I have never watched a “train-wreck” reality show. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a reality show, unless you count the cooking shows like Iron Chef America. I have no desire to watch reality shows (beyond learning to cook, that is), and I don’t understand the appeal.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, depicts how in the futuristic world of Panem, which emerged from the ashes of a war-torn North America, the government produces a televised reality show in which 24 teenagers kill each other. The purpose of the Hunger Games is to illustrate how the government provides everything for the populace and that without the government’s wise support, anarchy and personal battle will reign over the land. People in the far-off districts depend on the Capitol for support. The Hunger Games illustrate what would happen if people rebelled against authority: chaos and murder.
Yet, The Hunger Games is not about savagery or murder. It is about defiance. Katniss volunteers herself, eager to save the life of her twelve-year-old sister Prim, whose name has been selected from the lottery. And from the beginning of the games until the end, Katniss hates the games, hates the Capitol’s philosophies, and hates the forced murdering game she is a part of. In that sense, she is a hero.
Except, reading as the games played out felt to me like being a voyeur watching a reality show. Certainly, it was a gripping read, and Katniss and Peeta are heros working against the norm of Panem. But I was still watching a horrible display of survival skills in which teenagers, mostly rotten ones, are killing each other. I hated it. I didn’t like the writing (present tense, which at times seemed invisible and at other times jarring). I didn’t like the romance element (Katniss pretends to be in love in order to win). I didn’t like the ignorance (Katniss is ignorant that Peeta loves her; Katniss is ignorant of the danger of rejecting the Capitol, which seemed to take away from the power of her defiance). I just plain didn’t like it.
From the time I learned the premise, I had no desire to read The Hunger Games. This was probably my problem from the beginning, and I should have followed my gut. But since I have a book club on Thursday night and I didn’t go last month, I decided I’d bite the bullet and read it so I can go and socialize. Besides, so many people have praised this novel that I felt it couldn’t be that bad. In fact, I hoped to be blown away. That did not happen. I read fast so I could be done with it. I’m not sure I can discuss it without being sick.
I read the entire plot summary of the second book and it sounds just as horrible, with another set of games in which people must kill each other. Next time I want to read a young adult novel (which is about once a year) about defiance against a repressive society, I’ll finish reading the Uglies series. That was not so physically sickening.
In fact, the more I think about Uglies, the more I prefer that book to this. Both young adult novels are similar. In a futurist world, people are forced to do horrible things that they are brainwashed into thinking are good. The main character (a teenage girl) decides to reject the government’s plan. In Uglies, though, Tally seems to constantly be making difficult decisions that can be considered parallel to a modern teenager’s life. I don’t think the murderous survival choices Katniss made in The Hunger Games are very parallel to modern life, noble as they may be. I also thought Tally to be a much more developed character, a more likable person, and a better role model than Katniss was, who bothered me from beginning to end.
I’ll keep this short and end now. There are hundreds of book bloggers out there who love The Hunger Games. Find one of their reviews via Fyrefly’s Book Blog Search. Personally, I’m done with it.
NOTE: This is my personal blog with my personal thoughts on the books I’ve read. Please note that as the blog owner, I have the right to remove any comment that is off topic, defamatory, obscene, or abusive, or that uses language that is not family friendly. Before you leave a comment on this post, please read the comments policy.
[...] the original post here: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins | Rebecca Reads Tagged with: cooking • cooking-shows • count-the-cooking • reality-show [...]
Very, very brave of you to post a negative review of such a beloved book. And I don’t mean that in a snarky way, either. I loved Hunger Games but I also love hearing about bloggers who didn’t care for it. Thanks so much for your review.
.-= Colleen´s last post on blog ..Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater =-.
Colleen, not brave! I post whatever I think and from the comments, it’s evident that no one is really surprised to hear my thoughts! Glad you enjoyed it.
