Books I Want To Talk About discussion

Please discuss The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I haven't heard of this book. What's it about?

Hunger Games is a YA book about Katniss Everdeen, a 16-yr-old who lives in a post-war futuristic society that used to be the US. To keep its citizens under control, the government holds the Hunger Games every year. One boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen from each of the thirteen districts, trained, and set against each other Lord-of-the-Flies style until only one of the twenty-four is left alive.

It sounds like a novel-length rehash of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" but I found it so much better. It's well written, there's humor and romance as well as a really direct look at this sort of dystopian society.

Oh right. I just read a review in Entertainment Weekly about it. It was compared to The Running Man by Stephen King (which is a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger).

I like these kind of stories. Have you read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld? It has the same feel.

I just read The Hunger Games this week, and loved it. And I'm far from a teenager :)

There are some similarities also with Lois Lowry's The Giver, and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

I spoke about the book on our most recent podcast (episode #14), http://www.booksonthenightstand.com
if you're interested and want to listen.

Oh man, I love Lowry and Atwood is one of my favorite authors! I guess I'm going to have to add this one to the "to-read-soon" pile.

I just finished the book yesterday. It was a page turner that I couldn't put down. The portrayal of self preservation in the face of danger is captivating.

Any recommendation on Collins other books?

I've actually read this book twice (both times were start to finish readings) and I liked it every bit as much the second time as the first time.

The only downside to reading it the second time was the same as the first: the book ending with the words "end of book one".

Fans of Scott Westerfield, "The Lottery" or "Lord of the Flies" should be interested in this. Anti-establishment wrapped up in teenage angst and a "Battle Royale" style setting all mix really well. I was immensely surprised.

I have the fortune of working at Barnes and Noble and being able to read advance copies of books, which is how I laid my hands on "Hunger Games". The description was enough to catch me, but nothing prepared me for how engrossing this book was from the first page to the last.

As you can tell from the length of this comment, I'm a huge fan.

Collins' other work doesn't seem as interesting or easy to get a hold of, but I'm definitely curious given what I've read in "Hunger Games".

Okay, this story is definitely getting bumped up on my to-read list! I love all the books you listed Christi so now I'm definitely intrigued.

Christi - I had to LOL @ the second paragraph - I, too, hated those words - particularly knowing that Hunger Games has just been published and that it will be a while for the following book(s).

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

I'd love to know what anyone who has read the book thought of Rue. I confess, I thought she would die, but I didn't realize how poignantly it would be described.

Spoilers!
Spoilers!
Spoilers!
Spoilers!
Spoilers!

Lots of spoilers!

More Spoilers!

I'll be honest. The first time I cried in this book was approximately twenty pages in when the entire district saluted Katniss silently. The second time was when Rue died. I expected to feel some sort of attachment to the waifish, youngest character of the Games. Collins did an excellent job of using minimal interaction to produce the best effect possible when it came to Rue dying. I was genuinely upset, even understanding from the get go that it was most likely inevitable.

I agree with y'all that The Hunger Games will appeal to the same readership as The Giver, The Handmaid's Tale, and a cool book for middle grades/junior high called The City of Ember.

Someone asked about Collins' other books, and I know a little bit about her Gregor books from having read some of the first one with my son. They are delightfully imaginative but not nearly as compelling to an older audience as Hunger Games. I am hopeful that she'll be fairly quick with the sequel--it's just such a wonderful blend of genres.

This book was amazing but i was so sad when it ended. Does anyone know anything about the second book yet? I looked up on Suzanne Collin's website but culdn't find anything at all about it.

So far, the rumor seems to be that the second book will come out around September 2009 (based on information from someone who works with an audio company who works with Scholastic).

Collins' website doesn't have much of anything for the trilogy, which is sad. I hope she at least posts a sample chapter within a few months.

The second book will be coming out in September of 2009. It is called "Catching Fire." I predict that this book will either have to do with Peeta and Gale vying for Katniss or it will involve the Capitol trying to capture Katniss for some reason, maybe the stunt she pulled at the end of the Hunger Games with Peeta or some type of new rebellion she will put up in the upcoming book. I love this book. Right now, I'm passing it along to all my friends at my school. They also love it. I hope to give it to as many people as I can. lol. I want others to know about this book because I wouldn't want to be out of "the know" if another book like "The Hunger Games" was around.

