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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Battle Royale was an absolute blast to read. I was intimidated by its size- at 608 pages it’s quite the novel. It starts with a bang and it doesn’t let up. I loved how it jumped from person to person, where you got almost mini horror stories in the novel, which gave you a break from the large scale chaos. I absolutely loved this book and it’s a 5 star all the way.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Here is the premise, per Wikipedia and book cover:
"Battle Royale takes place in an alternate timeline, Japan is a police state, known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. From time to time, fifty randomly selected classes of secondary school students are forced to take arms against one another until only one student in each class remains. The program was created, supposedly, as a form of military research, though the outcome of each battle is publicized on local television. A character discovers that the program is not an experiment at all, but a means of terrorizing the population. In theory, after seeing such atrocities, the people will become paranoid and divided, preventing another rebellion.
Under the guise of a "study trip", a group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School, a junior high school operated by the fictional town of Shiroiwa (in Kagawa Prefecture), are corralled onto a bus and gassed, only to awaken in a school on an isolated, vacated island, wearing metal collars around their necks. After being briefed about the program, the students are issued survival packs (along with a random weapon or a tool) and sent out onto the island one by one."
What I Feel: What did I just read?? I just a Pre- Hunger Games book. Battle Royale was published around 1996, and became a huge hit in Japan. Fast-forward to 2006, and you have Hunger Games; which is Battle Royale with morals. I love both, but the similarities are startling.
There were many times throughout this reading that I really had hope that the kids would come together and find a way to escape. As I read this, though; I realized... can I really trust this person to not kill me? Are they just using me to help them survive? I became immersed in this story, as a swimmer is to the pool. It became a part of me, and I could no longer trust the student next to me. Where do you turn when the forbidden zones increase, and your safe areas are dwindling? How do you survive, after being given a damn boomerang. Does it pay to be the top athlete, class president; or must you be something darker?? I feel rather numb.
Like I said, Hunger Games gives you a lot of... story... and not much action, until you are 2/3 of the way in. Catching Fire was pretty awesome; but by Mockingjay, you knew the author had a movie deal in the works, because the story made no sense half-way through. Katniss should be fighting, not baking cookies.
With that being said; I have immediately fallen in love with this book, and really hope there is a sequel. ;)
Note: If you don't agree with my review; I really don't care. I wrote this for myself. Hunger Games is a favorite series for me, and worth re-reading; but I will not debate and listen to whiners who think it is the best thing since sliced bread. This is not a bash on Hunger Games, but a reality check of what came first, the chicken or the egg.
"Battle Royale takes place in an alternate timeline, Japan is a police state, known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. From time to time, fifty randomly selected classes of secondary school students are forced to take arms against one another until only one student in each class remains. The program was created, supposedly, as a form of military research, though the outcome of each battle is publicized on local television. A character discovers that the program is not an experiment at all, but a means of terrorizing the population. In theory, after seeing such atrocities, the people will become paranoid and divided, preventing another rebellion.
Under the guise of a "study trip", a group of students from Shiroiwa Junior High School, a junior high school operated by the fictional town of Shiroiwa (in Kagawa Prefecture), are corralled onto a bus and gassed, only to awaken in a school on an isolated, vacated island, wearing metal collars around their necks. After being briefed about the program, the students are issued survival packs (along with a random weapon or a tool) and sent out onto the island one by one."
What I Feel: What did I just read?? I just a Pre- Hunger Games book. Battle Royale was published around 1996, and became a huge hit in Japan. Fast-forward to 2006, and you have Hunger Games; which is Battle Royale with morals. I love both, but the similarities are startling.
There were many times throughout this reading that I really had hope that the kids would come together and find a way to escape. As I read this, though; I realized... can I really trust this person to not kill me? Are they just using me to help them survive? I became immersed in this story, as a swimmer is to the pool. It became a part of me, and I could no longer trust the student next to me. Where do you turn when the forbidden zones increase, and your safe areas are dwindling? How do you survive, after being given a damn boomerang. Does it pay to be the top athlete, class president; or must you be something darker?? I feel rather numb.
Like I said, Hunger Games gives you a lot of... story... and not much action, until you are 2/3 of the way in. Catching Fire was pretty awesome; but by Mockingjay, you knew the author had a movie deal in the works, because the story made no sense half-way through. Katniss should be fighting, not baking cookies.
With that being said; I have immediately fallen in love with this book, and really hope there is a sequel. ;)
Note: If you don't agree with my review; I really don't care. I wrote this for myself. Hunger Games is a favorite series for me, and worth re-reading; but I will not debate and listen to whiners who think it is the best thing since sliced bread. This is not a bash on Hunger Games, but a reality check of what came first, the chicken or the egg.
i rly enjoyed the plot of the book, and there was a lot of action that kept me reading.
however, the writing was pretty weird (i think bc it’s a translation) and i didn’t rly care about the romance in the book. especially since most of the ppl that had a crush on someone had barely even interacted with them before the game started, and then all of a sudden they’re confessing their love or smth lmao. and it happened more than once so i just ended up skim reading those parts, but apart from that i enjoyed it a lot
however, the writing was pretty weird (i think bc it’s a translation) and i didn’t rly care about the romance in the book. especially since most of the ppl that had a crush on someone had barely even interacted with them before the game started, and then all of a sudden they’re confessing their love or smth lmao. and it happened more than once so i just ended up skim reading those parts, but apart from that i enjoyed it a lot
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Man, what an ending. This was such a fun, indulgent book and
Spoiler
oh my god I hope the movie got the rights to Born to Run, because what an absolute baller way to close out the story.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is action-packed, violent, thrilling fun that I didn't want to put down. The dozens of Japanese names were daunting at first, and there was a bit too much gore for me at times, but I had so much fun reading this book.