I just finished this last night. Hated it. Actually, I liked the first 2/3rd of it. But I had 3 issues. First, the main characters never killed anyone with direct intent – just to win the games. I realize the author did this so we would sympathize with them, but it was a chicken way out. Second, the two big moral choices were chickened out – would she have to kill Rue or Peeta. Both would have been intense and tricky…and we never had to deal with either – the two biggest “moments” that never were. Third, there are about 50 pages towards the end that really drag. Like Katniss said several times – “Nothing happened today” – and that’s pretty much the case.
For a similar idea with better, honest execution, read The Long Walk. No love story, but the rest is Hunger Games to the next level.
Marc Greenberg, interesting. You hate it because there isn’t enough honest “direct intent” killing? I hated it because there was killing to begin with.
I’d prefer people didn’t kill either, but you know when you pick up this book that there WILL be killing. So I don’t see how I can be upset with that content. I just felt that the author chickened out WAY too many times, rather than confronting any real conflict. And I do realize I’m not the target audience – I just picked the book up after reading a review – thought it sounded like an entertaining read. I also didn’t buy the setup for the second book – that the government was going to be after them…or not. Seemed weak. And finally… The ending had a gaping hole, which I’d be happy to share if anyone wants. I don’t want to put it out there if no one wants me to ruin anything.
i respect your opinion but the hunger games is about 2 teenagers going against their distopian leader and wining over them i am 12 and read this book recently and i have reason to believe this book would no longer be interesting without the deaths, and frankly it had no resemblance with any reality TV show out there as there are so many killings and occurances that could not possibly happen, it has all the chops of a fantasy and or si-fi novel not realistic
Marc, did Suzanne truly “chicken out” of having Katniss kill Peeta? In the end, the two were the last alive and forced to kill one another, but as a sign of defiance, Katniss & Peeta ate the berries.
I can deal with her and Peata and the berries. But the rest, not so much. She basically wins and doesn’t have to initiate killing anyone. Only in direct self defense does she ever hurt anyone. That’s a cop out. I realize she wouldn’t be likeable, but it’s still a cop out to reality.
She didn’t even mean to really defy them she just wanted to live. She doesn’t do anything for anyone else unless it benefits her. She isn’t a hero…
I loved the Long Walk, and had forgotten about it until you mentioned it. The Bachman (S. King) book that it kept reminding me of was “The Running Man”. And thus, I found it Ironic that King had a note on the book jacket.
YA books aside, I wonder if part of what you didn’t like about this book was the dystopian atmosphere? I recall that when you posted about The Lord of the Flies, you had a similarly unfavorable reaction, and that is also a book in which there is a good deal of violence and unpleasantness. I’ve not read this book, but I do tend to enjoy a good dystopian novel, so I have been curious about it. I probably won’t even attempt this one until the final book in the trilogy has been released, and I’ve got plenty of other stuff to keep me occupied in the meantime!
Steph, I do like some dystopian books (THE GIVER was a young readers book, 1984, I’m thinking of others…) but you’re right: maybe that was part of it. I hated LotF and Handmaid’s Tale was likewise not a favorite.
I find it really hard to take a reviewer of literature seriously when they don’t even know the difference between “you’re” and “your”. You should be more careful when you write, it really devalues your legitimacy.
Also, I would’ve really enjoyed this article more if you had given a better reason than, “I didn’t like all the killing, too violent, killing makes me sick, blah, blah, etc.” Obviously this book contains violence. It’s about a group of kids who kill one another on television. You should’ve been aware of this, upon picking up the book. It’s reminiscent of Battle Royale (another dystopian modern classic), and if you know anything about that novel- you’d know you’re in for some brutality.
If you’re not into it, go read a book about wallpaper or something.
Megan L., oh, thank you so much for pointing out that typo! I’ve fixed it. I’m so glad it was in a comment on this post and not on one of my reviews of literature!
