The Hunger Games(The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Thoughts/Review:

This book is brutal. It's sad. But most of all, it's vivid. You see every little thing through Katniss's eyes, because every little thing is a bigger piece of her story. This book is violent, and gory, and maybe, to some people, downright scary. But through all that, it is sweet and bittersweet. They kind of come hand in hand.

Katniss is an amazing character. She's strong, but not extremely full of herself, she's smart, but not too smart, and most of all, she is real. Character development is usually something I struggle with, because if the character isn't developed enough, I'm usually on here writing up a rant on it. I will never, ever like a book with awful characters. I weed them out.

What do I have to say about Peeta? Well, I love the boy with the bread. He's strong, and actually a bit stubborn, but not overly, like some characters tend to be. He is just this: the boy with the bread. No pretenses, no scams, he just really and wholeheartedly is a good guy. He wants to protect Katniss, and everyone else. He doesn't like death, he doesn't want death, but to save someone else, he would die.

I don't really know how Collins managed to write these characters so well developed, but if she could bottle it and sell it, she would be a rich woman. Very rich.

Seriously though, how did she manage to make Peeta so well developed, without making him the main character? Because I think Peeta is very well developed, and will definitely forever be one of my favorite characters. *Sigh*

What was the best part? The plot. It had twists and turns, but it didn't ever confuse me with where it was going. It didn't jump senselessly from one point to the next, and never, ever made me want to just not read the book. I've read this book before, but I needed to review it, so I bought it. The first time around: Meh. The second time? Well, you're reading this, aren't you?

So, all in all, The Hunger Games was filled with kick butt characters, vivid imagination, and best of all, plot.


♠♠♠♠Favorite Quote:Then I remember Peeta's words on the roof. "Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to....to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their games." And for the first time, I understand what he means.