Review - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Release Date: 14th September 2008
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads


Synopsis:

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

My review: Okay I'll admit it that I am way behind on reading this and I did watch the movie first so I wasn't expecting to like the book so much but to be honest I think the book was way better than the movie.

The Hunger Games is brilliantly written and with every description I could picture it in my head (it may have just been because I had already seen the movie I don't know). I found it a super fast read especially for me seeing as it normally takes me a month to read a book of this length it only took me a few days and that was because I had to read it around an essay and uni lectures.

The book started off with Katniss hunting with her friend Gale and Gale trying to convince her to run from District 12 where they lived although if they did run away I am sure they would have been caught and murdered or would nave no where to go even if they could both live off the animals and plants in the woods.

District 12 is the least favourite district in Panam so they are the worst off although all of the districts have special attributes for the capitol somehow district 12 seems to be the worst off in my opinion. Katniss has to go out hunting in the woods which is forbidden just to get food for her sister Prim, her mother and herself some of which she sell's at the Hob to make some money or exchange for something else to eat so that there not just eating rabbit or squirrels.

The worst day for all of Panam is reaping day where once a year the government leaders set up teenagers to fight one another to the death one boy and one girl from each district compete against one another live on national television. the 24 kids who enter know that only one of them can survive to become victor and they know that they have to kill the other member from their district who could be their friend or be killed. When Prim's name is called during the reaping, without even having to think about it Katniss takes her place, she wants to save her little sister and has to compete alongside a bakers son Peeta.

To survive the games the tributes need to win the heart of the audience and get sponsors to help them survive in the arena so a previous winner from district 12 Haymitch - a drunk - decides to make it look like Katniss and Peeta are in love with one another not knowing that Peeta has had a crush on Katniss since they were 5 and it is only revealed during an interview before the games even start. Katniss will still have to use her brains and instincts to fight during the games just like Peeta even if that comes down to Peeta killing the girl he loves.

During the days before the hunger games start the 24 tributes have to train together do interviews and come up with strategies to help them survive in the arena Haymitch's strategy is for Katniss and Peeta fake being in love to gain the audience’s approval. While training Katniss notices the Career tributes these are the ones who have broken the law and been training for the games since they were young, these tributes also come from the richer districts, districts 1, 2, 3 and 4.

While in the arena Katniss has to figure out who she can trust Katniss is good in many ways, she sacrifices herself for her sister and she tries to save people in the game and this turns out to be a little 12 year old named Rue from district 11. Rue can jump from tree to tree without making a sound and she know what plants and berries can be eaten without killing you.

Once Katniss and Rue team up they decide to try and get rid of some of the career tributes by blowing up their food supply - why should the career tributes have all the good food while everyone else has to live off the land? - once they have destroyed the food supply the career tributes throw a fit and then go after Katniss and Rue and one of them kills Rue which makes Katniss very vulnerable and Katniss sings to Rue while she dies and then covers her in flowers.

After this a gamemaker tried to manipulate the remaining tributes telling them that if both members of the same district are the last two standing them they both win, hearing this Katniss go looking for Peeta when she finds him Peeta is pretty beat up for protecting Katniss. Peeta and Katniss both team up and this is when Katniss and Peeta play to the media by caring for Peeta and making it look like they are really in love.

The final death scene - Cato's death - is gruesome after his death the gamemaker who announced the new rule shows up and it is announced that the new rule has been revoked and there will only be one tribute who can win the games so Katniss and Peeta try to outwit the game creators by agreeing to kill themselves so that there is no victor by attempting to eat poisonous berries that will kill them almost immediately.

Collins has written a book that is exciting and breathtaking it is one of the best books I've read in a while. If you haven't read The Hunger Games yet what are you waiting for.

Currently Reading: Perfect Scoundrel by Ally Carter
Read in 2014: 5/40