Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Hunger Games

-->Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adults  

The Hunger Games has received a lot of hype amongst book reviewers that I follow either through reviews on their blog or through their Twitter comments which naturally would make one curious about the book. 

In the Hunger Games, North America is destroyed and replaced by Panem. Panem is divided into 12 districts that is controlled by the Capitol. Every year the Capitol runs the Hunger Games as an annual live televised event to remind the people of Panem that the Capitol is in power. Each district selects by lottery two teens, one boy and one girl to fight for survival in the Hunger Games arena. The only person to come out alive will live a comfortable life with lots of money and at the same time secure a whole year of food and necessary supplies to survive for the people of the winning district. 

Initially I had low expectations of the book because the storyline seemed unoriginal (reminded me of The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is also loosely based on a book of similar title). However, despite the predictable storyline I actually enjoyed reading The Hunger Games. 

I absolutely love the main character Katniss and find her non-conformist attitude refreshing. She is also self- reliant and definitely a survivor. 

The Hunger Games is engaging from beginning till the end. The scenes in the arena is filled with deathly challenges like attacks from man made mutants or violent contestants that all fight hard to survive the Hunger Games making it full of suspense and pretty darn gripping at some parts. Throughout the Hunger Games you will see Katniss form a bond with Peeta, the other contestant from her district setting the romantic scene for the book. There are other bonds formed and severed in the book that is a bit sad but makes good reading.
Overall The Hunger Games gives a good mix of physical adventure, romance and a not so complicated political agenda (well it is young adult fiction anyway) that makes it a good read. Is it a MUST read? Well, ya okay you should read it cause its quite entertaining but I felt that the buzz surrounding the Hunger Games maybe is a bit over hyped. 

By the way, I accidentally came across a site about what the word Panem means and did my own search. Check it out here, it’s so relevant to the books storyline. Interesting…

6 comments:

MARY IN SCOTLAND said...

My favorite book of all time! I love this series! I can't wait for you to read it's sequel, Catching Fire! Third and final book in the trilogy out Aug 24th! WAHOO!!!

Unknown said...

Its good but August 24th seems like a long way to go. Plus, it'll probably reach Malaysian shores longer than that! :(

Amanda said...

I just thought these books were a fun read. I had my husband read them too and he likes them but I had to keep remindnig him, they are YA...so yeah. But that's cool about the Panem article. I was reminded of the Roman games and thought it was similar...but I had not heard of the latin "panem" before. Great link!

Unknown said...

I agree. It is a fun read. It doesn't have the complicated political web that most adult fiction would feature (thank gawd, I'd just sleep thru a book like that). Can't wait to read the third book though. :D

Tales of Whimsy said...

My goodness! I love Hunger Games! But I'm caught between Peeta and Gale too. They're both SO good.

Dira said...

I wanna buy this novel but I haven't find it yet .. where did you buy this novel ? and price? PLEASE RESPOND THIS!

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