breathing through Katniss. You feel, see, smell, hear, taste everything what Katniss goes through. It strengthened the story to a point that you basically felt you were in the entire Panem world and hunger games arena, with Katniss.

    I know this sounds super lame as a reviewer, but I am really having a hard time trying to find negative points of this book... uhm... perhaps Ms. Collins should have made the book last even longer? It's so difficult to find the cons, because I was completely indulged in this book and for 2 days straight, this book was my world... and I had nothing to complain about it.
    So there you have it, and it probably won't happen often, but in my opinion: the cons are non-existent for this book!

    So if you have the tolerance and stomach for barbarous action, emotion, devotion, and sense of ruthless comedy-- than you should definitely read this book! It will be one which you won't regret and never forget!

    12 comments:

    1. I'm glad you really liked the book! It's one of my favourites as well :)

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    2. I'm glad you liked it! I thought it was pretty good, but I'm not a big fan of Peeta :p

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      1. aww really? Why's that? More of a 'team Gale' fan? ;)

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    3. You're making me want to re-read it! I haven't read it since 2009. My copy's sitting right next to me actually. So tempting...

      Team Gale all the way though. :P

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      1. Haha really? Nahh I am still rooting for Peeta, especially after finishing Mockingjay ;)

        Thanks for stopping by :)

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    4. Glad to see you loved it too! Amazing book. Haha, yes only con is she could have made it longer! ;) And I'm a big Peeta fan too. I was honestly suprised when I first found out there were teams for this book since I really thought there wasn't an option, or a competition for that matter. But to each their own I guess. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)

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      1. Truthfully, I didn't really like the formation of Teams! Reminded me so much of Twilight, which I wasn't a huge fan of ;) And true, there was never really a competition to begin with ;) Also meant in my post that I was rooting for Peeta in the Games haha! But I guess if I'd really have to choose, it would definitely be Peeta!

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    5. YAAY THE HUNGER GAMES. Great book and a great review to match! (: I was definitely 100 percent team Peeta, honestly never even considered Gale!

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      1. Thank youu :) Totally agree with you on Peeta ;)
        Thanks for stopping by!!

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    6. Wow you have a super organized and thorough review! Glad you loved it and found no cons. xD

      Daphne @ Reading Until Dawn

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      1. Thanks so much Daphne :) Thanks for stopping by!

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