The Hunger Games Review

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Hunger Games was an incredibly captivating start to a trilogy. It is an impressive accomplishment of Suzanne Collins to reach readers of both genders, all ages and all walks of life.



By now everyone knows the Hunger Games is a dystopian novel. North America is now known as Panem and consists of 12 districts which are ruled by the Capitol. The Capitol puts on the Hunger games which is a sort of reality show of the most barbaric kinds. One boy and one girl get randomly chosen from each district to take part in the Games and get televised as they are forced to kill each other until one victor is standing. Katniss Everdeen lives in the 12th district, the district that is viewed as most disposable and useless by the Capitol and the higher classed districts. Katniss is 16 years old girl, independent and a real survivor of a lot of bad luck handed to her in a short life. The poor fortune just keeps on rolling her way, when her little sister gets selected as a tribute for the Hunger Games. Katniss doesn’t skip a beat and demands to take her sister’s, Prim’s, spot. No matter how strong willed and capable she seems, Katniss is terrified to be led to an almost certain death, especially with her head and heart in such uncertain places. The boy picked for the Games is unsuspecting and even worse, Katniss has a past connection with him. She feels indebt to him, and now she is in the position of being obligated to kill him if she wants to save her own life along with the survival of her sister and Mother resting heavily on her shoulders. The journey to the games and the freakishly realistic time and events that pass during the Hunger Games gives us a good and clear view of human nature at its best and worse. Katniss has a lot to learn about life and relationships with others. The lessons and tests , however, seem to keep coming, not leaving any breathing room for mistakes that have deadly consequences. Her tough shell gets cracked by the barbaric Games and finally starts to see with her heart instead of just her one tracked mind, but is it too late for Katniss?



I may be one of the last people to finally dig into this series, and am kicking myself a little for keeping them on my shelf for so long. The Hunger Games is an utterly gripping story that draws from serious issues in our present day world and what catastrophic consequences that can fall from them. I’m sure that every reader will be able to relate to one of the characters in the book. Katniss as a heroin is perfection. She’s not perfect and has much to learn of the ways of this dystopian world. Her character’s main issues scream to the majority of us like.. deciding if doing the wrong thing and making selfish choices purely just to stay alive when other lives hang in the balance. The way that Panem is ruled isn’t too far off base with some countries in our world today, but the Hunger Games shines a big honkin’ spotlight on how easily we can lose our freedom. The moral thoughts that can be pulled from the first instalment to this addictive trilogy is never ending. If you haven’t read it, mark this book as your next and prepare for the temptation to not work or sleep.





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