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caribbeanprncss's review
5.0
As an English Literature graduate student it's wonderful to see professional and academic essay collections about books you love that most academics wouldn't consider 'literature', this is one of those books. As a fan of The Hunger Games series and a lover of classical literature, seeing other YA authors take on this series from an academic standpoint is quite amazing and intriguing. Not only that, but the themes of the essays are incredibly interesting. A few that stand out are the essay about genetic mutation in our actual world and the Hunger Games world, the one about fashion in the Hunger Games series and, most interestingly, the essay on the political world presented in the Hunger Games series. As someone who hates everything and anything to do with politics, I found myself incredibly surprised to enjoy this particular essay more than the others. In the end, this anthology is something every older Hunger Games fans and literature aficionado must read.
soulfulsin's review
3.0
While some of the articles were riveting, others had a more stagnant quality. I suppose it all depended on what you got out of The Hunger Games themselves. It definitely made me want to reread the trilogy, if that was the book's intent.
gabgon2597's review
5.0
This book was amazing! It really helped me to go deeper into the Hunger Games and understand how close we really are to the idea of it. The essay by Ned Vizzini was astonishing. It talked about the reality TV shows in our day and how much they are actually like the Hunger Games. And REAL Hunger Games fans should definitely read this book to dive deeper into the games and Panem et Circenses.
mayralimeirajm's review
4.0
The only problem with this book is that some of the essays have actually very little about "The Hunger Games". And some focus too much on topics like genetics and Reatity TV, while it could be discussing the actual story.
The book started really good. With amazing essays and beautiful profiles of the characters. Summing everything you had in your mind when you finished reading the series and putting it into words.
Then, it got a bit tiring when authors stirred too far away from the actual "Hunger Games" and just essyaed extensively about Reality Tv (which just seemed like reviews of seasons of Survivor and The Real World) and their actual lives (trying not to come off too egotistical though; ironically).
I have to say Cara Lockwood's essay "Not too weird science" is pretty much the worst one. It's quite a big stretch to compare lizard-men mutts to rice that contains more Vitamin A. I find this essay sort of childish. Not every scientist is Frankenstein. Not every mutation is creepy and evil. 95% of the mutations nowadays are made to help humanity, to the advantage of the world, some even to help the environment. Suzanne Collins' idea about portraying the mutts as something terrifying and bad is more like a warning. About how genetic engeneering can derail, and come to an ugly ending. Of course there are evil people in the world, and some may even eventually use genetics in a bad way. However, I am baffled that in this essay science is portrayed as a curse, as something bad and something to be feared. This is not 1500 anymore. Science is what keeps us going! Science is what's beautiful in life. She writes:"Sometimes science just creates new problems." Examples? Can't really think of any right now. And if there are, the good that sciece has provided can certainly make up for it. This essay is more sci-fi than actual sci-fi. But so far, Cara, everything is swell. There are no tracker jackers roaming around. (Cara's books are actually interesting though - they have nothing to do with genetics - I might just read them).
From there to the end, it gets better, though. It becomes a "Hunger Games" book again, and, therefore, quite enjoyable.
There are only 3 essays that I found undeserving of 4 stars, but the rest of the book made up for those.
The best essays are:
Why So Hungry for the Hunger Games by Sarah Rees Brennan
Team Katniss by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Your Heart Is A Weapon The Size of Your Fist by Mary Borsellind
Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth M. Rees
Crime of Fashion by Terri Clark
Bent, Shattered and Mended by Blythe Woolston
The Politics of Mockingjay by Sarah Darer Littman
The Inevitable Decline of Decadence by Adrienne Kress
Community in the Face of Tyranny by Bree Despain
The book started really good. With amazing essays and beautiful profiles of the characters. Summing everything you had in your mind when you finished reading the series and putting it into words.
Then, it got a bit tiring when authors stirred too far away from the actual "Hunger Games" and just essyaed extensively about Reality Tv (which just seemed like reviews of seasons of Survivor and The Real World) and their actual lives (trying not to come off too egotistical though; ironically).
I have to say Cara Lockwood's essay "Not too weird science" is pretty much the worst one. It's quite a big stretch to compare lizard-men mutts to rice that contains more Vitamin A. I find this essay sort of childish. Not every scientist is Frankenstein. Not every mutation is creepy and evil. 95% of the mutations nowadays are made to help humanity, to the advantage of the world, some even to help the environment. Suzanne Collins' idea about portraying the mutts as something terrifying and bad is more like a warning. About how genetic engeneering can derail, and come to an ugly ending. Of course there are evil people in the world, and some may even eventually use genetics in a bad way. However, I am baffled that in this essay science is portrayed as a curse, as something bad and something to be feared. This is not 1500 anymore. Science is what keeps us going! Science is what's beautiful in life. She writes:"Sometimes science just creates new problems." Examples? Can't really think of any right now. And if there are, the good that sciece has provided can certainly make up for it. This essay is more sci-fi than actual sci-fi. But so far, Cara, everything is swell. There are no tracker jackers roaming around. (Cara's books are actually interesting though - they have nothing to do with genetics - I might just read them).
From there to the end, it gets better, though. It becomes a "Hunger Games" book again, and, therefore, quite enjoyable.
There are only 3 essays that I found undeserving of 4 stars, but the rest of the book made up for those.
The best essays are:
Why So Hungry for the Hunger Games by Sarah Rees Brennan
Team Katniss by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Your Heart Is A Weapon The Size of Your Fist by Mary Borsellind
Smoke and Mirrors by Elizabeth M. Rees
Crime of Fashion by Terri Clark
Bent, Shattered and Mended by Blythe Woolston
The Politics of Mockingjay by Sarah Darer Littman
The Inevitable Decline of Decadence by Adrienne Kress
Community in the Face of Tyranny by Bree Despain
zimtsterni's review
3.0
Einige Texte waren eher naja...langweilig.
Andere hingegen ausgesprochen interessant. Besonders gut gefallen haben mir die Texte zum Thema Reality TV und zum Thema Fashion in der Trilogie.
Kurzum kein Lesemuss, aber wer die Trilogie so liebt wie ich, kann es sich bei Interesse mal anschauen.
Andere hingegen ausgesprochen interessant. Besonders gut gefallen haben mir die Texte zum Thema Reality TV und zum Thema Fashion in der Trilogie.
Kurzum kein Lesemuss, aber wer die Trilogie so liebt wie ich, kann es sich bei Interesse mal anschauen.
rcvolo's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading The Girl Who Was On Fire edited by Leah Wilson. I thought, overall, the collection of essays were good, and I definitely want to read a few (or maybe most of them) again. I also really want to read the Hunger Games series again as a result of finishing this book, so I'm sure I'll be revisiting this book in the near future. Many of the essays brought forth thought-provoking ideas/themes about the series that I failed to notice the first time. There were a few essays that I did not enjoy. I either could not connect with the message the author was trying to make, they claimed truths about our world that I just could not agree with, or they stated outlandish claims about the series that caused me to question if they even read the book. Overall though, this collection of essays was a fun read that had me thinking about one of my favorite series of all time, and at the same time, they encouraged me to think about how these messages applied to our own world.