Have you read Battle Royale yet? It is so similair to Hunger Games it's a little scary. But where Hunger Games takes on the view of just one character and her struggle through "the Game" Battle Royale lets you in the head of all the players and gives you more of a back ground and understanding of each and the emotion behind it. I'm just finishing Battle Royale now and i haven't been able to put it down. I couldn't choose which one is better cuz they are each so wonderful but they do each deal with the exact same topic, though slightly different. Battle Royal though is very descriptive when it comes to the deaths unlike in hunger games, i think it was because of that and some of it's language that it was deemed adult (sci-fi) instead of YA. But you should definately check it out!

I read and loved the Hunger Games. I couldn't put it down. I read a review somewhere that compared it to Battle Royal, actually, they accused Collins of plagiarizing. I haven’t read Battle Royal, so I was wondering, is it really that similar or was the reviewer just being harsh? I would like to read Battle Royal, but I will have interlibrary loan it since our library doesn’t have it.

I definately wouldn't say she plagiarized it. That is way too harsh. I think that she had to have read it though because like i had said before there are a lot of similarities the main one of which is the idea of a game to the death designed by the government to control and strike fear into the general population so as to keep them in a state of fear of what will happen if they don't follow the "rules" set forth for them by the state/country. So yes, the idea is definately the same but the way she developes the story line is completely different. Battle Royal takes a very raw edge to describing what is happening and the effects the game has on each character, good and bad, whereas Hunger Games looks at what is going on only through Katnis's eyes. You should read Battle Royal though. It kind of opens your eyes to another view or way of how the Hunger Games was for the other characters. Also though, since Collin's is writing a sequel that can go in so many different ways I think she will show that she does have a different story line even though some aspects may be the same as Battle Royal. But... Yea, you should read Battle Royal too. Then let us know what you think.

I haven't read battle royale, but a book is really about the characters, so i don't have a problem with the similar plot idea. i liked this book because i liked katniss and peeta and i loved the description of the subsistence life. stephen king liked hunger games too and he wrote the running man, which is also about a game like this.

two other thoughts (SPOILER ALERT):

for all you twilight fans turned on to this book, what is the deal with love triangles lately? it seems like only in the last year every book i read has a love triangle. i don't understand why this is becoming so popular. it adds an unnecessary heartbreaking angle.

and on the whole peeta/gale frontier, i have to say that i think peeta represents hope for her. i've seen a lot of posts that predict he will die to solve the tragic love triangle angle. i think if that happens Katniss could become very very dark. We've seen a little of this with Rue. Katniss is pretty broken and peeta has more potential to heal her than any of the other characters. sure gale is more her natural match, but he doesn't make her a better person. whereas peeta could. of course, maybe Katniss will become more broken and use this hate to kill off the whole capitol empire.

In Hunger Games and all the other books which feature love triangles--and I agree with you that this is spawned, somewhat, by Twilight, yet goes waaay back to The Return of The Native by Thomas Hardy and certainly at times in Jane Austen--I think readers, especially women, enjoy the vicarious choice between possible mates, having a wealth of options. It seems that often one of the characters is the more wholesome, friendly choice and the other a more passionate, carnal, perhaps ephemeral attachment.

With Katniss, I think Peeta is her "broccoli" choice, while Gale is likely to be more romantic. The neat thing is she and Gale haven't even begun to go down that road, so I see that romantic attachment as a big focus of the second book.

If y'all liked Hunger Games, try Graceling by Kristin Cashore--it's about another very empowered female character, who can kick butt, but someone manages to reach her as a young woman, too. Excellent fantasy.

Broccoli choice! Good analogy. Did you see Jacob as the Broccoli? You bring up an interesting point, women often are drawn to the romantic bad boy but feel safer with the friend that doesn't thrill. And frequently break the nice boy's heart. Maybe Katniss will shun serious romantic attachment all together, but I hope to see YA authors setting an example for women to be in healthy relationships rather than "exciting ones." Not that Gale seems like he would use her or anything, but he just hasn't helped her find life beyond just surviving.

