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  YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Books > Young Adult > The Hunger Games : 1
  ProdID: 2193 - The Hunger Games : 1Written by:Suzanne Collins Product Score: 8.9 
The Hunger Games : 1

Price : $21.99
Supplier :
Available : January 2009

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature.

"The Hunger Games" is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever.
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samantha203   Review #9493 - Dated: 31st of August, 2013
  Author: samantha203

I watched the movie of this book with my daughter when it came out and then we were lucky enough to win the set of books from KIWIreviews as a prize in a competition. I didn't read any of them at first because I had seen the movie and although I enjoyed the movie I wasn't really motivated to read the books, but I picked this one up recently and started reading only to find myself hooked on it.

Well it is a fantasy style novel where the United States is no more and has been divided into 12 districts run by the powerful capital. The story is based on the capital running a game which is a fight to the death with one boy and one girl from each district and basically the only option in this game is to kill or be killed!!

I can see why the book and later the movie was such a big hit as the book is jammed full of action! But despite that there are so many great themes that are perfect for teenagers. And the action in the book keeps you flicking the pages as the suspense builds. I certainly had to pick up the second book and find out what happens next as the ending of this one kept me guessing!

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rosielee3   Review #8363 - Dated: 6th of May, 2013
  Author: rosielee3

Well I seem to of been living under a rock as I haven't really heard much about these books but they were a requirement of a full year course I am taking, I began to read this at the start of the school holidays. The book caught me unaware, I really didn't know what it was going to be about, and reading the blurb, it didn't really interest me.

By the third or so chapter I was completely hooked to the point the book was finished on the second day. The book covers a wide range of 'big ideas' including identity and leadership. The dystopian nature of this fiction is grappling and intriguing. The relationships that are created, maintained and mourned for are realistic and relatable. This really is a must read both any teenager, regardless of sex. I really look forward to being able to use this within a classroom as I now feel quiet passionate about the content.

Katniss is a clear role model for teenagers, she is energetic, witty and moody, just like every teenager! Suzanne Collins has really done a fantastic job, I strongly believe that this book would hook in the most reluctant reader and allow them to enjoy reading on their own. The bonus is that there are two other books that follow allowing the story line to live on, change and develop.

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sinfulbaker   Review #7954 - Dated: 4th of April, 2013
  Author: sinfulbaker

I first learned of the book series after seeing the movie, at first reading it was like watching the movie in words which most know can be tedious, but after you get settled in you start to feel the emotions of Katniss and Peeta as well as many of the characters they meet along the way.

I don't want to divulge to much into the actual story, I wouldn't want to spoil it.

The world it this is set in is something realistic, there is nothing far fetched about it. The love story is sweet and not pushed upon you, thus making me want to read the next book and then the next just to simply find out what happens to the famous Hunger Game winners, to the teams around them, to the people they meet along the way. There is so many twists and turns the hurdles of the characters its never ending from start to finish, there is many moments where the book can't be put down just because you must know what is about to happen. Even a few to many tear jerking moments in there too.

I'd recommend the book for any young adult from the age of 12-13.

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ibnita   Review #7576 - Dated: 6th of February, 2013
  Author: ibnita

Dystopian fiction is really popular and having read a few books in this genre prior to receiving The Hunger Games i was wondering if it would live up to the hype that was currently surrounding it with news that it was to be made into a movie.

Diving right in to Katniss and District 12 i immediately felt a bond with her and her plight, having stepped forward to replace her younger sister in a fight to the death. With colourful characters, a love triangle, and of course, the Games itself this book kept the suspense and action going right up to the last page. I could imagine in my head what it was like both in the districts with their descriptions and in the arena, and as Katniss and Peeta fought for survival i fought along with them.

As the first in a trilogy The Hunger Games has enough suspense to have me keen to get started on the second. A book i would recommend for teens and adults alike i will be keeping my eyes open for further work by author Suzanne Collins.

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mizim   Review #7519 - Dated: 1st of February, 2013
  Author: mizim

I borrowed this book as I had seen the first film. It took quite a while before I was finally top of the wait list at the library and I could finally read it. It didn't take me long to read, just a couple of days, moments of reading stolen throughout the day, and once the kids were in bed.

My mum told me to pass it on to her, only if I thought it a good read, but I won't be as I didn't find it anything great. I don't feel any need to read it again, and whilst it was a good read, for me it was nothing great. I will, however, read book two and three and I did still like it enough that I would like to read the whole series.

