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A review by bashahn5
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
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? It's complicated
5.0
It was so fascinating to reread this book as an adult. I flew through it. Having first read this book at 12 or 13, my school librarian told me to not read it at night. I never did. The concept of the games was really scary to me as a child. And I can only remember mostly thinking to myself, why would this happen? Why are children being used and viewed as entertainment? How did this society end up like this? How would I survive? Why wouldn’t everyone rebel?
As an adult, so much of the plot is revealed to me and I can understand it’s layering. The grief is devastating and it’s palpable. I had no concept of how 11year old Katinss could continue on after her father died and provide for her family. Now, the mistrust, betrayal, and abandonment she feels for her mother I can understand. It’s unbelievable how Katniss has survived and how she had to close off parts of herself to do so. All of the characters are so so young.
The capitol’s desire to squash any sort of class camaraderie within and between the districts, also stood out. I complete forgot about signing up for the tessera ration (grain and oil) in exchange for entering you name into the reaping, which were cumulative entries.
One of Katniss’s final realizations also holds so much more weight, that after the games, now she is in the most dangerous place than ever before in her life.
Notable Crying happened when:
-After Katiness volunteers to take Prim’s spot in the reaping, the people of District 12 were only able to show dissent in the form of silence. In unison, they lifted their three fingers to their lips and extended them to Katniss as a sign of love, goodbye, and the message that this is so wrong.
-Rue
-The unparalleled conditions of District 11 to enslavement
-Rue’s melody
-Katinss singing to Rue as she dies and braiding the flowers through her hair
-District 11 collectively sending bread to Katinss as a thank you
As an adult, so much of the plot is revealed to me and I can understand it’s layering. The grief is devastating and it’s palpable. I had no concept of how 11year old Katinss could continue on after her father died and provide for her family. Now, the mistrust, betrayal, and abandonment she feels for her mother I can understand. It’s unbelievable how Katniss has survived and how she had to close off parts of herself to do so. All of the characters are so so young.
The capitol’s desire to squash any sort of class camaraderie within and between the districts, also stood out. I complete forgot about signing up for the tessera ration (grain and oil) in exchange for entering you name into the reaping, which were cumulative entries.
One of Katniss’s final realizations also holds so much more weight, that after the games, now she is in the most dangerous place than ever before in her life.
Notable Crying happened when:
-After Katiness volunteers to take Prim’s spot in the reaping, the people of District 12 were only able to show dissent in the form of silence. In unison, they lifted their three fingers to their lips and extended them to Katniss as a sign of love, goodbye, and the message that this is so wrong.
-Rue
-The unparalleled conditions of District 11 to enslavement
-Rue’s melody
-Katinss singing to Rue as she dies and braiding the flowers through her hair
-District 11 collectively sending bread to Katinss as a thank you
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death