In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
MY REVIEW:
All these hype about the upcoming Hunger Games-The Movie in 2012 finally got me into reading Book One of the series. If I could kick myself, I probably would have. Why, oh why, did I not read this sooner? It’s been in my shelf for like ages, recommendations to read it from friends were a lot, and reviews about the series are all raving. So I can’t quite understand what came over me when I ignored this over some other crappy paranormal reads.
The genre is dystopian. For those not familiar with dystopian novels, it’s a branch of sci-fi with a post-apocalyptic twist. It’s often characterized by a centralized government taking control over society where people lead appalling and fearful lives.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America which is now named Panem. Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister was randomly selected as one of the two tributes of their district to play in the televised annual Hunger Games where twenty three other teenagers will fight to the death. Katniss volunteered in place of her sister. A lot of unexpected events happened – unexpected in the sense that I didn’t see a lot of those coming. I didn’t anticipate all the twists in the plot. All in all, it was thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, sometimes funny, and most of the time sad and heart-wrenching. I cried, laughed, cried again, and cried some more. I haven’t cried this much while reading a book! My head was aching and my heart felt very heavy half-way through. But that didn’t stop me from finishing the book in less than four hours. However, that’s all I can say about the story else I’ll be giving spoilers. Suzanne Collins is a genius!
The genre is dystopian. For those not familiar with dystopian novels, it’s a branch of sci-fi with a post-apocalyptic twist. It’s often characterized by a centralized government taking control over society where people lead appalling and fearful lives.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America which is now named Panem. Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister was randomly selected as one of the two tributes of their district to play in the televised annual Hunger Games where twenty three other teenagers will fight to the death. Katniss volunteered in place of her sister. A lot of unexpected events happened – unexpected in the sense that I didn’t see a lot of those coming. I didn’t anticipate all the twists in the plot. All in all, it was thrilling, suspenseful, action-packed, sometimes funny, and most of the time sad and heart-wrenching. I cried, laughed, cried again, and cried some more. I haven’t cried this much while reading a book! My head was aching and my heart felt very heavy half-way through. But that didn’t stop me from finishing the book in less than four hours. However, that’s all I can say about the story else I’ll be giving spoilers. Suzanne Collins is a genius!
