Hi guys! Welcome to Nina’s Book Corner! Today I will review the fan-acclaimed favorite, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
So firstly, let’s start with a basic summary of the book and then get into some deeper opinions. (WARNING: Some sections will contain spoilers. I recommend not reading further than the summary if you have not read it.)
Summary
Even if you haven’t read it, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Hunger Games. The book follows Katniss Everdeen, a fierce girl from District 12. In this dystopia, the world is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. There used to be 13, but it was destroyed in the war that decided the fate of the Hunger Games. Every year, a boy and a girl are picked to be a tribute in the Hunger Games, a televised event designed for the entertainment of the Capitol people. 24 tributes are trapped inside an arena and forced to fight to the death. Except District 12 never wins. When Katniss’s little sister, Prim, gets picked, Katniss volunteers in her place. She is joined by Peeta Mellark, a boy who saved her life. This book is a combination of romance and dystopian fiction.
The book starts with Katniss hunting in the woods with her best friend, Gale, who is around three years older than her. It’s the day of the Reaping, where names get pulled for the Hunger Games. I don’t have any thoughts on Gale to start with. I mean, I think he’s a good friend, and I think he has a right to rebel against the Capitol, but he seems pretty basic. Katniss, to begin with, is independent and I can already understand her hard life. She has to take care of her family, because her mother sort of neglected her children after their father died in a tragic mining accident. (District 12 is the coal district, and is supposed to be located somewhere in Appalachia) Gale says something like ‘we should run away together’ which Katniss thinks about a lot further in the book, and starts some romantic feelings towards Gale. At the Reaping, Prim’s name gets called and Katniss volunteers as tribute. Now, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail because I’m here to cover my opinions, so I’ll move on a little bit. So Katniss goes to the Capitol, and is spoiled beyond her imagination. There are some important people you should know about before we move on to the arena. Haymitch, Katniss and Pita’s mentor, who is the only District 12 Hunger Games victor still alive, Effie, an escort and Capitol person, Cinna, Katniss’s stylist, and of course, Peeta. Now, I think Effie is blinded by the Capitol and doesn’t think twice about the cruelty of the Hunger Games, but she’s very sweet and I genuinely believe she cares about Katniss. Haymitch is an old drunk, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind dying. You have to understand the trauma Haymitch has been through, being the only Hunger Games District 12 victor still alive, and having all his mentees die. Towards the end of the book, he shows compassion and he grows on me. Cinna is the sweetest, and I love him. He’s not like the other Capitol people, and I think without his help Katniss wouldn’t be alive. Peeta is sweet, although sometimes he gets on my nerves. Like how he ends up showing too much love towards Katniss, and we begin to think it’s real. Katniss gets by in the arena, eventually befriending a twelve-year-old from District 11, Rue. Rue is smart and kind, and eventually dies in the hands of the District 1 boy, when they are blowing up the Career’s food. (The Careers are the higher districts that love being chosen to be a tribute) She was an incredible loss, but I honestly think Collins should have built up their story more, so that losing her would be even harder. Then Peeta and Katniss team up, believing that the rules have changed and two tributes from the same district can win. They earn a lot of sponsors from their “desperate love” for each other, which is all an act. But I don’t think Peeta is completely faking it. When Peeta and Katniss are the last two tributes standing, they find out that only one victor can win. Katniss decides to rebel against the Capitol. Her and Peeta take deadly berries they collected and try to kill themselves, but are quickly rescued by the Capitol. The Capitol is not happy about this rebellion, and is out for Katniss, so the love act with Peeta goes on until they arrive back at District 12, where Peeta gets frustrated with Katniss, believing that part of the act they put on was real. The book ends with them arriving at District 12, and Katniss stating that ‘the boy with the bread is already slipping away from her.’
Overall, I enjoyed it and I loved Collin’s build of suspense in every chapter. I had read it when I was younger, and I did not like the lovey dovey part of it, but now I understand that was a key to Katniss’s survival. I can’t wait to read the second book, and I recommend you read this book. I found myself not being able to put the book down, not even for a second. I think dystopian books nowadays are getting cringe and basic, but this is an extraordinary piece of work.
Bye, readers..
Nina.