Michelle M. sent me a copy of The Hunger Games a few months ago, and I finally got around to reading it, and OMG it was the best book ever. I absolutely loved it! The other night, the question came up “What was the best book you’ve read recently?” And I felt like a complete loon because even though I’ve been reading all the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi books, and I enjoy them, I wouldn’t exactly say they’re really any good. And then there are all the graphic novels I’ve been enjoying, like Buffy: Season 8, and one Batman after another, which I love (with the exception of the wretched The Dark Knight Strikes Again, of course). But it’s been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed a book the way I did with The Hunger Games. I would sit at work all day just dying to get on the train again so I could get a few more chapters in. Heck, I even stopped sleeping on the train so I could read more!
Anyway, the book takes place in the dystopian future where America is split up into twelve districts and the Capitol. The Capitol has a stranglehold over the twelve districts to prevent another rebellion that occurred years before the book starts. Food is scarce, so every year each district sends two “tributes” (chosen via lottery) between the ages of twelve to eighteen to the Capitol to fight in the Hunger Games, which is a battle to the death, with the last tribute standing winning a years supply of food for their district. The arena for the Hunger Games is pretty enormous and includes fields, lakes, caves, and woods, so the games can go on for weeks with the tributes hunting and killing each other.
The games are also televised like a reality show, so another interesting thing is the politics that go along with the games. The tributes need to pretend they’re honored to fight in the games to please the Capitol, and there are huge ceremonies and interviews that go along with the whole process. Viewers are also allowed to send you supplies, so you have to be likable for the show in order to get gifts from sponsors. The strategy to be liked by viewers employed by the main characters (a girl and boy from the same district) is key to the plot, and adds a lot of tension and drama, which help flesh out their characters.
I won’t get into to much detail about the rest of the plot, but just know that writer Suzanne Collins doesn’t stray too far from the bloody violence the premise inspires. I mean, yes, the good tributes have a bit more honor when they kill than the “Career” tributes who have been training their whole lives for the games, but the book is pretty savage and yet you still care and root for the main characters to tear the other tributes hearts out. And even though they don’t have much of a presence on the page, you learn to loathe the Capitol with every fiber of your being. Have I mentioned this is a Young Adult novel? Seriously. I was worried about writing the word “damn” in the Young Adult novel I thought I was writing, and here are these teenagers hunting each other to the death. I think I may need to reevaluate my writing a bit.
But yeah, this book was amazing, and I highly recommend it! I finished it on the train to work yesterday morning, and I immediately went out during lunch and picked up the second book in the trilogy, the third of which is being published this August. Go read it!
I love how you slipped in “on a date the other night” hoping we wouldn’t notice. Umm. Glad you like the book, now tell the details. Is he cute? Normal? Did he pay?
Actually that sounds like kind of a cool premise although I did a bit of a “gah” when I read between 12 and 18. Twelve? Really? I read a YA with two boys having sex. It’s a fact of life. Well, not the fighting to the death I suppose, not yet. Kids are hardy these days.
Yes, yes, great book, interesting premise, I’ll get a copy soon, yada, yada, yada…
Now, about this date… NEED DETAILS!
See, I’m not alone. I need to live vicariously through someone.
Sorry, wasn’t really a date, edited post to reflect that.
Oh, and BTW, have you read the free Star Wars ebooks available from either the Kindle or the B&N readers? There are four short stories about the lost tribe of the Sith; I down loaded them yesterday, but I have not read them yet.
Craig = tease
Well shit. Way to rain on my parade Craig.
This sounds interesting. I’ve added to my book list.
I’m currently reading The White Road, the fourth book in Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series.
Cupcake: WHAT?! Where the f$#% have I been? When did it come out, how is it so far? What the Hell am I doing here when I should be on Amazon ordering a book?
BTW, I (finally) finished Off Armageddon Reef and I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you!
Nico: I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I actually considered mentioning to you that I got the book, but I never got around to it.
LOVE that book. The second one is also really great, and I’m looking forward to the last in the trilogy this August.
http://dancerindc.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/whats-in-my-bookbag/
I’m so glad you liked the book – so much better than the Twilight series. I’ve been catching up with my YA books lately. They’ve come a long way from the books I read as a girl. I just finished the Uglies series by Paul Westerfield. And started the book The Forest of Hands and Teeth (zombies!). And of course, I’m waiting for the next installment of the House of Night series (which was recommended by a certain argyle wearing someone…).
That argyle skull shirt is awesome.
This sounds really similar to another book with a VERY similar premise. If you like the whole psychology of school-aged kids killing each other for survival, then you definitely wanna check this one out too.
It’s called “Battle Royale” by Koushun Takami. It was originally released in Japan in 1999, then it later became a popular movie and graphic novel series in Japan. The book didn’t get translated into English until 2003.
So this book takes place in an alternate reality Japan, where the nation that we currently know is a part of a much larger union called The Republic of Greater East Asia. The premise is really similar. The government has become cruel and bureaucratic. It sounds loosely based on Communism, but it doesn’t dive too much into the governmental specifics. However, in the RGEA, every year one class of high school students are randomly chosen to participate in “The Program”. The Program is claimed to be a experiment run by the government to experiment on new defense strategies. However, just like in “The Hunger Game”, the program is televised, and enjoyed by the public. Though most people find the program to be brutal and unsavory, it’s impossible to speak out against the government in any form. Many people also place bets upon which student they think will win.
The story follows three main characters and their 39 other classmates, and their adventure through the program together. It’s pretty easy to bond with many of the characters and sympathize with many of them, only to have them killed brutally moments later.
The book is my favorite adaption of the story, but the movie and graphic novel are both good as well. The book does sound like it has some more adult themes than The War Game does, and there’s no doubt in my mind that the graphic novel is a bit more ‘offensive’. At points, it downright disgusting–though that’s actually one of the things I appreciate.
While the movie is pretty good, you never really have time to bond with the characters as much as you do with the other books, and I find that disappointing. It’s still worth a watch though, especially after you have read one of the other instances of the story.
My other critique is that since it was originally a Japanese novel, some of the themes and personalities of the characters can strike the western reader as very strange or unrealistic. Also, someone not familiar with Japanese names may find it difficult to remember one character from another–there are 42 students, and many Japanese names are very similar.
Overall though, I love the book, and I think you would really enjoy it as well. It’s a pretty good read at 617 pages.
Here’s a link to it’s Wikipedia page as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale
I loved both books of this series. I can’t wait for the 3rd to come out in August.
Ugh here I go again I’m several posts behind.
LOL on the “is he cute? normal? did he pay?” And what constitutes “normal”? Is *ANY* member of this crowd “normal”?
What *I* want to know most of all, Craig, is whether you “stopped sleeping” at work so you could read the book.
See, I’m not alone. I need to live vicariously through someone.
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