I grabbed the Hunger Games book after I saw the movie (which I didn’t like) in the hopes it would answer some questions like, “What’s the big deal?”. I will give Collins credit for some vivid action scenes, and I can see how the movie rights would have been picked up based on the narrative and dynamics of the overall book.

Part of my issue is that I’m really not into first-person narratives. I know some people love it, but it’s rarely my thing (there are some notable exceptions, but they are few and far between). I suppose the POV does lend a more intimate feel to the distressing landscape of events (I mean, even the landscape itself is distressing and depressing).

Panem’s setting felt real in the overemphasized dystopian model of stark divisions, inequality, and oppression. I suppose this is where I should also acknowledge that the dystopian genre doesn’t really float my boat, either. So, let’s take this review with a grain of salt—as someone who does not enjoy the POV or genre, I can still give it a fair amount of praise, so that’s saying something.

Despite the POV, I didn’t dislike Katniss, but Peeta should have been dead 100 times over, given the number of times she had to rescue him. I don’t mind the gender reversal, but it became tedious. On the other hand, things like the tracker jackers were extremely well thought out and felt like they belonged in the story, as opposed to being some add-on thought up by a committee of executives who thought a story needed some “cool tech” or something.

Overall, as someone who managed to get through it despite not liking the POV or the genre, I can safely say it’s 3.5 stars. I would think you could add another half-star for someone who likes all the things I don’t.

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Created Apr 05, 2024 at 12:26pm • Submit your own review...