Recently my bloggy friend Tara from 25 Hour Books, started an online book club called, ‘Books that Bite’. Anyone can join and every member is encouraged to submit two books a month that they would like the club to read, then Tara puts them through a randomiser and we read the chosen book. This month the chosen book was, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
The Hunger Games is the story of Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who lives in post-apocolyptic America. The country is divided into 12 districts and each district is controlled by the government, called the Capitol. Each year they hold a televised event called, “The Hunger Games” where one boy and one girl is randomly chosen from each district and must participate. The games involve all players being put in an isolated location and then they must fight against each other to become the only survivor. The survivor is then treated to a life of luxury.
Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.
In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.
When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
I must admit that I was a bit skeptical when I picked up this book. My favourite graphic novel series is Battle Royale, a Japanese series about a reality TV show where each year a random year 9 class is picked and put in an isolated location where they must kill each other, with the survivor winning the game and being treated to a life of luxury. So basically this author took the same idea and changed it a little. It's an American version of the popular Japanese series.
That said, I still really enjoyed this book! I found that I really liked the characters of Katniss, Rue and Peeta and just needed to find out what was going to happen to them! I was even able to forgive Suzanne Collins for ripping off someone elses idea because I liked her characters that much. I can’t wait til I can get my hands on the second book in the trilogy! – OK so maybe that is a little harsh, maybe Collins genuinely has never heard of Battle Royale.. but there are two films and a novel of Battle Royale too!… I should probably withhold judgment on that since I am biased.
I won’t say much more, as the book club meet isn’t until the 24th of October.. and I want to have something to talk about then. Overall, I highly recommend this book, it is really good.
Rating 4/5