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this post of mine, but I do have to disagree that my reasons are not valid ones for not liking it. One of my favorite books is Beloved by Toni Morrison and that is full of violence. So violence in general isn’t going to make me dislike the book. This one didn’t work for me for a number of reasons. I realize I’m in the minority of the modern reading public. I do wish I’d known about Battle Royale before I’d read this! I suspect I would have liked that a little bit more, given that’s it’s a modern classic and not a modern YA novel. I’m certainly not going to read it now, though. I’ve certainly had enough of the concept.
And thanks so much for the wallpaper idea! The Reading about Wallpaper Mini-Challenge is now live for anyone who wants to join in!
Megan, you sound like a petulant child — I’m actually embarrassed on Rebecca’s behalf that you felt the need to post such a whiny, sharp comment. I wouldn’t have been so gracious to you, that’s for sure. Take a breather, come back and argue like a mature person.
J » oh I’m used to be shunned because I don’t like a book, lol. Although I made my comments policy a bit easier to read….
Thanks for the honest review! I knew there had to be someone out there who didn’t like, though I must admit that I did. It was interesting to see why you didn’t like it, and you did bring up some valid points, particularly regarding Katniss’ ignorance. I never thought about it that way.
.-= Anna´s last post on blog ..Mailbox Monday — June 21 =-.
Anna, I guess I just thought if she didn’t realize she was in danger for most of the book, then she wasn’t being brave and strong in being a dissonant voice….I’m glad you liked it.
Oh good. I didn’t think I would like it either, for the same reasons you list. I don’t like reality shows and was really surprised that this became so popular. And I agree that Uglies is good and raises interesting issues too.
.-= Carolyn´s last post on blog ..Roses & Reading =-.
Carolyn, Glad to hear I helped someone decide not to read it….lol.
I was actually surprised to hear you read this. I think we discussed this a little back when I first read/reviewed it and I remember saying I couldn’t imagine you liking this. I do like it, though, because it feels like so much of a traditional dystopia and goes very deep into the wrongness of this society. I love how it’s based on the old Roman games. I love the way it captures an extremity of reality TV (which, even though you or I may not watch it, is certainly VERY popular). I love how it shows how fast our society can devolve if we aren’t careful. The violence in it, and the fact that it was children performing the violence, didn’t bother me, and I really loved the writing. I cried in several places, all three times I read it.
Catching Fire, on the other hand, I didn’t like at all. I didn’t feel Katniss was ignorant in this one – I felt like she was so focused that she was blind. In CF, she feels ignorant.
Amanda, as I mentioned, I had no intention of reading it, but I havne’t been to my book group for a while so I wanted to go this month (plus I want insight into future books, so need to be there for that…). One of my friends in the book group, bless her soul, is often suggesting books that I MUST read and this is one she thought of. I’m hoping one of these days I can convince her that I have a different taste in books. (Also on her list for me is TWILIGHT.) I should have stuck with my gut, though, and not read it.
Interesting comment about Catching Fire. If she remains ignorant after all this, I struggle to see her as a roll-model for rebellion, you know?
I’ve never watched reality shows (unless that one season of Dancing With the Stars with Marlee Matlin counts), but I don’t really watch TV anyway. I cannot begin to imagine a country that would go as far to create a TV show where teenagers kill each other in public. Ugh.
I’m not sure dystopian fiction is a genre that I’d ever enjoy!
.-= Valerie´s last post on blog ..“The Darling” by Russell Banks (for World Party Reading Challenge) =-.
Valerie, I’m realizing that dystopian fiction is not for me either….
Interesting comparison. I liked Katniss way more than Tally, BUT, I should qualify, way more than the Tally of the next two books. Back in “Uglies” I was still liking her! :–)
.-= rhapsodyinbooks´s last post on blog ..Sunday Salon – Review of “The Rock and The River” by Kekla Magoon =-.
rhapsody, well, I’ve only read the first Uglies book and I really liked Tally. Now I’m not sure I want to finish the series!
