Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games

Series: The Hunger Games

Book #: One

Author: Suzanne Collins

Pages: 374
Published: October 14th, 2008

Reading Level: Young Adult

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with every one 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 will weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (from Goodreads)




I couldn't wait to post a review for this book! Although Harry Potter and Twilight are high up on my list, The Hunger Games comes in as my number one series of books. The Hunger Games tells a shocking tale of the futuristic country, Panem. Panem was split into thirteen districts, until the thirteenth tried to rebel against the government. The last district was annihilated and to make sure the rest of the districts know who is boss, they hold the Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl are taken from each district. They are plucked out of their homes and thrown into the arena where they fight to the death with the other kids their age until the last one survives and gets to go home. I can't get enough of the energy and thrill I get when I read it. The pace keeps me entertained and panicked every page. It is a brutal and horrific story that is surrounded by a love story. The book is made all the better by the romance triangle made by Katniss, Peeta and Gale.

Katniss doesn't seem as though she would be an easy character, or hero, to like. She is stubborn, rude and she acts like a boy, but you can't help feeling for her when she takes her sister's place in the Games. I liked her even more in the Capitol city as she was plucked and poked to get ready for battle. In the arena, Katniss was smart and survived on her own with few allies. By the end of the book, I felt like I had been running alongside her, away from the terrors in the arena.

Peeta made this story for me, from the beginning when he announced his love for Katniss. He was the boy with the bread, who saved Katniss from starvation at a young age. I was completely shocked that he loved Katniss! He was sweet and kind and came from a completely different world than Katniss. If you haven't read this book, if I were you, I would read it just for Peeta! I am Team Peeta, all the way!

I don't like Gale as much as Peeta. Yes, Gale helped feed Katniss and her family. He helped Katniss learn how to make traps for animals, but he wasn't the boy who suffered a beating to give Katniss bread when she was starving. Gale wasn't the one who went into the arena with Katniss. He would never be able to understand how Katniss felt even if she was alive after the Games. He wouldn't understand the nightmares the way Peeta would. Although, I like how close Gale is with Katniss, and the fact that he was there for her all the time from when he met her in the woods.

Which team are you on? Gale or Peeta?

To learn more about the Hunger Games movie, click HERE for my Film Friday! Look out for my reviews of the next two books in the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay!