** THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS **
Ok, so being totally honest here… when I first
heard of this book I was kind of like … hhmmm ok, really not my thing. I’m really
not into futuristic sci-fi novels and that is exactly what I thought this was
at first. The whole idea of the novel being based on a televised game was a
little far-fetched for me. I really had no plans on reading it however it was
all my co-workers talked about in the staffroom at lunch time and how excited
they were for the movie to come out. Their obvious delight and love for the
novel made me curious and intrigued me into giving it a chance. Then when my
scholastic order forms came in and I saw that I could get the whole trilogy
(plus a mockingjay pin) for only 20$, I really couldn’t resist. And I have to
say that I am so glad that I finally caved and read the series because it was
AMAZING!
I literally read the entire series in 4 days. I read The Hunger Games in less than 3 hours on a Thursday night after work. I read Catching Fire throughout the day on Friday - reading bits and pieces on my lunch break and after work. Mockingjay took a little longer - I started on a Sunday morning and finished Monday night. I have not gone through a series this quickly since Twilight and Harry Potter. This is definitely a series that you need to read consecutively - if you don't have the second and third book readily available to you once you are finished with the first, you will drive yourself crazy waiting to read them. I could.not.put.these.books.down!!!
The Hunger Games
☆☆☆☆☆
In the post-apocalyptic country of Panem
located in the ruins of North America, the 74th Annual Hunger Games are about to
begin. An annual event that occurs as punishment for a previous rebellion
against the Capitol, each district must send one boy and one girl between the
ages of 12 to 18 to compete in the Hunger Games. The tributes are selected by
lottery, everyone has their name added once a year and you can choose to enter
your name extra times in exchange for a terse, a grain and oil supplement from
the government, to compete in a televised battle in which only 1 can survive.
The tributes will all travel to the Capitol where they will partake in
ceremonies, interviews and training prior to being dropped off into the arena
to do battle.
Katniss
Everdeen is a 16-year old girl from District 12, one of the twelve districts in
Panem, where the countries of North America use to exist. When Katniss’ younger
sister Prim is selected, Katniss does the unthinkable and volunteers to take
her sister’s place as tribute in the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss knows that she
as some hope for survival as she has been providing her family with food by
secretly hunting in the woods after her father died a few years earlier. Joined
by Peeta Mellark, the other tribute from District 12, Katniss makes her way to
the Capitol with their mentors, Haymitch Abernathy, the only other victor from
District 12, and Effie Trinket, the Capitol’s representative from the District.
Katniss must learn to survive and to make choices that weigh survival against
humanity and life against love in order to be victorious.
I loved this novel! It had just about
everything to make it a great novel:
þ A resourceful and intelligent heroine who does things her own way and
doesn’t back down from anything or anyone
þ
A sweet and sensitive hero who loves the
heroine unconditionally
þ
An original and unique setting – a world that
is believable and rich in detail
þ
A thrilling plot with twists and turns at
every corner that keep the reader on the edge of their seat trembling with
excitement and anxiety
þ
Outstanding secondary characters who add so
much to the story be it the much needed voice of reason or humour in a crisis
þ
An ending that provides the perfect premise
for the sequel but also concludes the present book
Collins is a born story-teller. She writes in
an intense, slow-burning style - she is able to constantly build up the
anticipation to the climax of the story that keeps the reader hooked from the
very beginning but she is still able to create tender scenes and vibrant
descriptions. The gore and brutality of the battle scenes was amazing - the
idea that teens could kill each other when it came down to kill or be killed
was shocking, kind of reminded me of Lord
of the Flies. I also loved
how the secondary characters really added to the story - I loved Cinna and
Katniss’ glamour team - they added comic relief to the story and made it a
little softer, a break from the deadly action (which I also loved!).
One of
the few things that I would have liked to enhance the story was a map. I would
have liked to have seen exactly where all of these districts were located based
on the fact that they all had specialties, for example District 12’s is mining,
District 11’s is agriculture, and District 3’s is electronics, just to name a
few. The other flaw was that since it is a trilogy, you know that Katniss will
survive - although I really can’t blame the book itself for that, if I hadn’t
been living under a rock (apparently I was as I didn’t know about this book for
the longest time especially considering it was first published in 2008!) my
perspective might have been different not knowing that the story would continue
on.
When I
got to the end of the book and saw “End of Book 1” I was so relieved that I had
purchased the trilogy and I that I had the second book on hand to start
reading. If you are going to read the series (and trust me, you should) you
must have the second book or else it will drive you crazy not knowing what happens
next!
Catching Fire
☆☆☆☆☆
Against all odds both Katniss and Peeta have
survived the Hunger Games but it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol
and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy - they have just won
honour for their District and wealth and safety for their families but there
are rumours of rebellion among the districts and Katniss and Peeta become the
faces of rebellion. The Capitol is angry and the Capitol wants revenge.
Oftentimes sequels just don’t live up and end
up being disappointing but not in this case. This is yet another AMAZING book -
it was just as good as the first! Catching
Fire had all of the same
elements from The Hunger Games and
it just kept building on it. The writing is just as strong and the details are
just as remarkable - although the writing is simple, the story is thematically
complex. This story seamlessly picks up where the first novel left off. The
characters are even more developed throughout this installment and I have to
admit that I fell a little bit harder for some of the characters - I was unsure
of how I felt about Peeta and Katniss together but I found myself really
rooting for them (sorry Gale!). This story is full of twists and turns and there
were surprises around every corner.
Mockingjay
☆☆☆☆
Once again Katniss has defied the odds and has
survived the Hunger Games for a second time so now you would think that she
would be safe, but that is not the case. The Capitol is angry. Again. Still. The
Capitol wants revenge. Again. Katniss must fight to protect those who she loves
and defy the Capitol one more time.
I have to say that I was disappointed with
Mockingjay. Perhaps it was because of how utterly amazing the first two
installments of this series were or because my expectations were so high, but there
was something missing from Mockingjay - it just was not as fun to read. As
the series progressed I had an insatiable hunger for more and unfortunately my
want was never satisfied. The overall tone of this novel was depressing and I
felt that the readers were not given any closure on some of the characters and
their relationships.
The
story was still intense, suspenseful and full of action but I found myself
missing characters, especially Peeta, who I had grown especially fond of. He
was present throughout the novel, but it wasn’t the Peeta that I feel in love
with - it was a mere shell of his character. I was never really all that fond
of Gale, and the fact that he became the male hero in this novel kind of
bothered me considering his presence in the previous two novels was minimal. I
also didn’t like Katniss in this installment either - she went from a spunky,
spirited, “you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do” character to a
character with a “who care’s” attitude. Sure, I guess that after everything she
went through the change might have been justified but I think that she lost
some of her charm.
A lot
of my favourite characters were noticeably absent- they were just about all
killed off. There were some who were killed so fast that I didn’t even know
what happened to them! I understand that in a war there will be causalities but
I really wish that Collins had given them a grander death specifically Finnick –
their deaths were unbefitting of the characters. The deaths were rushed and
quite often pointless and they almost seemed like Collins was killing off
secondary characters because she couldn’t bear to part with any of her main
characters. It was almost like death for the sake of death to emphasize the
fact that they were in a dangerous and deadly situation. I was also
disappointed in the fact that Katniss basically spent the entire time on the
sidelines – only getting directly involved when someone else commanded it. She
was totally awesome in the arenas and in real-life battle; she was a little bit
of a letdown at least until the final mission, in which she disobeyed an order –
finally the real Katniss came back . . . it only took 2/3 of the novel. She
also leaves the reader wondering about what happens to a lot of the other
characters.
I was expecting a totally epic conclusion to
this amazing series and unfortunately, it fell short. That being said however,
this series will remain some of my favourite books and definitely a series that
will be read again and again.
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