The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

[jitty]

I read these books before I knew about the movie and I am definitely glad I did. For one, I do not like the movie in comparison with the books. There is so much detail in the book that a movie cannot possibly express. Obviously that being said the directors clearly tried to incorporate all they could but it didn't do it for me. Simple things in the movie were changed and altered that were very aggravating and unnecessary.


*contains spoilers*
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The books were very good. I'm still unclear about how I feel about the third one, but the first two were amazing. The third book kind of killed the series for me. It seemed to go by very fast and I don't remember much of what happened other than Peeta becoming some brainwashed nutjob and everyone dying towards the end. The scene in which Finnich died seemed to occur out of no where and I also lost track as to who else died within those 3 pages. It seems as thought Collins couldn't do anything else with those characters so she just killed them off. Then there comes the whole scenario with Prim dying, which could have been completely avoided! Katniss was already becoming a mental mess that just made her go insane. Next thing you know shes locked up, trying to kill herself, released and sent home. Peeta and Haymitch are with her in "District 12" the district that got destroyed save those special winners houses(Why anyone would want to live in a barren wasteland..I could not tell you). Then Peeta is there and Katniss basically has no problem cuddling and holding each other even thought he repeatedly tried and said he had to kill her. So there we have it. Katniss and Peeta two mental cases living together in a blown away ditrict with the drunk Haymitch. Gale, the boy who's idea ended up killing Prim and the other corner to Katniss' love triangle with Peeta, is in thrown to District 4 while Katniss' own mother is out somewhere else because she can't face her past by coming back to District 12. This girl is what all of 18? and has been left to herself basically. I get the whole rebellion and that the "world" needs balance again and how wars always end badly in some form, but this was just ridiculous.


Book 1: Will read many times over. A
Book 2: Excellent sequel to Book 1 could have be less similar to the first but still a good read. B+
Book 3: Way to fast paced. Needless murder of characters. Horrible ending to what started off as a good trilogy. D

[A24]

I finished the last book of the series this weekend. I enjoyed the series a lot. Never thought that I would with the plot theme and all, but it was good. I agree that the first book was the best, the 2nd pretty good and the 3rd good.

Spoiler alert***************************************************************************
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I loved how initially strong the characters of Gale and Katniss were. Probably like most, I initially wanted these two to be together as they were so alike. This sameness is what eventually drew them apart by the end of book 3. The 3rd book did get very violent and too many unnecessary deaths it seems. I have no idea how they will get this on-screen with only PG-13. Finnick's death totally blew me away but all those involved knew the risks and believed it was worth dying for. Prim dying was also a huge blow (no pun intended), but I think her death was necessary to prove to Katniss the true enemy. Haymitch's words kept ringing in her ear to remember who the real enemy is. If Prim hadn't died, Katniss would've killed Snow and that was too expected. That, would've been almost anti-climatic to me. Coin was a surprise. The scene where Prim's cat comes traveling back looking for Prim was heartwrenching. I think in the end when Katniss does wind up with Peeta showed a different and softer side of her. She was always so tough and unfriendly before. I was surprised that Gale seemed to just let her go and that dissolved too quickly for me. The closure wasn't exactly there but then again, Gale knew down deep she loved Peeta. The one thing I didn't get was why Katniss voted for another Hunger Games?? After all she'd been through?? But, was it to throw everyone off of Coin and back to Snow?? I'm thinking this because Haymitch voted along with her. Let me know your thoughts on this one as well.
Great series - it really is staying with me. From Harry Potter to Hunger Games - hmmm, what will keep me as enthralled??

[Poppy]

*spoilers*

Here's what I thought ( when I finished book 3 ) about why Katniss voted "yes" for their own version of the hunger games.

When she went into that meeting where Coin presented that option, she was perhaps so stunned that after everything she had lost and everything she had fought for, the person who was supposed to be the good guy was nothing more than a different version of the bad guy. I think that at that point, she knew she had to kill Coin and that her only chance would be at Snow's scheduled execution. She voted "yes" just so Coin would think she was on her side and wouldn't think twice about being up on the stage ( or whatever it was ) with Katniss and a bow and arrow at close range. But I picture her sitting at that meeting with everyone else as a shell of the young woman she once was, giving her answer with no emotion almost catatonic. She knew she was going to kill Coin but she was on automatic at that point.....

I still don't know what I think of the 3rd book. I was pretty upset that there were so many deaths in such a short amount of time ( and that Finnick died!! ) but I guess overall it did pain a pretty vivid picture of just how chaotic and violent of a situation they were in. If that's what the author was going for then I guess she achieved that. I don't love at all that her mother left her alone. I get that they were never close ( after her father died and the mother withdrew ) but geez, she basically abandoned her yet again and again, when she needed her mother the most. I wasn't crazy about the mother character but I did feel for her a bit but by the end of the series I just didn't like her at all.