I’ve heard all kinds of good things about this series. Even though dystopian YA fiction is not my cup of tea, I’ve been told that I absolutely MUST read The Hunger Games; based on your review, it is apparent that I do not. Thanks for the honest review.
.-= Suzanne´s last post on blog ..It’s Monday — What are you Reading? =-.
Suzanne, well, apparently I’m one of the few that disliked it but trust your gut. No book is a MUST READ for everyone in the world.
Like some other commenters, I’m entirely unsurprised by your reaction to this, Rebecca! Sounds like something that wouldn’t be up your alley at all. I occasionally go for some dystopian fiction, but I don’t think I’ll be picking this one up – I generally don’t love YA lit anymore, and there are so many books I’m eager to read!
Having just published a negative review of blog-world darling Let the Great World Spin, I empathize with your minority status here.
.-= Emily´s last post on blog ..Cancer Ward =-.
Emily, I think the fact that my blog readers all are unsurprised (and that I expected to dislike it) is probably a good indication that is far out of my normal favored reading! And yes, it’s hard to go for the negative review when you know most others loved it but isn’t that what being a blogger is about? Writing what we feel despite that…
On a side note, I’m glad to see someone else didn’t like Let The Great World Spin. It was one of my 10 DNFs this year and I was wondering if it was just me.
Off to read your review, Emily…
One of the things I love about reading is that people can have such different reactions to books. Many times I have disliked a book others gush over. I can’t give my opinion on this one though as I haven’t read it yet.
.-= Trisha´s last post on blog ..Sunday Salon: The Awards Pages =-.
Trisha, Thanks for your comment. I’m glad I’m not alone in being a different voice out there sometimes.
Yeah!!!!!!!!! I had the same reaction!!! Didn’t like it — put it down and haven’t even thought of reading the next two.
Here are my thoughts just in case you were interested:
http://www.gerberadaisydiaries.com/2010/04/book-review-hunger-games.html
.-= Melissa Mc (Gerbera Daisy Mom)´s last post on blog ..It’s Monday — What Are You Reading? =-.
Melissa, I’m so glad I’m not alone! Thanks for sending the link. off to read your thoughts.
[...] The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins | Rebecca Reads [...]
I liked this, but then I am a fan of dystopian fiction. There’s something to be said for reading outside your comfort zone, but I often find it confirms my reading tastes, rather than opening up new reading vistas. I’m never sure whether that means that I’ve refused to open my mind to different kinds of books, or that I simply don’t like certain genres and themes in my books.
.-= Jenny´s last post on blog ..Diana Wynne Jones Week: 1 August – 7 August 2010 =-.
Jenny, I found the same thing re: reading outside of comfort zone. I read tons out of my comfort zone last year and this year I’m mostly sticking with the stuff I know I’ll like. *shrug* ah well
I loved The Hunger Games but have yet to read the second book. I plan to soon (hopefully!). On the other hand, I hated the Uglies series. The first book was ok, but I couldn’t even finish the second book. I just thought they were poorly written, which is too bad because the premise is a great one.
.-= Stephanie´s last post on blog ..Book Review: Rubyfruit Jungle =-.
Stephanie, I have only read the first Uglies book….now I’m thinking maybe I’ll just keep it at that one!
I’ll be honest I heard all the glowing reviews of this one and checked it out from the library.
I tried to read the first few pages and just couldn’t get into it. Plus I don’t really think I liked the writing. Reading your review just confirms what I already thought about it: Blech!
Thanks, Rebecca.
.-= unfinishedperson´s last post on blog ..I deserve a break today — from my full-time job as a tournament poker player =-.
unfinishedperson, yes, no book is a favorite of everyone. Glad I’m not alone and way to go — not wasting your time reading it, like I did!!
