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A review by savage_book_review
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was overdue my annual reread, and as the new book is coming out in around two weeks I figured now was a good time to catch back up with the goings on in Panem. I can't fully explain why it's this YA series that I keep coming back to as opposed to any other, but it never fails to appeal to me or draw me in.
It was an interesting experience going back this time, as my last reread was via the audiobooks and I picked up a few nuances from them that I'd never spotted before. So going back to the printed word means that, once again, I read it with a fresh perspective and found new tidbits to enjoy and analyse.
I think for the first time I realised just how young Katniss is. Obviously I've always understood that she's a teenager, but when her character has been developed to grow up fast due to the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, it's really easy to age her up in your mind. There are moments where she really does still act and sound like a child, but actually it's just her acting her age. So I found myself desperately trying to age down the image in my head. There's a meme that pops up every so often showing images of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson at 16, and they both look so fresh faced and innocent. When you insert those faces into the story (rather than their adult-playing-teenager appearances we've come to associate with the roles), that is what truly makes it terrifying.
One of the things I like best about this book (and the series) is that the storytelling and narrative are tight, but not rushed. Everything you need to fully immerse yourself is there, but there's no excess padding or superfluous detail to detract from the flow. It's never a slog to get through!
Another moment that stood out to me this time around is the fact that we know Peeta goes back for the girl who lights the fire, you hear the cannon boom, and then he returns. But we don't ever actually hear about his actions - not even during the 3 hour highlight reel at the end. This feels like a scene I now want to see, as I can't imagine it's a straightforward as it seems. My head is drawing some strange parallels between this and Katniss singing to Rue...
I also feel like I paid far more attention to Haymitch this time around. Now, that is clearly in part because he is the MC of the new book, but having his character stand out to me a little more again gave me some more new thoughts. It's stressed on a few occasions that, thanks to his shenanigans at the Reaping, the whole Capitol now knows who he is. In my head before now, all of the Victors have been famous, desired, fawned over by the Capitol residents. And clearly he is trotted out every year as a mentor, so surely people will have known who he was anyway? But actually this makes it sound like some are forgotten; indeed, even Katniss and Peeta don't know anything about his games or him as a Victor, and they're from his own District. This feels it must lead him into ever-decreasing spirals - until now, he's not been well-known or well-respected enough as a Victor to help his Tributes obtain sponsors, which means he's forced into a position of watching them die year after year, which lead to him becoming more reclusive and reliant on alcohol, meaning he's even less likely to be remembered the next year... in short, it just makes me feel even more sorry for him, and that's before we have the full detail of his Games!
This is such a great set up for the series as a whole, but IMO the best is yet to come.
It was an interesting experience going back this time, as my last reread was via the audiobooks and I picked up a few nuances from them that I'd never spotted before. So going back to the printed word means that, once again, I read it with a fresh perspective and found new tidbits to enjoy and analyse.
I think for the first time I realised just how young Katniss is. Obviously I've always understood that she's a teenager, but when her character has been developed to grow up fast due to the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, it's really easy to age her up in your mind. There are moments where she really does still act and sound like a child, but actually it's just her acting her age. So I found myself desperately trying to age down the image in my head. There's a meme that pops up every so often showing images of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson at 16, and they both look so fresh faced and innocent. When you insert those faces into the story (rather than their adult-playing-teenager appearances we've come to associate with the roles), that is what truly makes it terrifying.
One of the things I like best about this book (and the series) is that the storytelling and narrative are tight, but not rushed. Everything you need to fully immerse yourself is there, but there's no excess padding or superfluous detail to detract from the flow. It's never a slog to get through!
Another moment that stood out to me this time around is the fact that we know Peeta goes back for the girl who lights the fire, you hear the cannon boom, and then he returns. But we don't ever actually hear about his actions - not even during the 3 hour highlight reel at the end. This feels like a scene I now want to see, as I can't imagine it's a straightforward as it seems. My head is drawing some strange parallels between this and Katniss singing to Rue...
I also feel like I paid far more attention to Haymitch this time around. Now, that is clearly in part because he is the MC of the new book, but having his character stand out to me a little more again gave me some more new thoughts. It's stressed on a few occasions that, thanks to his shenanigans at the Reaping, the whole Capitol now knows who he is. In my head before now, all of the Victors have been famous, desired, fawned over by the Capitol residents. And clearly he is trotted out every year as a mentor, so surely people will have known who he was anyway? But actually this makes it sound like some are forgotten; indeed, even Katniss and Peeta don't know anything about his games or him as a Victor, and they're from his own District. This feels it must lead him into ever-decreasing spirals - until now, he's not been well-known or well-respected enough as a Victor to help his Tributes obtain sponsors, which means he's forced into a position of watching them die year after year, which lead to him becoming more reclusive and reliant on alcohol, meaning he's even less likely to be remembered the next year... in short, it just makes me feel even more sorry for him, and that's before we have the full detail of his Games!
This is such a great set up for the series as a whole, but IMO the best is yet to come.