[larsenreviews]

I loved the first book! Unlike what I halfway expected, the annual Hunger Games are not glamorized or applauded. Collins is actually out to make you loathe the Games and everything they represent. The story is really a vivid picture of history repeating itself. It's future America turned Ancient Rome, with some appalling modern twists; a scary look at the direction our world could be headed in left to human nature. It's a moving account of determination, grit, selflessness, survival, and loyalty, with some necessary graphic brutality thrown in.

Laden with conflicts of diverse natures, The Hunger Games kept me guessing and made me trulythink and process each new obstacle, both physical and mental. It was like I was on a roller coaster ride of intense emotions. The incredible depth of each well-developed character is half of what makes this novel great. I also appreciate that the book is completely void of anything religious, a neutrality I find to be rare in today’s entertainment. If there were hints of religion, they’d likely be flawed, so better to omit them altogether. (Of course in my ideal world every story would contain an overt Christian message, but let’s face it, this book is secular.) That said, The Hunger Games contains tremendous moral values, if you’re tuned in for them. Katniss is in a constant decision-making battle, torn between the selfish and the selfless option, always struggling to do what is right. I could feel her agony at each new turn of events as she faced new challenges and had new choices to make. And did I mention the plot is full of unexpected twists and turns?

[A24]

I loved the first book! Unlike what I halfway expected, the annual Hunger Games are not glamorized or applauded. Collins is actually out to make you loathe the Games and everything they represent. The story is really a vivid picture of history repeating itself. It's future America turned Ancient Rome, with some appalling modern twists; a scary look at the direction our world could be headed in left to human nature. It's a moving account of determination, grit, selflessness, survival, and loyalty, with some necessary graphic brutality thrown in.

Laden with conflicts of diverse natures, The Hunger Games kept me guessing and made me trulythink and process each new obstacle, both physical and mental. It was like I was on a roller coaster ride of intense emotions. The incredible depth of each well-developed character is half of what makes this novel great. I also appreciate that the book is completely void of anything religious, a neutrality I find to be rare in today’s entertainment. If there were hints of religion, they’d likely be flawed, so better to omit them altogether. (Of course in my ideal world every story would contain an overt Christian message, but let’s face it, this book is secular.) That said, The Hunger Games contains tremendous moral values, if you’re tuned in for them. Katniss is in a constant decision-making battle, torn between the selfish and the selfless option, always struggling to do what is right. I could feel her agony at each new turn of events as she faced new challenges and had new choices to make. And did I mention the plot is full of unexpected twists and turns?

I agree with you there!

[Cnc_theft_auto]

My school's book club novel was the Hunger Games, and for some reason I was reluctant to read it, but after about a week or two, I finally started reading it and couldn't put it down. As soon as I finished it I rushed off to get the other two, loved them too! My favourite was Catching Fire, just because of the cool arena, and Mockingjay was the worst because of all the politics in it.

Whoever wants to discuss the ending feel free to PM me.

-----SPOILER ALERT-----

I can't remember the scene where they kill Snow. Wasn't she going to kill someone else and then switched or something? Can someone PM me or reply to this please? Its bugging me that I don't remember...

[Sam_Timmins]

My school's book club novel was the Hunger Games, and for some reason I was reluctant to read it, but after about a week or two, I finally started reading it and couldn't put it down. As soon as I finished it I rushed off to get the other two, loved them too! My favourite was Catching Fire, just because of the cool arena, and Mockingjay was the worst because of all the politics in it.

Whoever wants to discuss the ending feel free to PM me.

-----SPOILER ALERT-----

I can't remember the scene where they kill Snow. Wasn't she going to kill someone else and then switched or something? Can someone PM me or reply to this please? Its bugging me that I don't remember...

while snow was laughing at katniss killing coin after manipulating her, snow choked on his own blood, which he had been coughing up for a while.

[scibbling]

I thought the first book was great! But the second and especially the third didn't quite measure up to the first one. I know there's the huge debate between Peeta and Gale going on. I never really liked Peeta. He doesn't seem to have a lot going for him. I loved Gale in the first book but thought his character went downhill from there. I also was not a fan of the ending of the third book. I won't talk about it here because I don't want to ruin it for others. But overall, I did enjoy the series, and I'm glad I read them before I saw the movie as the movie would not have made quite as much sense.

[VampirePoe]

The first was okay, but with the second things just went from okay to worse.

[Twilight_2_Midnight]

I bought the first book a couple of months ago, thinking it seemed like an interesting concept, and of course all my friends had said the series was amazing. I definitely wasn't disappointed: it's got a great style of writing, and some fascinating ideas. However, the second book wasn't as good, and I sort of lost hope with the last one, as the plot became a little...vague. I still think it's worth reading them though, and I have to say they're better than the film even though I loved it.

