Book Review: 2 Treasure Boxes
The Hunger Games Trilogy: Book 1
Publisher: Scholastic Press; Reprint edition (July 1 2010), Paperback: 384 pages, Language: English, ISBN-10: 0439023521, ISBN-13: 978-0439023528

How would you feel to be forced to watch your children murder each other in an annual televised event? The Hunger Games is a futuristic novel about an oppressive state abusing its people and how they respond to this treatment. First we meet Katniss, a resourceful 16 year old girl, who is solely responsible to keep her family fed and alive. She does this by illegally hunting wild animals in the forest surrounding their village.

As the story unfolds we learn that once a year two teenagers from each district are selected to engage in the hunger games.  This is where twenty-four youths are made to compete against each other in the Capital in a staged arena until just one child is left alive. Katniss becomes one the participants and we experience this horrific situation with her as she struggles to stay alive.

This is the first book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. It is a young adult, science fiction book that takes place on Panem, which was once the continent of North America, at an unknown futuristic date. The story is told in a first person narrative from the point of view of the main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. Suzanne Collins has also written The Underland Series plus a couple of other books written for youths.

The tale is well told and interesting. I was captivated from the first page and I felt intrigued right up to the end of the book. I really came to care about the main character Katniss. I was curious to see what she was going to do and how she was going to respond to the terrible environment she was forced to live.

However, I found the premise to be unbelievable based on the world that was created. I did not think there was enough justification to enforce people to watch and endure their children’s death in a meaningless game. In addition, there were also a couple of plot holes.  At times, Katniss comes across as very resourceful and smart. Other times, she is really dense. This is a standalone story which builds to a suspenseful but somewhat transparent ending.

I enjoyed this book, I am curious to see where the story is going so I will read the next book in the series. If you enjoy reading science fiction books, and you have some spare time, then you should give this book a try.

To Purchase: “The Hunger Games” from Amazon, click here or on picture above