Having recently read the book 'The Hunger Games' in anticipation for the movie that was released yesterday, I thought it only right that today I write a double review encompassing both these versions, firstly in this blog the book, and in my next blog the film.
Although the book series written by Suzanne Collins 'The Hunger Games', has been out for a number of years now they only really came to my attention at the end of last year. Immediately I found that this series had a very large fan base, with the same enthusiasm and love for the books that the Harry Potter community had for J.K Rowling's amazing series of books.
Although I got the books at christmas, and I'd set myself the goal of reading them before the release of the movie in march, it took me until the second week of march, due to certain reasons to even begin reading the first book. This then is my review of the first book in the series The Hunger Games.
The book is a dystopian novel set in the future ruins of North America. The country at this time is split up into 13 districts, the main central region known as The Capitol, and its 12 outlining districts. The story begins 74 years after the period of rebellion of the outer districts against the capitol. As punishment and as a reminder of what the 12 districts did, the capitol holds a competition each year known as the Hunger Games.
Each year prior to The Hunger Games, a reaping is held in each district where one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 is selected from a lottery to compete for their district in the hunger games in a fight to the death. The victor of the Hunger Games is crown when the last person out of the 24 tributes selected, is left alive.
This book for me was quite unique, although I'd heard that there was a film of it to be released, and that it had a lot of followers I knew basically nothing else about the book and so went into it more or less blind. Having finished this book now though, I can very easily say it's one of the best books that I've ever read, surpassing even the majority of the Harry Potter Books.
The book throughout is set at quite a fast pace, however you never feel as though your being rushed or that you've missed anything out, which for me meant that you were always kept interested and also allowed the author to throw in twists here and there to catch you off guard.
The setting of these characters in such a dire setting where to save their own lives they have to kill others like them, provides an excellent opportunity to see how the main characters Katniss and Peeta react, and how 'human' they are. This is an aspect of writing that I've not really come across much before and was done in a very real way and allowed you to feel you knew the characters on a very personal level.
It's about now that I'd try to find something that I didn't really like, or would have liked to see changed, however I can't do that for this book. Honestly I wouldn't change a thing, and for me that's quite rare. This book has now become my new standard at which I measure all others against. My only wish is that I discovered this books earlier then I had.
After everything I've said about this book, I have to give it a 10 out of 10. The Hunger Games is a definite must read. Once you've finished that you can then go ahead and read the rest of the series, you won't regret it.
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