The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

I'm not a fan of Fantasy book because they usually have unrealistic storylines and difficult to memorize character names. I watched the first movie of Hunger Games many years ago and thought the whole premise was kind of silly, and it felt like it was stealing from the concept of Battle Royale,which I didn't consider as silly because, oh, I don't know... I mean, it's Japanese, so I guess I just kind of... gave it a pass? 

I picked up this book because 1. It's hugely popular 2. It's the only book my older daughter actually enjoyed reading. I must say, I was absolutely blown away, from the very first chapter. Also, unlike most books that people say that will make you cry (they do nothing to me usually), this book actually made me tear up a few times!

Hunger Games tells the story of a dystopian society of Panem, set in a post-apocalyptic America. Panem is divided into "districts". Each district must randomly select one boy and one girl to participate in what's called the Hunger Games each year. (The selection process is called the Reaping.) The selected ones are called "tributes". The candidates are all aged from 12 to 18, so if you are not selected by age 18, you would age out. During the Hunger Games, each person fights to the death of other opponents, until there is one winner at the end. Some districts train for this, because to have a winner is something to be proud of for the whole district. However, in District 12, a very poor district, no one has won in about 3 decades, because people are too hungry to be training. For families that are particularly poor, you can get extra rations of food by putting your name in the hat more times. Also, each year you are not selected, your name will be added extra times as well. That's the case for our FMC (female main character) Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lost her father 5 years ago, and her mom was unable to take care of the children due to heartbreak. Katniss is forced to hunt and exchanging extra tickets of her name for extra food to support the family. Katniss has great hunting and survival skills, which she learned from her father and her close friend Gale, who she has feelings for.

At the Reaping, the names are drawn. To Katniss's total surprise, her little sister Prim, who's only 12, is selected. This is particularly heartbreaking because Prim's name is only in there once!! Katniss bravely volunteers to take Prim's place, an act that hasn't been done in quite some time, but is allowed. For the boy's name, Peeta is selected. Peeta is the son of a local bakery owner. Katniss doesn't know him well, but he saved her life once when Katniss and her family was starving for food. Katniss went to the bakery in hopes of finding something in the trash can there. Peeta's mom was mean and tried to make her go away. Peeta secretly tossed her some burned bread, bread Katniss is sure he burned intentionally so he could "throw away". Katniss knows to be in Hunger Games together, it means she must be willing to kill him. She tries to not think about it. Peeta's father is a very sweet man. Before departing with the other tributes, Peeta's father gives Katniss some baked goods and told her he will make sure Prim gets fed. Katniss tells her mom to please take care of the rest of the family. 

District 12's most recent winner Haymitch becomes Katniss and Peeta's trainer. He started out as a drunk but later becomes quite helpful as he promised to stay sober. The game is watched by lots of people and if you play your cards right, you could earn sponsors, which means they could send you things you need to survive. This makes the whole game quite interesting and exciting. Peeta tells the game host, Caesar Flickerman, that he's in love with Katniss, which pulls the audiences' heartstrings.

We learn about the tributes from the other districts, and how Katniss outsmarts some of them. There are lots of thrilling moments. Honestly, this book is just amazing. I can't think of any other book that is this exciting. Lots of things happen, allies, betrayals, etc, kind of like Survivor. 

At one point in the game, the host announces that they are changing the rules a little bit this time. They said two tributes are allowed to win, provided they are from the same district. That means Katniss and Peeta can both win! They immediately form an ally to fight against the rest. Peeta was injured by Cato, one of the strongest players. Somehow Katniss keeps Peeta alive. Cato is later killed by muttations, they are genetically engineered creatures based on the dead tributes from the past. Now all that's left are Katniss and Peeta. They think they just won the game, but not so fast. The Capitol (the central governing body of Panem) now announces that there can be only one winner. Katniss and Peeta look at each other. They both refuse to kill the other. Katniss realizes that if they are both dead, it would make the Capitol look bad, so Katniss gives Peeta some poisonous berries and tells him to ingest it together, hoping he understands her intentions. Just as they bring the berries to their mouths, the Capitol declares them both to be the winner.

District 12 is so proud, but the Capitol and some of the other districts are not so happy with them. They are especially unhappy with Katniss, for acting defiant. Haymitch instructs Katniss to act like she's really in love with Peeta, that the double suicide act was real, not an act of defiance. Peeta finds out and thinks she only pretended to love him for survival, so he is very hurt. Awwwww!!! Katniss is torn with her feelings because she still thinks about Gale. The book ends here, well prepared for a sequel.

I don't think anything could have prepared me for how wonderful this book turned out to be. Easily 5 out 5. Best book I've read this year.