I am officially the last person to read this! It is certainly a title worth buying, but I wasn't as thrilled about it as most people have been. Too many dystopian titles lately, perhaps!Katniss has been taking care of her family since her father's death, hunting and gathering food in the forest, although this is forbidden. At the yearly reaping, however, she is chosed to be a tribute for her community and fight in the annual Hunger Games, a combination of reality tv program and government population control. The other tribute from her community is Peeta, a boy she doesn't know well, but has had positive dealings with. They must both fight to survive, and only one of them can win.
While I didn't quite understand why this futuristic society had crumbled so far-- there is a little discussion, but not enough. Why the Hunger Games? How can Kat's family afford a tv if there is no food? There were a lot of unanswered questions, but they will probably be addressed in book two. I would have prefered a stand-alone title, but students do like series.
On the positive side, the action/adventure/survival was quite riveting, once the games began. I liked Kat and Peeta, and felt that they both matured and learned something. A lot of good discussion about human nature. This will be a popular title, and it has already been suggested for a school book club.
Feel compelled to list other reviews, since mine is rather luke-warm and not specific!
Becky's Books
Fuse #8
YA New York
Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs
Winfield Public Library
Uhhh, You're not the last to read this! I'm still undecided on this one...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your honest view.
You're not the last one. I haven't read it yet, but it has been recommended to me.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read it either! I'm not usually a fan of post-apocalyptic stories. Thank you for a review with a different perspective!
ReplyDeleteI admit this is a page turner, but I did not connect with it. I almost felt like Collins was writing in the hopes this will be turned into a movie, because some of the descriptions were so dramatic they bordered on cheesy for me. But I work at a children's bookstore, and my co-workers are all about this book, so maybe I'm missing something..
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