I am incredibly glad that I watched the film for this first, as reading the book (putting the movie out of my head as much as possible) it didn't cause enough excitement and had I read it first, then news of a movie adaptation would have caused no excitement from me at all.

The book is well written, and all from the point of view of Katniss, our heroine. For me, personally, I felt the movie did better to state the danger Katniss was ever getting in to, the book always has things left out of a movie. It was a good book, but I'm not fussed about ever reading it again.

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Laugan   Review #6917 - Dated: 3rd of November, 2012
  Author: Laugan

After delaying reading this for so long I noticed it was cheap in the Amazon bookshop for the Kindle so I purchased it. I was concerned that it was going to be like other recently hyped books that didn't live up to expectations, I couldn't have been more wrong.

I found that Hunger Games was a fresh subject that hasn't been written to death already and would captivate most readers. The story flowed nicely and I often found myself thinking about it while I wasn't actually reading it, which I class as the sign of a good book. There is enough descriptions for you to immerse yourself in the books without feeling overwhelmed with detail.

I would recommend The Hunger Games for anyone, probably a mature teen up, I feel that all the books in the trilogy have a good story to tell.

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phoenixslip   Review #5601 - Dated: 6th of April, 2012
  Author: phoenixslip

The Hunger Games surpassed everything I thought this book would be. It totally surprised me how from the first page, it was so incredibly vivid, into this futuristic world.

I was totally hooked from the start, as the author Suzanne Collins, means business and is straight to the point describing the destitute shanty villages that Katniss lives in, the main character, in her home town, namely, District Twelve.

Her little sister gets chosen, but being the older protective sister, she insists they take her instead. I loved her courage for standing up to swap places.

I can't even comprehend the strength and stoic mindset that Katniss and other children and teens have to be in and go through, to compete in these Hunger Games.

Honestly, this book is so real the way it is written, that it could actually be a reality in a not so distant future. It is seriously one way to decimate the stupid and weak, in a forced natural selection test.

As a mother, this is disgusting and horrifying. I can't even want to imagine my child being selected to go fight to the death with a bunch of kids, so my child can win as Tribute to our district, or worse be killed horrifically.

The Hunger Games haunted me during and much after i finished reading this novel, but not to say the least, I'm hunting down a copy of the second instalment in this series, "Catching Fire".

I totally recommend The Hunger Games to everyone.

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buzz   Review #3137 - Dated: 11th of August, 2009
  Author: buzz

The 'Reality TV' game has made it to the future, and what goes on behind the scenes untill a contestant goes into the arena is scary.
This is not a game for the weak and faint-hearted. Its kill or be killed and let the victor take the spoils. You kill your opponent by any means, there is no fair play in this game.
It is also about waking of feelings for each other in two of the contestants, and what they do to survive in the arena of the games. How to beat the system and still be true to themselves... and above all, not hurt each other.
Twenty-four contestants enter the arena... only one survivor will walk out...
This is a must-read for all who enjoy 'Reality TV' shows with a twist!
Bring on book two of this series, it can only get better.

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anistasya   Review #3116 - Dated: 28th of July, 2009
  Author: anistasya

When I first read the blurb for this book I thought "This sounds like Battle Royale" - a famous Japanese pop culture film with teens slashing and killing each other until there is only one left standing in a government controlled arena.

Reading Hunger Games, I did find many similarities, yet there were enough differences to make this an entirely new experience. In fact, whilst I found Battle Royale difficult to watch and overly depressing / gorey, the Hunger Games was exciting, intriguing and surprisingly, really romantic.

Going in, of course, I was not expecting romance in the slightest - though I probably should have been, after all Battle Royale had a romance (though the girl was a complete wimp). I loved the self-sacrificing nature of the young boy in this story, and the way that Katniss keeps convincing herself that he's just using some sort of ploy to trick her. I also love the way that from the very first page, Katniss takes charge of the story and not once does she lose that powerful, determined 'survivor' characteristic. If I had to compare her to any other literary character, I think it would be Ellie from 'Tomorrow when the War Began".

Despite being completely out of my normal genre, I simply could not put this book down and I was highly disappointed when I got to the end and realized there were another two books to go. I am glad this is a series though, it is shaping up to be a whopper of a story with heaps of subtle and not-so-subtle political commentary.

Love it.

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Printed at 06:26:44pm on Friday 29th March 2024