[pmitro1390]

You know, I had only seen it a couple times and ended up snagging a digital copy as a freebie thing forever ago. Never payed much mind to it really. Then, hubby and I went to see Sherlock Holmes a couple weeks ago and I saw the preview and it triggered some recollection. Monday night i had some down time so I looked it up. I am now halfway done with book 3! LOL i cant put them down they are so good, and i dont want them to snd. just thewhole concept is awesome. Have you read about Suzanne Collin's influence for them? I recommend doing so before you finish the books, really puts a whole new perspective on the series really. They are incredible, and i hope the movie is at least half as good. (book readers know the movie you make in your mind while reading is always better than the Hollywood ones) well nback to book 3 for me happy reading!

-- Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:48 pm --

I started reading the first book on a recommendation from a friend and tbh I wasn't keen on it after she briefly gave an outline of the plot but I knew she would bug me if I didn't read it. I actually quite enjoyed it, it's a good storyline even though I found some of the characters (like Peeta) a little weak - this is in the first one though, he improves as the story goes on).

But I'm afraid it went downhill from there for me. The second book seemed like a rehash of the first one, and the third just annoyed me with the ending. I won't elaborate at the moment why as I don't want to ruin it for you but would love to know what you think about how it ended when you've finished with it.

I can see what you mean, being on book three myself, but I think that the author did a good job of making it intriguing and different enough to make you cone back for more. Especially liked the way book one ended but i dont like that book two doesnt pick up the same way. It would have been so much more rewarding to the reader to have it instantly flow that way to me. For a YA book series, i think book two was just fine. Got me to get it, read it, and move to book three though. Plus as a middle its shorter than book one and two so it works well to be a little more like the first. I cant wait for the end though to see what you mean!

I think what it was with book two is that there was a large gap between reading the first and second and because I had enjoyed the first one quite a lot I built up the second so much in my head and had a lot of expectations that unfortunately didn't exactly match up. Character development-wise, I did enjoy Peeta's built up slowly but steadily and even more so with Gale who was always a favourite of mine. I did enjoy the third one - again Peeta becoming stronger as a character, I wont mention about Gale at the moment . The only character that imho that seemed to go in the opposite direction was Katniss whom I'm sorry to say started to dislike just that little bit. In some small way she reminded me a little of Bella in Twilight which as you can know can really grate - but again this is all my view.

Let me know what you think when you finish. I'm particularly interested in how you find Peeta's and Gale's characters.

I completely agree with your assessment of the second two books in this series. I was so blown away by the message in the first book and her means of playing out what would seem to be an inevitable future for our world. I completed rooted for all her characters until the end. I wanted them all to find a way to make good. I was rather disappointed that by the time I was half way through the third book I wanted to throw the book at Katniss. She became such a useless character to me. I am interested to hear others thoughts on her. I agree Peeta and Gale both progressed quite unexpectedly through the second two books. I must admit by the end I liked them both the most.

[allmyposts]

I am not so lucky!!

Couldn't read it .. Well, thrice I tried to start .. thrice I have read the story plot in Wikipedia and various forums!!

Hope to read them one day!!

[fiddle_dee_read]

I found the books to be very depressing. At one point I had to stop reading for a bit because it was just bringing me down.

The first book was great. The second was ok. The third I did not like and really disliked the ending.

[rlavallee821]

I havent read the books yet but i DO love the movie!:)

[laci_baby]

Spoiler.

I rarely say this about trilogy books, but man i friggin loved this series. (You can ask Stinkin_Fascist. Everytime something happened i text her freaking out and repeatedly sending "POOR PEETA!!" through the books.) The first one was the best by far. Absolutely loved it. I loved that though there was (some) action in the books, it was still written beautifully, sometimes twisted, and yet straight to the point. She sort of lost me for a bit during Mockingjay, it took me a while to even figure out that Finnick had died, and i had to read back to find out how since it happened so fast. I understood why Prim was killed off, Gale ended up in another district, and how the three Hunger Game Survivors from district twelve chose to stay where they did. I think she ended it smarty, based on the storyline. Though of course it wasnt ideal. But in a lot of ways, maybe that was the only way she could end it the way she wanted, with Peeta and Katniss. Peeta, having no where else to belong to, without family or even able to understand what had happened betweeen him and Katniss, would of course end up in D12. If Prim survived, she would have wanted to stay where she was needed, like her mother. Katniss would have stayed with Prim, because Prim was the only person she was ever sure of that she loved. If Gale stayed around, people would still imagine the love triangle way after the books ended, and he wouldnt have left Katniss unless he caused her some pain, like accidently killing her sister. People crave drama in these types of books. It was the only way they could have their happy ending untouched by what the readers were expecting. It was saying "and there was no more drama", in my opinion. It was her way of tying up loose ends.