hunger games novel review

Well, let me tell ya ’bout this here book, The Hunger Games. I ain’t no fancy book reader, mind you, but this one, it got me hooked good.

This story, it’s set in this place called Panem, somewhere in them Rocky Mountains, though I ain’t never been. It’s supposed to be America, but way in the future, all messed up. See, they got this big mean government, the Capitol, and they done split the country into twelve districts. And District 12, that’s where our girl Katniss comes from.

Now, this Capitol, they ain’t right. They make these districts send one boy and one girl, just kids really, to fight to the death in somethin’ they call the Hunger Games. Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, this book talks about. Can you imagine? Sendin’ your own young’uns off to die? It’s just plain cruel.

Katniss, she’s a tough one. She’s gotta be, representin’ District 12 and all. She ain’t got no choice but to go, and she’s gotta fight. It’s kill or be killed in that arena, and Katniss, she ain’t about to go down without a fight. This book, it just pulls you right in. I started readin’ it, and I couldn’t hardly put it down. Stayed up late, I did, just to see what happened next.

• Survival: That’s the name of the game in them Hunger Games. You gotta find food, water, shelter, and you gotta watch your back all the time. ‘Cause there’s other kids tryin’ to kill ya.
• Deception: Folks ain’t always what they seem in that arena. You gotta be careful who you trust, ’cause they might just stab you in the back.
• Sacrifice: Sometimes you gotta give somethin’ up to survive. And sometimes, you gotta make a sacrifice for the ones you love.
• Love: Even in a place as awful as that arena, love can still bloom. Katniss, she cares for her sister, and she cares for this boy Peeta, too. And that love, it gives her strength.

Katniss and this boy, Peeta, they both from District 12. They get picked, and they gotta go to the Capitol. That place, it’s all fancy and rich, but it’s got a mean heart. They treat them kids like animals, paradin’ ’em around, makin’ ’em fight. It ain’t right.

In that arena, Katniss, she’s gotta use her wits. She’s good with a bow and arrow, learned it from her daddy. And she’s smart, knows how to survive in the wild. But it ain’t just about bein’ strong and skilled. You gotta be lucky, too. And you gotta make alliances, even if you don’t trust nobody.

The Hunger Games, it ain’t just some killin’ contest. It’s about more than that. It’s about fightin’ back against a government that don’t care nothin’ ’bout its people. It’s about standin’ up for what’s right, even when it’s scary.

Now, some folks say this book, it’s controversial. And I reckon it is. It’s got violence, sure, but it’s also got a message. It makes you think ’bout right and wrong, ’bout power and control, ’bout what it means to be human. And that’s somethin’ worth thinkin’ about, ain’t it?

Katniss and Peeta, they end up formin’ an alliance, tryin’ to survive together. And they become symbols, see? Symbols of resistance against that mean old Capitol. People in the districts, they start to see hope, and that’s a powerful thing.

This Suzanne Collins, she’s a good writer, I gotta say. She knows how to tell a story. She don’t pull no punches, neither. She shows you the good, the bad, and the ugly. And she makes you care ’bout these characters, even when they’re doin’ things you don’t agree with.

So, if you’re lookin’ for a book that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, a book that’ll make you think, a book that’ll stay with you long after you finish readin’ it, well then, you oughta pick up The Hunger Games. Just be warned, it ain’t for the faint of heart. But it’s a darn good story, that’s for sure.

Tags: [The Hunger Games Review, The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen, Book review, Dystopian Novel, Survival, Resistance, Young Adult Fiction]