It’s too bad now that you have read The Hunger Games you probably wouldn’t want to read Battle Royale, but I still have to try to persuade you a little bit. I felt Battle Royale never read like a YA book, that’s one big thing. There’s no cheesy heroism or romance, it’s all about survivals that mirror the real world very well. Thrown into the circumstances, some people group to survive, some people prefer to be alone. Not sure how it begins in HG, but in BR the kids are given one weapon by random chance at the beginning. Some get “good” survival weapons like guns, but others get various useless things like a paper fan, a dustbin lid, or a megaphone. I guess there’s dark humor in it. Like life, we can’t decide what we get to start off. Some people have it good from the very beginning and some are not so lucky. Yet with combination of will to live, skills, and luck, you might just be able to survive in the terrible eat or be eaten world.
.-= mee´s last post on blog ..To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee =-.
mee, I am positive BATTLE ROYALE is a better book. Just because nothing could be worse than this, in my opinion. lol. Sorry, but you’re right, I’m not going to stomach another book about kids killing kids right now. But thanks for talking it up. Maybe someone else will be convinced
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the book, Rebecca, but at least your gut told you from the outset that you wouldn’t like it. I loved it (for all the reasons Amanda gives and more besides) but I’m a fan of dystopian literature.
Don’t ever take your friend’s word for it: you would abhor Twilight.
The great thing about book groups is that they take you out of your comfort zone and I’m sure the discussion for this will be a lively one!
.-= Claire (Paperback Reader)´s last post on blog ..Another Literary Loss =-.
Claire, I suspect you are right re: twilight and me. Not going to give it a try. And the book club was last night and I went but not for the whole time — none of my friends that didn’t like it went (two friends mentioned they’d read it and not liked it either) so I was, once again, the odd one out!!
I recently read this one and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t LOVE it. I definitely liked it about a gazillion times more than its sequel, though, in which the “love triangle” gets way too out of hand for me!
.-= Aarti´s last post on blog ..Double Mystery Review: Masquerade & The Beekeeper’s Apprentice =-.
Aarti, I’ve heard that about the second book.
For anyone wh has not read this series i highly highly highly recommend it!!! The hunger games books are amazing and full of action. so dont just listen to one lonsom single source telling you not to read it because u never know until u try it!
Well I personally love the book. I think it is one of the best books ever published. The book really doesn’t just talk about the t.v show. Its not like you watch the show so you cant base a full opinion on it. I am appreciative of your review. But i think that anyone who has not read this book should read it. Thanks for your review, even though i highly disagree with it!!!
Finally, I’m not the only one who didn’t like it! Good Lord I was starting to become worried that I was all alone out here, what with all those praises launched to the skies far and wide.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one here, Rebecca. I disliked it for other reasons, but I definitely hated this book. Would not read it again if you paid me.
Taylor Rae, nope you are not alone! There are plenty of people going both ways, it seems. Thanks for visiting!
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Hi Rebecca! I stumbled across this review after reviewing “The Hunger Games” on my own blog.
I happened to like the book, but I appreciate your negative opinion on it. I can understand why it’d be disagreeable to read. It’s like a young adult, futuristic version of the Roman coliseum games, which were violent and repulsive to a lot of people. But for others, it’s entertainment.
Whether the story is enjoyable or not, I like how it really raises some interesting points on war and what humans find entertaining. Is entertainment based on what we’re conditioned to enjoy? Or with something like the Games, is it more instinctive?
I’m pretty late on commenting this but I was looking to see whether anyone out there agreed with me. Multiple people have told me the Hunger Games was enjoyable, and I just have a hard time liking books anyway, but I looked up a lot of reviews and discussions and it seemed like everyone loved it. I just finished it, and I was not impressed at all. I thought it was completely predictable – I kept guessing what was going to happen! I could not seem to love any of the characters, not Katniss, Peeta, or even Rue. I thought it started out good, but as soon as they got to the Training Center, I thought it was completely ridiculous. The flame costume and the description of the people and everything did not impress me. I could cares less what actually happened during the Games, it was just survival stuff with random dangers like “muttations” thrown in. The Peeta/Katniss pretending to be in love thing was stupid, I felt no suspense or excitement at the action, or sadness at the death of Rue. The random rule-changes were predictable and well, the entire thing just felt really fake. I could keep ranting but there are tons of reasons why I didn’t like it at all. All the positive reviews are frustrating me, so I’m glad that someone agrees!
