Cait Reads: The Hunger Games
Once again, I'm jumping on the train long after it has left the station.
Last night, I hardly slept at all. This was because I was engrossed in a book that I, quite literally, would not put down. This book, of course, was The Hunger Games.
This book has been lauded as the next Twilight, and even (gasp) the next Harry Potter. Now, not to be particularly smug, but with Twilight and Harry Potter, I was a huge fan before the big rush of popularity hit. With this book, as noted before, I was not as ahead of the curve, and finally, after being much convinced by the ever-growing hype surrounding the upcoming film, decided to plunge in. I was a little apprehensive, in part because the whole post-apocalyptic genre doesn't really appeal to me, and also because I felt it was below my reading level. I don't say that to be snobby, but I don't enjoy young adult novels nearly as much as I did when I was about 13.
But I digress. After much coaxing, I picked up a copy of the book on my way back to my parents' place, just yesterday, and intended upon reading it in the car. A few short hours later, and I've zipped through it, and found it surprisingly better than I had expected. I finished it at about 4:30 this morning, but the details are still crisp in my mind.
For those of you who haven't heard of this book, the quick summary is as follows. In North America, hundreds of years from now, there's been some kind of nuclear war or disaster of some sort that is only vaguely alluded to. To replace what I assume is the US, Canada, and Mexico, there is a capitol region, surrounded by 13 districts. Twelve of the districts still exist at the time the book takes place, but the thirteenth has been obliterated for causing an uprising against the capitol.
The districts live in relative poverty compared to the wealthy capitol, and in the most impoverished district, the two main characters live. Katniss is the daughter of a (deceased) coal miner and a healer-apothecary-lady. She hunts illegally, and hangs out with her friend, Gale, who also has a dead coal miner for a dad. Every year, as some sort of crappy revenge for the rebellion against the capitol (74 years ago), a boy and a girl, aged 12 to 18, from each district have to go to the capitol to a special arena and kill each other until only one person is left, and that person, and their district gets tons of cool prizes, notably food. Katniss and this guy from her district named Peeta are the victims, called 'tributes'. To make things even more twisted, the entire thing is televised, and betting is encouraged, as viewers can send money to buy gifts for their favourite contestants in the arena.
Wow. That's a little perverse. This whole children killing children theme is really a frightening concept, and once you remember that the characters in the book are a maximum of 18, it frightens me how vicious and bloody the book is.
Once you get over that, the book is okay. I'm unconvinced that it's worth all the hype it's getting. I don't think it will ever top Twilight or Harry Potter in terms of popularity, but it isn't bad. While the general premise has been done before (Battle Royale) it's still relevant, and post-apocalyptic time frames are very in vogue. Katniss and Peeta are really dynamic characters, which I like, and they both have a sort of ferocity that I found lacking in Twilight, so the comparison isn't really just. However, I still don't feel that it's destined to be a box office breaker.
The whole point of reading the book is so I'd have a means of comparison when I go to see the movie when it comes out in a few weeks. After finishing it, I'm excited for the movie, as well as to finish the next two books, which are waiting on my e-reader upstairs. This book is definitely a solid 7/10, and if it sounds like something you're interested in, definitely take a look. I'll most certainly fill you in on the next two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, when I finish those up. :)
Last night, I hardly slept at all. This was because I was engrossed in a book that I, quite literally, would not put down. This book, of course, was The Hunger Games.
But I digress. After much coaxing, I picked up a copy of the book on my way back to my parents' place, just yesterday, and intended upon reading it in the car. A few short hours later, and I've zipped through it, and found it surprisingly better than I had expected. I finished it at about 4:30 this morning, but the details are still crisp in my mind.
For those of you who haven't heard of this book, the quick summary is as follows. In North America, hundreds of years from now, there's been some kind of nuclear war or disaster of some sort that is only vaguely alluded to. To replace what I assume is the US, Canada, and Mexico, there is a capitol region, surrounded by 13 districts. Twelve of the districts still exist at the time the book takes place, but the thirteenth has been obliterated for causing an uprising against the capitol.
The districts live in relative poverty compared to the wealthy capitol, and in the most impoverished district, the two main characters live. Katniss is the daughter of a (deceased) coal miner and a healer-apothecary-lady. She hunts illegally, and hangs out with her friend, Gale, who also has a dead coal miner for a dad. Every year, as some sort of crappy revenge for the rebellion against the capitol (74 years ago), a boy and a girl, aged 12 to 18, from each district have to go to the capitol to a special arena and kill each other until only one person is left, and that person, and their district gets tons of cool prizes, notably food. Katniss and this guy from her district named Peeta are the victims, called 'tributes'. To make things even more twisted, the entire thing is televised, and betting is encouraged, as viewers can send money to buy gifts for their favourite contestants in the arena.
Wow. That's a little perverse. This whole children killing children theme is really a frightening concept, and once you remember that the characters in the book are a maximum of 18, it frightens me how vicious and bloody the book is.
Once you get over that, the book is okay. I'm unconvinced that it's worth all the hype it's getting. I don't think it will ever top Twilight or Harry Potter in terms of popularity, but it isn't bad. While the general premise has been done before (Battle Royale) it's still relevant, and post-apocalyptic time frames are very in vogue. Katniss and Peeta are really dynamic characters, which I like, and they both have a sort of ferocity that I found lacking in Twilight, so the comparison isn't really just. However, I still don't feel that it's destined to be a box office breaker.
The whole point of reading the book is so I'd have a means of comparison when I go to see the movie when it comes out in a few weeks. After finishing it, I'm excited for the movie, as well as to finish the next two books, which are waiting on my e-reader upstairs. This book is definitely a solid 7/10, and if it sounds like something you're interested in, definitely take a look. I'll most certainly fill you in on the next two books, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, when I finish those up. :)