The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games Series 1)

Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

Winning will make you famous.

Losing means certain death.

  Well…a long time ago, I post the Mockingjay’s movie review. But I don’t have the time for other books and movies in the series…so now, it’s time for them!!! Yeah!!! The first time I read The Hunger Games was actually when the movie came out. I thought that since the book can be adapted to movie, then the book shouldn’t be bad. (Few years ago there aren’t so many novels adapted from books…so…) Never mind…I read the book…and of course, I fell in love with it…and there is no turning back now.

  The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

  When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

  As everyone knows…Hunger Games is a dystopia, which I think must be one of the first dystopia books that lead to now hundreds of books have similar plots... They all get a horrible government, mostly with divide groups, and some of them were treated poorly. So, once upon a time, there was a girl called Katniss. Her father died in one mineral accident, so she had to take cared her heart-broken mother and young sister. In their country, Hunger Game was held every year, which was a reminder that it was impossible to rise in rebellion. One girl and boy from twelve districts will be selected and must be sent into the arena to fight, to survive until only one of them left. For the first and second district, it was an awesome opportunity for them to prove their courage and strength, but it was also brutal for other districts, since it will be no choice but to died. Back to Katniss, since she needed to feed her family, she learned how to hunt in the forest, collect herbs and berries…and of course, it was illegal to go to the forest. But fortunately, Katniss was from the twelfth district, one of the poorest districts. By the way, every district has their own work to do, for district one, they do jewelry, which makes them extremely wealthy, and district twelve, most of them were miners and that make them extremely poor. Not fair, huh?

  Yet when Katniss’s sister turned twelve, her first time in the ballot, something terrible happened…she was selected!!! No!!! In fact, the chance for her to be selected was so little, that Katniss kept promise her sister that everything will be all right. And why was that? With every year their age grows, they would add a ticket in the ballot, so when you were twelve, the chances for you was so little. What’s more, since they were so poor, some of them will add extra ticket in exchange for food. So the chance for Katniss’s sister to be chosen was actually like being hit by lightning. Unfortunately, she was the one…then… “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!!” Katniss shout to be a volunteer, so that her sister would be safe. And when the day came, she left with Peeta, the male tribute, to the capital, where the game would be held. Thanks to the designer, Katniss’s first impression was a success. The people called her “the girl on fire.” Besides that, her skill for archery also impresses the judge…which was somehow… Just “thank for your consideration.” But what she didn’t expect was that in order to survive, she needed to fall in love with her opponent.

  So…the first book of the trilogy was actually so…rebel. Maybe the last part…but the main point of this book was place in the game. How Katniss and Peeta tried to survive, how they manage to live among all the powerful and skillful killers. When I first read this book, Katniss amazed me by her courage to protect her sister and how she be herself. The capital tried to control everything, even in the game, all was under their controlled. While most of the people tended to follow the rule, Katniss wasn’t afraid to speak out…silly, but courage as well, since the cost might be her or others’ lives. But apparently, that’s what makes our role character different. She was a bad-ass character, she wasn’t nice…at least to whom she didn’t cared; she was selfish, survive was her only option. But she was true, and she dared to fight, to hunt, to live. She was brave, so she stood up when tragedy came, and willing to protect the one she love. She wasn’t the perfect character, but that’s what makes it great. What about our male character? Peeta? Well…he was the opposite of Katniss. He was a kind person, in fact, without him, Katniss wouldn’t have survived. He treated everyone nicely, and his natural spirit attracts all the audience. While half of Katniss’s popularity was because of her beautiful clothes, at least for now, not before everyone knew her, Peeta was able to interact smoothly with them. Even in the game, Peeta was still a nice person. What would happen when both of them pair together? Disaster? Love? Friend? But what we were sure was that only one can survive.

  Interested with the book? Well? Go and read this all-time favorite dystopia series!