Review: The Hunger Games

[jessicasteiner]

I'm sure about a billion people have reviewed this book, but...tough. I'm doing it anyway.

The Hunger Games has been on my list of books to read for quite a long time - since before I got my e-reader, and long before there was a movie. With the film having just come out, I decided that it was about time to finally knock it off my list, so I could go to the film and fully appreciate it.

I'll do my best to keep this review spoiler-free. If it bothers you to know the basic premise or the names of characters, stop reading here.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy about Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who is chosen to participate in a horrific death-match against young men and women from around the world, as part of a sort of yearly Oppression Olympics held by the Capital.

I purchased The Hunger Games from audible with one of my credits, as well as getting the ebook for my Kobo, but wound up reading the ebook. I'll probably listen to the audiobook, too, but I haven't had time, and I read far faster than I can listen. You can get the audiobook here for about $20, which is pretty up there, but the ebook is sale on the Kobo site for only $0.99, which is probably a limited time thing. Amazon.com has it for $5.00 for the Kindle.

I found The Hunger Games to be a wonderful book. As far as pacing, it is a quick read. I devoured it in a day or two, and it only took that long because I physically didn't have much time to read. Suzanne Collins is very good at dragging you into the next chapter without letting you go, and every time I put the book down I kept wanting to pick it back up again.

Despite the very dark premise, there are a fair number of light-hearted moments and victories for Katniss, enough to keep the story from becoming overwhelmingly depressing. Yet the subject matter is treated seriously. The different ways the characters react to such violence and horror, essentially being turned into child soldiers, is varied and realistic. And the romance plot is important to the story without destroying Katniss' independence or reducing her to the level of a romantic heroine.

I found Katniss difficult to warm up to at first, as she comes across as slightly masculinized, having no interest in much outside of hunting, but I grew to love her and found her well-developed as a character. She is consistent, and also develops and grows through the book, and her struggles don't always show her in the best light, which is great.

I find it unfortunate that while there were a lot of great females in the book, such as her mother, her sister Prim, Rue, Effie, etc., and her relationships with them drive the book, their roles take a back seat to the strong speaking roles of the males in Katniss' life, such as Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, and Cinna. That being said, there is no shortage of strong females overall, and others may disagree with my feeling on this.

As for the ebook format itself, it was probably one of the best-formatted books I've read on my Kobo. I didn't have to fiddle with the font size, and it was nice that at the end of the chapter there was a page break, then the next chapter started halfway down the page, just like a real book.

I would heartily recommend this book, and I've already finished the second, and moved on to the third. Reviews for those will follow, no doubt.

Comments

[leia_solo]

I actually read the first book before I got my Nook. You are right, it was very quick paced and I finished it in a day. The story completely sucks you in though. I read Catching Fire within a few hours and I've been bidding my time until I can read the last one.

[jessicasteiner]

I'm in the midst of the last one right now DX I was actually doing a read-through of all of the Discworld books in order for the last several months, or I'd have gotten to these sooner. But when the movie hit theatres I new I had to interrupt my Discworld project and get through these first.

It's definitely one of those that sucks you in. It's relatively short, I think, and she's very good at making sure each chapter ends with something that draws you into the next one.

[thistleburr]

I find it interesting that you would use the word "masculinized" to describe Katniss.

I feel like Rue, especially, did leave a big impact on the book. In a lot of ways, I feel like Katniss' relationship with Rue in the first book is the strongest new relationship she forms. The second book also introduces a new major female character, although I don't want to say much more due to spoilers.

[jessicasteiner]

You're right about Rue, I guess. She wasn't in it for long, but left a very powerful impression.

As for the masculinization thing. I'm not sure if I used it correctly and if I'm wrong then I'm happy to be corrected. I don't think Katniss as a character is a man with a girl's body, but at the very beginning I was like "Oh, great, yet another main character girl who is only good at boy things and terrible at girl things and that's why she's strong". But she grew on me quickly and is very well-rounded. It was just my initial impression.

[thistleburr]

Using the word "masculinization," to me, implies something imposed onto her. To me, Katniss' temperament always seemed very organic. She certainly wasn't stereotypically feminine, but that never felt like anything but an organic part of her character, at least to me. But I never read her as being particularly "masculine" either.

[jessicasteiner]

Hmm, maybe there's another word for what I mean. A bit of a pet peeve of mine is people writing strong women who are only strong because they have taken on stereotypically masculine traits and are terrible at being women. It's a trope amongst female leads, and when I first started the book I feared that was what was happening here. However, I think the author did a good job of making Katniss a person, and it makes a lot of sense why she turned out how she did - in an organic manner, like you said.