I don't really see Peeta as the "broccoli" choice. He's someone she feels indebted to, at least somewhat - even by the end of the games - and isn't exactly her cuppa. Gale seems more like the "broccoli" choice to me; similar interests, years of time together alone, etc. If anything, Peeta seems to me to be the leap of logic and emotion.

And "Graceling" is pretty fantastic. :)

I completely agree with the whole popularity of love triangles. This also applies to the Blue Bloods Series

I'm torn between the whole Peeta and Gale thing. I think that Katnis really began to have true feelings for him but at the same time she began to think of Gale as someone "more". I can't wait for the second book to see how it all plays out with her understanding that she does have feelings for Gale.

But I agree with what someone else said about love triangles on here... There have always been love triangles in books. Always. Twilight was definately not the first one. I mean you could go back to some of the books that Twilight mirrors likes Vampire Diaries but all throughout fiction most books that have love interests end up having some form of a love triangle in them. Twilight was definatley NOT the first to bring that back because it never left the literary world.

Do any of you think that Collin's will update her website to be more user friendly? Like Meyer's website? I want her to post some type of info about her views of Hunger Games and I'm crossing my fingers that she'll post a chapter of the new book at some point.

Yes, I thought of Jacob as the safer choice for Bella in the Twilight series. Perhaps it isn't quite as clear-cut as that in The Hunger Games. Really, we need more information about Gale to know for sure because it's true that they've been pals since childhood, and that's often a good foundation for later romantic affiliation.

Po in Graceling is quite the heartthrob as well. There again, we see the young lord who asked Katniss to marry him, so it's a bit of a triangle. I am assuming there will be a sequel there as well. Does anyone write a stand alone book anymore? It's always a franchise!

I put Graceling on hold at the library. Do send any other suggestions. I'll need stuff to distract me from waiting on the hunger games follow up.

I'm very eager to see what role Haymitch and Cinna will play in what i'm assuming will be a rebellion against the capitol in Catching Fire.

I'm also really looking forward to seeing how Katniss' family fared while she was in the games. I think somehow they must have gotten stronger seeing her succeed and talk about them. It seems like she healed some - respecting her mother's trade and rediscovering her own love of music again.

I just finished this book. I have seen a lot of websites say Book Two is called "Catching Fire" and will be released in Spetember 2009. Suzanne Collins doesn't offer any information on this and neither does Scholastic!!! I just can't wait for Book Two! I know I shouldn't read series books because they make me antsy and I just want to KNOW what's happening.

I don't really see Peeta as a brocolli choice. I think that for so long Katniss never thought of romance and probably never even considered it an option for herself. I think she's really confused about how she feels and probably feels like she's betraying Gale as she hasn't been able to talk to him. I think that Peeta is such a great choice for her. He does offer her hope and happiness. It seems like Gale really has only offered her survival and angst about the life she lives. I think she has a real opportunity to be happy here. I hope she takes it! I know it's unfair to say as we don't know much about Gale, But I'm already Team Peeta. His love for her is really incredible. He even remembered the dress she wore when she was five years old!!! I do wonder what Gale was going to tell her right before he was dragged away before she was leaving. Book Two should really be incredible.

I'm with you about looking forward to seeing Katniss's home district and her family and (boy) friend in something that will provide some sense of normalcy for her before she somehow gets wrapped back up in the political/GAMES machine.

:)

Brynn wrote: "I just finished this book. I have seen a lot of websites say Book Two is called "Catching Fire" and will be released in Spetember 2009. Suzanne Collins doesn't offer any information on this and nei..."

BOOK 3 SPOILERS










I think it's impressive that you came up with this analysis during HG. When these aspects became more clear in Mockingjay, I felt so validated!

So while googling why Collins picked certain names I came across this website. Too late for me to go through it now, but I found it rather interesting:

http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/...

I had a hard time putting down this book. However, I have since read Divergent by Veronica Roth and like it even better than Hunger Games.

I think my daughter has Divergent, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

I want to say Sarah read this and liked it a lot too. Might have to check it out.

Yes, I liked Divergent and Insurgent a lot. I also liked Lauren Oliver's Delirium a little bit, but the follow-up, Pandemonium, I liked quite a bit.