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like the book, but I do respect reading a different perspective than mine. I’m guessing you aren’t too excited to hear about the movie coming out next year? I thought that the book was a real commentary on all of this “reality television” that everyone is into these days.
So I’ve read all three hunger games and all three uglies and katniss and tally both disappointed me as main characters-neither of them really had an opinion or made a difficult choice until they were absolutely forced to by someone else. I found them both weak minded and swayable (is that a word) by other people. If you are going to write about a revolution, make your main character solid and focused!
Also, Uglies was a much more tolerable dystopia, but the first book is really the best and the second two didn’t satisfy.
Jenny, yeah, I’ve since read Pretties and I found it PAINFUL reading. I’m just not in to these books: I was blaming it on the fact that I’m not a YA fan, but maybe it is in the books, huh.
I used to really like the Hunger Games until eveyone started liking it, then I got kinda sick of it, plus the last time I read it I thought Katniss was too mary-sue and needed some flaws in the series ** But I actually read all four twilight books and I loved them, I thought it was such a different view on a unortodox (sp?) view on teen romance and I thought Bella was a great herione either though she had flaws (unlike Katniss) but I never read the Uglies series but a friend on mine read book one and a little bit of book two and told me it was good but got kind boring.
I totally agree. This book and series feels to me like one cheap trick – played on kids!
Badly written, a violent theme (Columbine anyone!) and blantantly marketed. I don’t think I’ve read another book that dragged on and then said – End of Book One (basically announcing you should buy book two). It should have been one book – but she eeked it into three. It’s a book for no one – the theme is very adult and the writing is bad even by young adult fiction standards.
I’m a fan of dystopian and YA fiction, but I really did not enjoy this book. I have no qualms regarding the violence because I knew all about Battle Royale before I read this, but everything else you stated mirrored my sentiments exactly. I cannot stand Katniss, she’s blind and ignorant and selfish and irritating, and I agree with @Marc Greenberg that she never had to struggle with the emotional trauma or consequence of choosing to kill someone beloved or letting herself be killed for their sake.
I thought I was going to love this book, and it definitely was interesting enough to get through fairly quickly, but I put a lot of emphasis on characters, and I felt nothing them. There was no development whatsoever and I didn’t care for their feelings or fates. I just felt everything was so contrived. I was interested enough to see whether the second book would improve the series, but it only made it worst (angsty love triangles in YA are the worst D: ).
Suffice to say, I haven’t the inclination nor patience to read the final instalment. Also, I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like this series! It pains me to see some of my favourite book reviewers having such a high regard for it. I felt maybe I was missing something important, but I guess everyone just has their own preferences.
WOAH! THANK GOODNESS!! I found someone besides myself that doesn’t like this book. I feel it was poorly written and the author was just trying to get a quick buck. I don’t like 5 mins of fame. If you want to praise this trilogy than so be it. But if you want real written literature then read Battle Royale or go back and read eye witness of when the roman empire put the people that they captured in the ring together and all of them die except for one. All in all I thought the trilogy was lame and not needed.
Hunger Games was one of the books that I thought was written by someone who has psychological problems…. possibly a psychopath. The richness of language is somewhat prevalent in psychopaths. In order to pick a topic about kids killing each other and enjoy the descriptions of it is really really sick. I think this book should be censored and prohibited to be read by anyone younger than 21. My 12-year daughter just read the book, she really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d give it a try as well. After I did, I started worrying about the influence of this book on my daughter’s subconsious mind. What happens to young kids is that when they are exposed to violence in many forms (TV, and especially books), they internalize those images, the images get settles in their subconsious mind and create associations that further could damage their healthy psychological and emotional development. For example, if a child is expose to child torturing, animal torturing (in a form of images or verbal description)…. even though a movie or a book condems those acts, the child still internalizes them, especially if these kids of moves/books are recommended by teachers (like in my daughter’s case).
