# Lifestyles & Discussion > Family, Parenting & Education > Books & Literature >  Hunger Games

## Baptist

Anyone here read Suzanne Collins _Hunger Games_?  I normally don't read fiction and less than 5% of my books are fiction.  But this semester I had to read dozens of fiction works.  I just finished _Hunger Games_ and loved it.

The setting takes place in a future America.  Society collapses and the Union dissolves.  The central government gains control and divides the country into 12 districts (destroyed 13th district during a rebellion).  Each district performs a certain task, such as mining coal, raising food, etc.  The central government has complete control, kind of like Orwell's _1984_.  One form of control is through the hunger games.  

I liked the book because the main characters are all about living the survival/SHTF lifestyle.  I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to give the story away.  But I will say that I did not get the ending I was hoping for.  However, I found out that this is the first book in a trilogy so I'm going to read the next two books because they may go into what I was hoping the first one did.  

If you have time to kill read the book.  Its sold almost a million copies.

----------


## KCIndy

I haven't read it, but it sounds interesting, and the reader reviews sound really good.  I just bought and downloaded the audio version of the book (I listen to tons of audio books while I'm on the job) and I'll check it out.

----------


## KCIndy

Baptist, I have to say thanks for the book recommendation.  I've finished _Hunger Games_ and I'm about a third of the way through the sequel. 

The books are a fascinating read, and I think they would be pertinent to anyone who is interested in the struggle of freedom vs. totalitarianism or fascism.

What really surprised me was that the books are listed as "young adult" reading.  _Hunger Games_ really didn't come across as such, with the exception of a little youthful "love triangle" angst on the part of some of the main characters.  In fact, given the intensity of some of the scenes I would be a little reluctant to urge a young person to read it, unless he/she has a really level head and isn't bothered too much by some graphic imagery.  So if anyone is considering this as a read, don't let the classification put you off.

Baptist, if you haven't read the second book yet, check it out when you get the chance.  I'm guessing what you were hoping to see in the first book starts to... uh, catch fire in the second.

----------


## Baptist

Yeah, I have the next two books on reserve at the library.  Unfortunately, I'm 4th in line to get one and 3rd the other.  I would buy them but I won't have money for anything other than food until mid January. [edit -> sweet, just sold back some of my school books so now I'm going to buy the next two Collins books]  

I can't wait to read the next ones.  It's all I've been thinking about since I read the first book.  And yes, I love the smell of Revolution in the morning, and I hear the next books go into that.  That is what I was hoping for =)

Yeah, I agree that even though they are classified as young adult they don't seem that way.  I don't know if I would let my kid read these.

----------


## sevin

That is a fantastic trilogy! I read them back to back and was rapt the entire time. They get better and better right to the very end. I agree, it's strange they're categorized as "young adult." I think ever since Harry Potter/Twilight they're just trying to find more books to sell to that market. 10 years ago it would have been in the General Fiction section at Barnes & Noble.

----------


## RSLudlum

My daughter had to read it for her 9th grade english class and loved it.  She has since then also read the other two books in the trilogy.  I've only read half of the Hunger Games and what I read was pretty good but I ended up getting sidetracked with some other reading.  

Thanks for the post.  I'll have to pick the book up again.

----------


## KCIndy

Okay, I've finally completed the _Hunger Games_ trilogy.

Hmm....

A few random thoughts, in no particular order:

Without throwing out any spoilers, I'll have to say I'm left with some really mixed feelings about the books.  The story line didn't quite go where I expected it to, but it did have plenty of plot twists.

Maybe it's because I read (okay, _listened_) to the audio books back to back to back over the period of a week and a half, but at the end of the trilogy I felt rather mentally exhausted.  That's a rare feeling for me after completing a book.  One thing the author (Suzanne Collins) does very, very well is to kill of characters brutally and unexpectedly.  Major characters are not necessarily excluded, either.  This turns the books into something of a literary minefield.  Will the next paragraph be a harmless reminiscence, or will someone be getting blown into gory pieces?  It's great writing, but can be mentally exhausting after a while.

I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that this book is categorized as "young adult" and targeted for 12 years and up.  As I've mentioned, many of the deaths are sudden, shocking, and extremely violent.  I'm not saying a twelve year old should not read the book, but if a parent has a young kid reading _Hunger Games_, said parent might want to read the book as well, if only so it can be discussed.  Heck, read it anyway - it really is a pretty good read.

There are a lot of specific areas I would love to address, but I'm not sure how to do that without giving away parts of the plot, albeit minor points.  Suffice it to say, in general I was pretty impressed with the trilogy as a whole, and would have to give it four stars out of five.   

It's definitely worth the read.  Check it out when time allows, and "may the odds be ever in your favor!"

----------


## Baptist

I got _Catching Fire_ and _Mocking Jay_ in the mail yesterday.  Just read the former in one setting (like I did with _Hunger Games_), and will probably bust out the latter tomorrow.  These books are addicting.  

I know what you mean Kcindy!  That is a good way to put it: "mentally exhausted."  These books are intense.  The author keeps me on the edge of my seat and most of the time I literally have this nervous/ulcer feeling in my gut because so much happens so fast.  Just when I feel like I'm about to get settled into where the story is going, BAM! it takes another direction.  There is no getting settled into a storyline with these books, everything changes so fast that it is hard to keep up.

 I'll post my thoughts about them after I finish the last book.

----------


## KCIndy

> I'll post my thoughts about them after I finish the last book.



I look forward to seeing what you think!  I barely scratched the surface with my comments above, but it's really hard to make even vague comments about _Catching Fire_ and _Mockingjay_ without giving away hints about the plot events.   

The one thing I can say for sure is that I recommend the books to anyone who is considering reading them.

Baptist, I hope you enjoy the read!

----------


## QueenB4Liberty

I think that I have helped a low income classroom teacher purchase those books for the kids in her class to read. Now I bought the first one, I'll read it soon hopefully.

----------


## QueenB4Liberty

I finished it today and have the next book in the series waiting for me! I love it! I accidentally spoiled it myself by reading about the second book before finishing the first, but that really wasn't so bad. I was still on the edge of my seat.

----------


## coffeewithchess

I finished the series yesterday, and enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to the movie this coming week.

----------


## kezt777

My son has all three and Im going to read them when I am done with all my current books. The movie version opens this coming Friday I believe (sorry if this was shared already, I havent read all the replies).... I know a lot of adults that enjoyed it. I saw another book with a similar sort of idea about survival after a huge disaster, but more on the individual level. It was for teens as well but my son couldnt quite 'get into it'. I will have to borrow it and see what it;s like. The writeup seemed to be largely about surviving on your own and by your own defenses, rather than asking the govt for assistance. Maybe someone is finally trying to sneak these types of books back into teenager's lives instead of all the happy clappy kumbaya crap that's been around for so long.

----------

