Grade: B
L/C Ratio: 10/90
(This means I estimate the author devoted 10% of her effort to creating a literary work of art and 90% of her effort to creating a commercial bestseller.)
Thematic Breakdown:
40% - Hunting for humans
30% - Coming of age
20% - Young love
10% - Oppressive government
No, this does not mean I have joined the world of young adult fiction. My decision to read The Hunger Games was the result of three things: a lost bet, an invitation to the movie opening next week, and the fact that Suzanne Collins' trilogy is really the only bestseller available via Amazon's Kindle Lending Library (meaning I was able to "borrow" it for free).
There have been approximately 36 million reviews of The Hunger Games already written (the vast majority being positive), so I won't bother evaluating its literary merits in great detail. Instead, I'll just pose two questions.
1. How will the film version handle the novel's first person perspective? A lot of the book takes place within Katniss's head, and I hope they found a way to translate that onto the screen. Perhaps when Katniss speculates about what characters outside of the Games are thinking, the film will diverge from the text and adopt those other perspectives.
2. In Collins's futuristic world, have humans lost the need to go to the bathroom? If not, I fully expect the other books in the trilogy to feature a high volume of restroom scenes.
Noteworthy Quote:
District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety.
Show lessGrade: B
L/C Ratio: 10/90
(This means I estimate the author devoted 10% of her effort to creating a literary work of art and 90% of her effort to creating a commercial bestseller.)
Thematic Breakdown:
40% - Hunting for humans
30% - Coming of age
20% - Young love
10% - Oppressive government
No, this does not mean I have joined the world of young adult fiction. My decision to read The Hunger Games was the result of three things: a lost bet, an invitation to the movie opening next week, and the fact that Suzanne Collins' trilogy is really the only bestseller available via Amazon's Kindle Lending Library (meaning I was able to "borrow" it for free).
There have been approximately 36 million reviews of The Hunger Games already written (the vast majority being positive), so I won't bother evaluating its literary merits in great detail. Instead, I'll just pose two questions.
1. How will the film version handle the novel's first person perspective? A lot of the book takes place within Katniss's head, and I hope they found a way to translate that onto the screen. Perhaps when Katniss speculates about what characters outside of the Games are thinking, the film will diverge from the text and adopt those other perspectives.
2. In Collins's futuristic world, have humans lost the need to go to the bathroom? If not, I fully expect the other books in the trilogy to feature a high volume of restroom scenes.
Noteworthy Quote:
District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety.
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When I started this book I was not sure that I was going to like it. It seemed to be trying to hard to be more than what it was. The reality is by the half way point I was hooked into the story line. Would I consider this a masterpiece of literature? No but it is a guilty pleasure that I'm looking forward to continuing by reading the remaining books.
Show lessWhen I started this book I was not sure that I was going to like it. It seemed to be trying to hard to be more than what it was. The reality is by the half way point I was hooked into the story line. Would I consider this a masterpiece of literature? No but it is a guilty pleasure that I'm looking forward to continuing by reading the remaining books.
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I opened this book preparing to be blown away.I wasn't.'WHAT??' you ask in outrage. 'This book is amazing! Are you crazy?' The answer to that is, well, maybe. But the point is, after all the hype and the 5 star reviews and the exclamations of ‘You HAVE to read this!’ I felt this book was something of a letdown. The ideas behind the book, the plot itself, are brilliant. Two kids selected from each of the twelve districts to compete to the death to serve as a warning that no-one should even consider rebelling against those in power. Being an avid fan of dystopia, I was looking forward to see the outcome. There were sections of the book that were really well written, describing life in District 12, the anger that Katniss, our teen protagonist, felt against the Capitol, and the way Suzanne Collins provoked some quite strong emotions at what was happening.But there were parts of it that just didn’t sit well with me. It was hard for me to really get into the novel at the beginning because there was a lot of description and backstory. It also took too long to get to the main part, where Katniss is actually participating in the Games. I was surprised at how long it took to prepare for them. Then there were chunks that just bored me because nothing really happened. It was pretty much the same events re-occurring but with different people, or the waiting time in between. Peeta Mellarck...wasn’t what I expected. I looked forward to a character with depth and vitality. And ok, he was funny at times, bringing humour to an otherwise grim situation. But the whole relationship angle didn’t work. To me, it felt like Katniss was just acting on her mentor’s expectations. And if she really felt something for Peeta, as suggested, it could have been developed and explored in more depth. To be honest, one of my favourite characters was probably Cinna. I know he’s more of a secondary character, but I loved the way he seemed to be rooting for Katniss and really making her stand out, as well as the way he helped her at the end. As a character, he himself stood out for me.Having said all that, this was by no means a bad book. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I will be reading the second one to see what happens next.
Show lessI opened this book preparing to be blown away.I wasn't.'WHAT??' you ask in outrage. 'This book is amazing! Are you crazy?' The answer to that is, well, maybe. But the point is, after all the hype and the 5 star reviews and the exclamations of ‘You HAVE to read this!’ I felt this book was something of a letdown. The ideas behind the book, the plot itself, are brilliant. Two kids selected from each of the twelve districts to compete to the death to serve as a warning that no-one should even consider rebelling against those in power. Being an avid fan of dystopia, I was looking forward to see the outcome. There were sections of the book that were really well written, describing life in District 12, the anger that Katniss, our teen protagonist, felt against the Capitol, and the way Suzanne Collins provoked some quite strong emotions at what was happening.But there were parts of it that just didn’t sit well with me. It was hard for me to really get into the novel at the beginning because there was a lot of description and backstory. It also took too long to get to the main part, where Katniss is actually participating in the Games. I was surprised at how long it took to prepare for them. Then there were chunks that just bored me because nothing really happened. It was pretty much the same events re-occurring but with different people, or the waiting time in between. Peeta Mellarck...wasn’t what I expected. I looked forward to a character with depth and vitality. And ok, he was funny at times, bringing humour to an otherwise grim situation. But the whole relationship angle didn’t work. To me, it felt like Katniss was just acting on her mentor’s expectations. And if she really felt something for Peeta, as suggested, it could have been developed and explored in more depth. To be honest, one of my favourite characters was probably Cinna. I know he’s more of a secondary character, but I loved the way he seemed to be rooting for Katniss and really making her stand out, as well as the way he helped her at the end. As a character, he himself stood out for me.Having said all that, this was by no means a bad book. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I will be reading the second one to see what happens next.
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