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title: The Hunger Gamesauthor: Suzanne Collins
series: The Hunger Games #1
published: 9.14.2008
publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: bought
genre(s): dystopian
pages: 318
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
| series rating: the blurb
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The 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 is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.
a few notes
❗trigger warnings: ❗violence, loss, grief
POV: 3rd person
setting: Panem (district 112, Capitol)
keywords/phrases: family, fear, oppression, rebellion
tropes: totalitarian government, strict social castes, struggle to survive
spice: 0/5
language: 0/5
my review
Note: I first read this years ago, before I had a book blog and never reviewed. So here I am, years later, doing so mid reread.
This will always remain a favored book/series for me. I truly love Katniss Everdeen as a female main character. Imperfect she may be, but she’s also the epitome of strong and independent, while also being deeply loving and loyal (even when she sees those things as signs of weakness.) She is a survivor who will fight for herself and those she cares for. Most importantly, she will never be the damsel in distress. Even years after this book was initially released, it’s still, sadly, an underused/undervalued take on a FMC.
I also love a book, YA or adult, in which romance is not the center of the plot. The happiness of Katniss is not dependent on romance, on a guy. Yes, there is a bit of a pseudo love triangle, but it is the least of her concerns. There are far more important things for her to worry about, like survival. It makes her character and the story feel much more real, her take on romance feeling appropriate to the situation.
Collins has created a terrifying world in Panem, bringing the fear, the horror, the anger, even the moments of laughter and happiness, to life. Truly a gripping series, one that holds up over the years.
About Suzanne Collins
Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the critically acclaimed Rankin/Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days.
While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find…? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part series, The Underland Chronicles. Suzanne also has a rhyming picture book illustrated by Mike Lester entitled When Charlie McButton Lost Power.
She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2026 52 Books Reading Challenge
- 2026 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
- 2026 Barnes & Noble Reading Challenge
- 2026 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge
- 2026 Linz the Bookworm & Logophile Reading Challenge
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