Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #159927 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

Younger Readers Get Lucky!
This is a really good and well-written story and, as others have said, pretty well un-put-downable. I know it's aimed at teenagers and all I can say is lucky teenagers!

Set in a dystopian future, the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, comes from District 12 - formerly a coal-mining area of the Appalachians. The former US has disintegrated and the 12 districts are now ruled by a cruel and dominant Capitol, based somewhere in the Rockies.

Katniss has grown up independent; her father was killed in a mining accident, her mother withdrew into herself, so Katniss had to learn to not only look after herself, but her baby sister as well. However, the skills she had to learn to feed herself and her family hold her in good stead when she is recruited into the annual Hunger Games, played for the enjoyment of the Capitol and to re-inforce the Capitol's dominance of the Districts.

The first 20 or 30 pages were, I thought, a bit slow, but then it quickly picks up and becomes really engrossing. Yes, I suppose there are hints of 'Lord of the Flies', but it also reminded me a bit of 'Logan's Run' - a story of revolt against a tyrannical government, of solidarity amongst friends. It's also the story of a fourteen year old girl, hardened by her family's mishaps and the cruelty of the society she grows up in, who can't see love when it is offered to her.

The abrupt ending leaves plenty of scope for the next book - and I'm truly tempted to look out for it when it's published. Also, I think maybe that this has sorted out a few Christmas presents - for this year at least!

Amazing dystopia-meets-reality-TV thriller
I started reading The Hunger Games at bedtime and did not sleep until it was finished. This book is a gripping, all-too-realistic account of a society where fame and celebrity are divorced from reason; where people cheer children on as they literally fight to the death for entertainment.

The younger reader will find it gory and terrifying in places, although that is more likely to appeal rather than dissuade! Tense and brilliantly characterised, with a heroine we cheer on from the very start, this is an excellent book for readers of all ages and although some comparison to Lord of the Flies can be made, it has a very distinct flavour drawing from today's obsessions with reality TV and celebrity.

Unputdownable.

Could not put it down.
The 74th Annual Hunger Games are soon to begin. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death. In the new country of Panem, in the ruins of North America, each year as punishment for a rebellion and as a control mechanism, the Capitol forces each of the 12 provinces to draw names of a male and female tribute. The tributes are drawn from all people between the ages of 12 and 18. They receive training, are assessed by the game masters and then the betting begins. The games will be televised and are required viewing for the whole nation.

The draws are not exactly even though. You can choose to enter your name extra times, for yourself and for family members to receive a terse, a grain and oil supplement from the government. Thus enters our heroine Katniss Everdeen. She is entered this year 20 times as she is 16 and taken the terse every year, for herself, her sister and her mother. Her close friend Gale has his name in 42 times, but this is the last year he is eligible. Then Katniss has the worst fear hit - her younger sister Prim (short for Primrose) is drawn with her 1st and only ballot. Katniss then does the unthinkable; she volunteers to take Prim's place.

Katniss Everdeen knows that she has at least some chance of survival in the games. She has been secretly hunting in the woods and feeding her family since her father died years earlier. She hunts and gathers what she can with her friend and hunting partner Gale, in the woods beyond the fenced border of District 12. Yet even so, most believe she has just given up her life for her sisters.

Katniss and Peeta Mellark are the tributes from District 12 for the 74th annual hunger games. As they travel to the capitol they have two mentors - Haymitch Abernathy the only surviving Hunger Games winner from the district and Effie Trinket the Capitol's representative in the district. They will each in their own way try to help them to survive both the Capitol, to win favor with the citizens who can sponsor them in the games, and then the games themselves.

This book is very well written, the scenes sharp and crisp, the world believable and detailed. The characters become real as you read. You reach the end and are left hungry for more, which is what you will get as this is book one in a trilogy. The only drawback in my opinion is the lack of a map. I keep hoping for a map of Panem, with the 12 districts, the mysterious destroyed 13th district and the wilderness area's between them. Maybe it is just a guy thing, but I wanted a map. In this book Twenty-four are forced to enter the game zone but only the winner survives. You get a sample online. You can read chapter 1 online but it will only whet your appetite for more. There is also a video trailer for the book you can find online. This is a great Sci-fi book and would make an excellent movie.

(First Published in Imprint 2008-10-31.)