Monday, September 13, 2010

Book Review: The Hunger Games


Title: The Hunger Games 
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Star Rating: 4.5/5
Network: Shelfari | Goodreads |
Buy: Amazon

My Summary: When Katniss Everdeen's little sister Primrose is selected to compete in the annual "Hunger Games," Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take Prim's place. She will have to compete against 23 other "players" to win the Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live television, broadcast throughout the country.

My Review: If you have been following my reviews for any length of time, you know that I don't give out half stars. I'm a tough grader, and in fact, most books don't get a four, let alone a five star rating. However, I made an exception in this case. The book is incredible and very much worth the read.

I've read that The Hunger Games Trilogy is geared toward Twilight readers. I would argue that Suzanne Collins takes a combination of a couple of Stephen King's Bachman Books (specifically The Running Man and The Long Walk) and builds them into her Hunger Games.

The only reason I don't give The Hunger Games a full five stars is because I feel that Suzanne Collins didn't pull off the present tense narrative. The first person was believable, but the present tense could be jarring, as she went back and forth between past and present and it was, at times, confusing, even for an experienced and wide reader like myself.

Excellent novel!