I think you are just dumb. This book was fantastic. In the beginning I didn’t like it, but that was only because I was forced to read it. But once I put my stubborn ways behind me, I really liked it.
Even thought i 100% disagree with you i thank you for writing the review because it is helping me with my hungergames report i needed another side of the story and you fit write in so thank you.
Rebecca Reid I hope thats how u spell your name it will be in my report
Taylor
we didnt agree with your review whatsoever…..totally not….. Thanks for the review though, we also needed another side of the story. It’s helping us do a report on the book and how people liked / disliked it…. We think that you should write your own copy if you didnt like it that much… my teacher totally disagrees with you too. i think you would have some huge disagreements with him.
Well, this is why there’s more than one book, more than one car, more than one food, more than one house… We all have different tastes. But to call someone “dumb” for their opinion, is just…dumb
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I liked your review, and although I don’t have a problem with the killing aspect of the story I do have a few other problems.
The first half of the book tells us how bad ass a hunter Katniss is, how quiet she is, how well she tracks down her pray, and how easily she kills, and cleans them. Then we get to the hunger games themselves, and all she does is hunt rabbits? What gives? what happened to this bad ass hunter we are promised from before. If that wasn’t bad enough, everything that happens to her happens to be an accident. Oh I just happened to be caught in this tree with these killer hunter jackers, hey why don’t I throw these at them.
Katniss is supposed to be smart, but when she get’s into the games her character falls apart, is always running, and never hunting. She spends half of the time in the arena just hurt and stumbling around like the three stooges. In my mind the author took a strong character, and turned her into a very weak character.
I have more complaints, but I will end with this one.
How the hell does a swift, silent, tree jumping virtual ninja like Rue, get caught in a ground snare? I mean come on…
Since I received this book “free” for buying a Nook, I have been wondering about it (since I don’t read YA books). But the premise so far is pretty clear – and I am glad I HAVEN’T read it, nor have any intention to, after reading the many reviews on it. This is not a book I would encourage my teen to read – that it’s okay to kill someone if you think it is vital to your survival. What kind of a message is that? Teens are impressionable; and I would not feel comfortable allowing mine to read a violent book (nor even play a video game with rampant violence). It’s hard enough to raise a responsible, caring child today without books that are twisted. Killing people or animals is NOT okay, and I will not allow my children to think it is.
I’m not alone!!!! =D
Rebecca, I am certainly surprised that the Hunger Games was thought about in this way, but I do appreciate your honest review. Personally, I thought the Hunger Games was a fantastic book and have read it many times. At first, I was about to put down the book and stop reading but I thought the Games were the best part. Unfortunately, there was a lot of violence but there probably wasn’t as much as some of the other dystopian themed books. I took your suggestion and read Uglies and I am going to read Pretties as soon as I can find it!!! Thanks!
Well, I’m pretty glad I’m not alone in the world.
I personally didn’t get as hyped as I should have been with hunger games, I mean, the violence didn’t bother me that much but I agree with Marc’s comment saying the author had avoided the major conflicts that could have taken the story to a more intense level…like, a nice spin-off on Rue’s character…
In addition, I think the fact people praising the book so much made it a bit of a turn off for me. It was like a subconscious thought of defiance against the majority.
