The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

I honestly don't know, because I really enjoyed this book back in my early 20s. Enough that I could compare it to the movie. I definitely need to read them all soon.

Que sensación tan extraña. Todo el tiempo se siente uno frente a un Reality Show y todas las distopías que del "Gran Hermano" de 1984, han surgido. Sin embargo, es extraño, porque desde el inicio se sabe implícitamente que lo que ocurre es visto por la sociedad y son pocas las veces en las que se menciona una interacción directa con los personajes. También resulta extraño, o poco predecible, la evolución del personaje principal. Sí, si, no puede morir -porque aún faltan otros libros- pero es inquietante el sujeto moral que constituye esta niña.

This is a good, riveting story, very hard to put down. When I first starting reading, I expected the premise to remind me of Shirley Jackson's tale The Lottery, but this story is different; The Reaping is a type of lottery, but only those aged twelve to eighteen are in danger of being its victims, and also everyone knows that the playing field is not even; some of these children have had their names entered more than others, in exchange for more food for their families. All of this abuse is punishment for earlier revolts, meant to remind the downtrodden that one group of people have absolute power over them.

This series features some strong female characters, mainly sixteen year old Katniss, who the reader knows from the beginning is a real survivor. Actually, most of the characters are interesting. I don't feel that there's anything very special about Collins's writing style, but it flows well, it's well-paced, and the storyline is intriguing.

It's catching fire:)

This book was great! I've been stuck in a stagnant reading loop for a while--rereading old favourites or new books by a select few authors, and it was refreshing to read a novel by an author whose world and writing style were new. Of course, I would have prefered a happy ending, but maybe i'll get it in book 3 (I don't know, i haven't gotten that far), but that's because I'm a grown-up that hasn't quite discounted the existence of fairytales yet. But that isn't how life is, and Colins does a very good job at accurately portraying how our world could be in the future. All around the world, many governments are oppressing their citizens, and who's to say their methods are not as cruel and brutal as those of the government of Panam?

This book is a very ensightful depiction of human character.With the popularity of "reality TV", such a plot is not inconceivable.

This book came with high praise from all my friends, so I had high expectations. It starts slowly but entertains well enough. I would like to know more about Panem and how this all came about, the fragments of information were quite captivating.

It really picks up immensely once the Hunger Games actually begin, and you start caring about the tributes. At the end, it left me wanting to pick up the next book eagerly, with its cliffhanger ending, and I am greatly looking forward to reading Catching Fire.

Considering I just recently watched my co-workers go nuts over Junglecamp on TV, with its TV romance and the audience waiting to have the contestants rip each other apart (at least verbally, not physically), it's a disturbing look at reality TV and oppression.

As faddish throwaway young-adult fiction goes, this was surprisingly robust. Yes, it borrows very heavily from Battle Royale, but once it gets going, it's genuinely very entertaining and a nice little palate-cleanser. Looking forward to the two sequels now.

I loved the pacing of this book. That is first and foremost. Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, is flawed in a very believable way and it is obvious she is 16. That Collins has written her so believably, with her plethora of flaws, her confusion about Peeta and Gale, her weirdness towards her mother...as a writer I only hope to capture that in my literary YA novel. My problem with the book is not the content as much as it is reading it on the first go around as writer, noting every technique, disagreeing with how she drops conflicts so clunkily in the plot and resolves them the same way. When I read it as a writer it did not seem seamless, and maybe that is because I was reading it critically more so than to enjoy it. Maybe I am off in this assumption, but I feel it, I can see it in her prose. As far as the story goes (trying to weed out my writer instincts) I'm hooked. I'm reading Catching Fire now.

I enjoyed this book, it definitely pulled me in. I was surprised that there wasn't more uprising as I would expect from a dystopian story. There is a sequel though, so I'm sure they're building up to something more.