Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

82 reviews

weepingstones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Child death, Murder, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cannibalism

tabbed_reads2much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Read this first at 11. I'm 24 now, and it's as good as I remember.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Antisemitism, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Slavery, Animal death, Confinement, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Genocide, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Cannibalism, Death, Racism, War, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

The sheer number of content warnings. Yikes

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

challenging tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I first read this book when I was in middle school and the movie adaptations were just coming out. I remember the focus on the "love story" that was at the heart of this series. But the Hunger Games isn't about love; it's about survival in a society where twenty-four children kill each other for sport on live TV every year. Katniss has an advantage because she already knows what's it like to starve, to lose someone, to hunt and to rage against the system that forces her to do these things. It uncovers the strategy and psychology of being a TV star and those of being a traumatized teenager put into a death game where traps and other contestants could kill you at any moment. It's harrowing and tense and once the Games end, you realize that it's just the tip of the iceberg.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicide, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Confinement, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Eating disorder, Cannibalism, and Police brutality

danimacuk's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Murder, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism

Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Mental illness, Police brutality, War, Blood, Confinement, and Gun violence

bajourden619's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, and Police brutality

haley49's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Read this for the first time 10 years too late and I’m obsessed! I love the story, the characters, the message, the symbolism. It was great. Unfortunately, I’m starting it at an older age and some of the writing seems to be missing something for me but that could just me the limited perspective narrative and the middle grade writing focus which is the point. I love how impactful this story is in so many ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War and Vomit

em_davies7019's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Medical content, and Police brutality

Minor: Death of parent and Cannibalism

_lunar__'s review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Medical content, Child death, Murder, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Body horror, Confinement, and Police brutality

Moderate: Torture, Xenophobia, Slavery, Drug use, and Pregnancy

mateyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This must be the 10th time I’ve read this—although it’s been like 5ish years—it holds up so well. Collins is such a literary genius; HG is a gripping harrowing tale about fascism and each time I’m more struck about how traumatic it is. This is really is dystopian storytelling at its best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Alcoholism, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Death, Medical trauma, and Violence

withlivjones's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Is it too early to call this book a modern classic yet? Most of the books I read during the YA dystopian boom of the early-to-mid-2010s have not aged well at all, but I enjoyed this book so much that I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without reading it. Suzanne Collins provides a masterclass in dystopian worldbuilding as she creates a society that is so clearly awful yet so close to the world we live in. There is so much potential and I feel Collins has only touched the surface so I look forward to exploring more of Panem in the other books. 

I tend to find the protagonists of these kinds of books annoying and Mary-Sue esque but I was really surprised by how much I liked Katniss. Her limitations, the way she narrates her thoughts, and the way she interacts with other people seem so realistic and three-dimensional. It may have helped that I was listening to the audiobook narrated by Tatiana Maslany, whose voice acting throughout is absolutely fantastic and brought every character, and especially Katniss, to life. 

Plus, I’m a sucker for the fake relationship trope and it’s so well-written here. 

I can see why these books are so popular and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Medical content, Death of parent, and Police brutality

Minor: Cannibalism