The Hunger Games (Book 1)
The first novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins!
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .
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 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 weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
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Community Reviews
I'll admit that I needed some time to adjust to the present tense, deep 1st-person POV the book is written in. It brought me in so close, maybe too close for my initial comfort, to Katniss Everdeen, the novel's heroine. Once the adjustment was made, however, and the history of Panem and the Games explained, I was on board. The choice of POV and tense are perfect for it brings the reader directly into the heart of it, and layers them with the skin and eyes of Katniss herself so that you feel as if it's YOU struggling to survive this ordeal.
The novel artfully guided me through any number of emotions, and every chapter ended with a one-liner that created a need to turn the page and read on. In a way, the idea of teenagers fighting to the death on national television bears a nightmarish slant of our obsession with reality TV today. A combination of Survivor and war, death, mayhem, unfairness, love, friendship, and the basic needs of all people - to eat, to sleep, to establish connections with others, and to survive. This novel is fantastic from the second you're hooked all the way through the minor (and major) triumphs and setbacks of the Games.
THE HUNGER GAMES is woven seamlessly with action, suspense, thrill, and romance. It is beautifully orchestrated and expertly executed. The novel's end, while satisfying in one sense, definitely leaves me anxious to reach for the second book in the series. If there's one YA you read this year, make it THE HUNGER GAMES.
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