Morgan
The Hunger Games #1 by Suzanne Collins
Goodreads Summary:
Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.
The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The ‘tributes’ are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
My Review:
I am aware that I am WAY behind the rest of the world when it comes to this series, but I have finally sat down and read the first book. I really liked it! Although, I knew I would. While parts of the book were a little slow, I found it to be very enjoyable and suspenseful throughout. I was so worried for our main characters, and my heart broke at certain points in the book.
I liked that this book was easy to relate to. Not in the way you think though. After all, I’ve never had to fight for the death in an arena with 23 other people. However, I found myself totally sympathizing with Katniss. I could almost put myself in her position and feel what she was feeling. I think this is a sign of excellent writing. Especially when the story is something that I have never seen or experienced.
I really liked this book overall, and would give it five stars. Yet, there’s nothing in me that is even a little bit excited to start the next two books. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m scared of what comes next. Either way, I want to try to read the next two so that I can watch the movies.
5 stars