Anyways, I’m glad I read this review. ^_^
I couldn’t agree more. I read the first book, not really knowing what I was getting into – just based on recommendations of others, and all the hype about how great a book it was. I was extremely disturbed at the violence and outright sport that was made to glamorize teenagers killing each other, while “rational” adults sat in their homes, watching the events on TV, cheering them on. I sincerely hoped, rationalizing in my mind, that the author’s purpose was to make a social commentary on how depraved a society can become, and serve as a warning to our current society in general. With this in mind, I picked up the second book. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Very wrong. The second book just continues the depraved reality show, with more teenagers killing each other. Granted, I appreciated the fact that the were trying to defy the government and the plans to continue the killing games, but the weakness of character showed through, as they engaged in the “games” in order to prove their point of defiance. After about 1/2 of the second book, I gave up. I have no interest in reading the third book, or seeing any of the movies. I’m glad I’m not the only one with a negative opinion of the series. I just don’t understand why so many people are so excited to see/read something with a plot like this.
loved the book and am so excited to see the movie!
I did not read this book. I kept hearing about the movie and I had one teen friend who said it was “ok” and a cousin in her early 30′s who found it absolutely disgusting. I have no firsthand experience but my gut tells me this is a movie that would have been out 2 decades ago, BEFORE we had teens, and people in general, so hooked on film and before kids go kill half their own school. I feel violence that can be seen as reality is a step in the wrong direction completely and it makes no sense going there, unless, of course, you enjoy genocide.
After having just read Kevin’s comment, I thought, “Wow. So, when we have kids rebelling against the government in their own horrific way because of movies like this, can we THEN stop teaching people how to be violent?” I feel like we’re sending the message, “It’s ok to harm others, so long as you’re angry, unstable mind can justify it.” Maybe I’m just an old hippy at heart, but I’ve always experienced love and happiness to be more exciting.
saw movie; sorta hated book, sorta liked it; movie was pretty good
movie made Capitol seem GOOD GUYS
I watched the hunger game movie tonight with 3 teenagers and another mom. Whoever write this book shows no social responsibility at all, I feel sad and shocked to see so many teenagers enjoy this kind of story. Any responsible adults should prohibit their beloved kids to be exposed to this kind of story. The author of this book is psychologically sick!
Do you have any idea how hard it was to find a negative review of this book? I thought the entire world had lost it. Stephen King even praised the series, and I was like… what? Seriously? Did you read it? It’s so poorly written I thought a 12-year old had penned it as a fanfic or something. It’s basically Battle Royale, but written for a middle-class tweens accustomed to disney films.
I heard about all the hype and saw the film, which I thought was somewhat entertaining, but lacking in the revlutionary substance it hinted at and just… missing something. So I got the books and read them, thinking the richness must be in there somewhere. Completely wrong! The books were way worse off than the film. I was really excited about the premise, and what they could have potentially done with it, but it just ended up being weak.
As others have pointed out, the characters (especially Katniss) are as deep as a kiddie pool, the main character is passive (as in, the plot happens to her rather than the other way around), her internal dialgue is inconsistent and infantile (so much for a strong female lead), and the execution of the plot… I’m just so thoroughly disappointed. It could have been so much more, and instead I feel like she was just trying to make a quick grip of cash in YA fiction pulling out all the cliches and backing out of nearly every significant commitment the main character could make.
It’s a shame.
So this is kind of a long story… Ok. So every one of my friends at school were talking about going to see the movie. My boyfriend wanted to go see it with me, partly because of the romance in it, but also because he loved the books. I told him to wait a couple of weeks until I read the book (I’m one of those who likes to read the book and then compare it with the movie and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see the movie because I’m not a fan of fighting stuff in books). So I started reading it. I was a little confused at first as to who was who (for some reason I thought Katniss was a boy and Gale was a girl…). I got to chapter 2 and the book was so confusing and draining at that point I just put it down for a couple weeks. Then we went to go see the movie and I understood it a bit clearer. That night, I picked up the book again and started reading from where I left off… I couldn’t put it down after that! It was such a good book. Collins is a great writer. The reason I couldn’t put it down was because of all the hooks at the end of the chapters (and I realized the romance part is pretty cool because I’m always a fan of those “I don’t know if I really love you or not because there’s this other guy…” plots). I finished the rest of the series in about 2 weeks. I loved it and it kept me hooked and I would really suggest it to people.