Review of "Hunger Games"

So another book review about a series with tons of hype. I liked this one better than "Twilight" but the books still didn't live up to my expectations. I really wish I could find out about these books before the hype starts because I'm generally disappointed. So, formal review:

Though many people describe the “Hunger Games” trilogy as being like a repeat of “Battle Royale,” I’ve read both and I think that the “Hunger Games,” while it has its similarities, is very different. In my mind, the “Hunger Games” is a pretty original piece of work set in a rather non-original sci-fi setting.

I loved the “Hunger Games.” It was action-filled, suspense-packed, and had a lovely love story that was played out well. I found myself able to relate to the main characters because they weren’t perfect (though Katniss was a badass) and they had obvious flaws which they had to work to overcome. I thought the plot was fantastic; I mean, who doesn’t love a bunch of kids and adults thrown into a dome and forced to kill each other until the last one survives? The first two books were amazing—if a little predictable—and I devoured them in a matter of one day each.

The problem in my opinion was the last book. I could see where the author wanted to get to and what she wanted to achieve and it was a great idea, but I think the execution of it was done a little poorly. If she had written maybe one more book before her last book, it probably would’ve made the series infinitely better, but because she went from a relatively action-based plot to a completely dark and morbid plot (yes I know that the kids killing each other was morbid but I found that the whole fight against the government was even more morbid because it wasn’t as much based on action as an almost psychological warfare) the gap was just a little too big.

I don’t really want to compare this to “Harry Potter” (two different genres and two very different series’) but I can’t help it—this trilogy could’ve been a much better series than trilogy. The “Harry Potter” series had beautiful execution of the transition from the action to the dark and sinister because it spanned over seven (relatively long near the end) books. I think the “Hunger Games” has loads and loads of potential, and the build-up in the first two books were amazing, but if it wanted to reach the heights of truly amazing the whole way through—if it wanted to reach its true potential—I think it should’ve been longer.  

Besides this though, I really enjoyed it. It’s a surprisingly quick read, and while the writing style is nowhere near as good as, say, Frank Herbert’s (I think I’m justified comparing the two considering they both have loads of hype and are both sci-fi) it’s good enough for me to recommend to my friends without hesitation. I love Katniss’ voice in this story and this author does a great job of “showing” the reader rather than “telling” the reader.

If you’ve seen the movies and enjoy them, then definitely read the books because they are (as in most cases) much better than the movies (though I did enjoy the movies—they’re a hundred times better than the “Twilight” movies in any case). Here’s a little thought to ponder if you’re thinking of reading this trilogy—my younger brother has to be the worst reader ever and hardly ever reads books (and when he does he never finishes them) but he picked up the first book of the “Hunger Games” and read the whole thing in a little less than a month (that’s saying a lot because he’s a slow reader). Afterwards he came up to me and told me he enjoyed it and asked for the next book.  So if you’re someone looking for a book to read to get into books or even if you’re an experienced reader, I would recommend reading this trilogy because, while it has its flaws (really, what series doesn’t?), it is a fun read.

And that's what I think about the "Hunger Games." Actually, it's a nice read but it's average. Maybe a tiny bit above. Truthfully, I don't think it deserves as much hype as it got; I've read books way better than these ones that don't have half the fan base. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the readers who read it are inexperienced because they haven't read many good books with fantastic writing style? Wow I sound arrogant and I totally don't mean to, I'm actually just curious as to why so many books that are good but not amazing have such a huge fan base. Oh well, I suppose huge fan bases aren't always misleading; Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings are expectation-surpassing even with the hype surrounding them. Anyway. I would recommend this trilogy for sci-fi fans, "Battle Royale" fans, fans of strong female protagonists and people who are looking for something fun to read because they're bored. Although it definitely isn't for the faint hearted.

Final Verdict: 7.1/10

Happy Reading!

~Amber