Mary Ellen Pinkham

Thanks to Nancy, I put this book on my list and then when I heard BravoAndy give it his Mazel of the Week, well I had to give it a try. I am so glad I did.

Don't let the Young Adult genre classification fool you. The themes explored in this series are as serious as any you will find on the Modern Library's Top 100 List.

This is book one of the series and begins with an annual lottery as chilling as Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, where Katniss Everdeen, our heroine, volunteers herself for the show more annual Hunger Games when her younger sister's name is drawn. The Hunger Games are a post-apocalyptic game of Survivor on the Island of Doctor Moreau. 2 teenagers from the 12 districts that are under the oppressive thumb of the Capitol compete in a battle to the death, the victor winning riches for self and family for life and a year of bounty for the home district.

This first novel is the story of our Theseus, Katniss struggle in the Hunger Games, but is also an exploration of the use of reality shows, violence and the use of entertainment to distract, divide and oppress.

This is a grim book and a grim series, but engrossing and far more interesting than it appears at first glance. show less

Loved this book. It was a wonderful blend of ancient Roman gladiators and Survivor which had me hooked from the start. At times the story was a bit gruesome but it was action packed and full of adventure with great characters. Can't wait to read the sequel.

OH MY GOD! These three words sum up all of the feelings that I have about this book. I am shocked that I hadn't heard what the book was about before, but after reading the book I understand why people don't blast out what it is about. The reader needs to discover that for themselves. They need that opportunity to be taken aback and stunned by what Collins presents to them on every gripping page.

Collins story weaves a horrible reality for the main girl Katniss and just when you think that show more she is going to let the problems end she throws another horrible situation her way and the book doesn't end. You almost question if it is really over when you get to the final page, but then you read END OF BOOK ONE which lets you know that indeed this isn't the end for Katniss and something else is going to happen to her, but what it is? You are intrigued to find out as a reader what will happen to the character. You almost instantly want to keep reading the entire trilogy because it is that engrossing.

This book will make you run the entire emotional spectrum. It also is one of my favorite reads to date because of this. I have to admit though that there were times where I had to put the book down because I was too emotionally attached to the characters and when Collins decided another thing must be thrown at Katniss I wanted to throw up or got mad. I almost threw my kindle across the room a few times. This is when I knew that this was a powerful book and one that I feel that everyone should give a chance to read. It was truly a gripping read. show less

I may be one of the last people to read this trilogy, and I have to say I'm glad I waited. Not because I didn't enjoy them, I very much did, but because I didn't have to wait for any of the books to be released. I started each book immediately upon completing the last and so they read as one. I would have been driven mad waiting to find out what happened between books one and two and between books two and three. I read the trilogy as a whole, and so my review is of the series as a whole. It show more also means I will be leaving out more than the briefest of summaries so as to avoid any spoilers for any of those people who haven't yet been convinced to run out and read these books.

Katniss Everdeen lives in a bleak future, one in which the world as we know it is gone, and has been replaced by a bleak dystopian society. She lives in Panem, a nation situated in what was once North America, made up of 12 unique districts, and controlled by the Capitol. The population is controlled by gruesome means, in the form of The Hunger Games, to which each district must send two tributes, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, who will then battle to the death in a televised competition, in exchange for privelages in the form of food and money to be given to their district. When, against all odds, her 12 year old sister is selected to represent District 12, Katniss volunteers to go in her place, setting of a chain reaction with consequences no one foresaw.

Dystopian literature is nothing new, and it is clear that Suzanne Collins is heavily influenced by some of the giants in this genre. Yet her story captured the imagination of not only her target audience, young adults, but people everywhere. What she has accomplished was to give those people who felt a void upon the completion of Harry Potter something else to read. Another intelligent story with brave, unique, and intelligent characters and a richly drawn setting and a plot that grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go until the end. I may be one of the last people to read these books, but to those few who still haven't, believe me when I say, you're missing out. show less