# The Hunger Games



## Kyle R (Feb 10, 2012)

After hearing so much about it, and being recommended to read it by none other than Sunny herself, I finally caved in and read The Hunger Games trilogy.

The storyline was so engaging I finished all three books in less than a week. Collins has a knack for keeping you on the edge of your seat.

I have to admit I was skeptical at first, but now, having read it, I am very impressed.

**SPOILER ALERT** (It's in white text, so to read it you have to highlight it with your cursor)

I do have some qualms about the ending of the series. I thought Suzanne Collins could have handled it better. The closure felt a bit hollow (for me). I would have liked to have seen at least one more moment between Katniss and Peeta where they resembled their old selves again, as they were in the first Hunger Games. Gale was also dimissed so nonchalantly that it was almost out of character for Katniss to do so. Even Haymitch was just plunked off the map. Everything about the ending just felt disjointed to me, as if she had been rushed to meet a deadline or something. When Peeta shows up, preparing to plant Primroses outside Kat's house, saying "I thought we could plant them by the side of the house." Katniss "nods assent" and then goes and showers, and then suddenly wanders off to go hunting.

Wait, what? The boy she's been fighting for the whole series suddenly arrives at her house, after all they've been through, and she just nods at him and then wanders off? Lol. It just seemed like the author saw the end here and was rushing to tie up all the loose strings, but in the process she lost track of the only two real threads that mattered: Gale and Peeta.

**SPOILER OVER**

Overall I thought the series was excellent.

My attention wavered a bit whenever Katniss was chittering on about Cinna's beautiful fashion designs or the delicious foods in the Capitol, but the action was intense, relentless, and at times, quite brutal.

Also the scene with Rue and Katniss was a very emotionally powerful moment. One of the better ones I've encountered in modern fiction, now that I think of it. I actually got a little choked up. And I'm usually more prone to laugh at dramatic moments than to be affected by them. So hats off to you, miss Collins. I am a fan.

How about you? What did you think of the books?


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## Sunny (Feb 10, 2012)

I told you they were good books. ;0)

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed them. They were the very first dystopian novels I had ever read, and they opened another new world of reading for me. I usually stuck with just supernatural stories, but these opened my eyes to other styles and genres of story telling. 

What did I think of The Hunger Games? I loved them obviously. Do we have to type spoilers in white letters? Is it good enough that I just write "Spoiler"?

****SPOILER - DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW****

Right from the very first page I was pulled in. I was so excited from the scene when Gale and Katniss were hunting and their conversation they had. I loved learning about the characters and the world around them. I was shocked hearing how the world had turned into different districts and they were starved and controlled like prisoners. 

I fall in love with characters very easily, especially boys. I can't help it. When Katniss was explaining her first encounter with Gale, and how she was so nervous he didn't hear her and thought she said her name was "Katnip" and not "Katniss" I fell in love. When he helped her up onto the podium after she volunteered, I cried from how strong he was being for her, when obviously he was torn up on the inside. 

When the games started, I was so enthralled I didn't put the book down. I read it all in one day. I read each of them in one day. 

I'm not sure how the author wrote such violent things, but still kept it clean enough for it be Young Adult. She had a way of taking children, young children, putting them into a war with one another, killing each other for the entertainment of a sick and twisted Capital of ignoramaces, and it was still tasteful. I'm not sure how she pulled that off. Children killing children, and yet it somehow turned out to be a great story. 

The first two books were the best. I waited a year for the third book to be released and I gobbled it up as soon as I got home from the bookstore. It was dissapointing to say the least. It was too dark for me, and the fact that she killed her sister and all those little children was uncalled for. Kyle? I agree with you when you said that it felt like the book was rushed. It was like Collins sat down with a cup of coffee and two hours left to meet the deadline, and thought, _I'm in a really shitty mood. I think I'll make everyone miserable with the last few chapters. _I was still hoping for something good to happen with Gale and her mom up until the last paragraph. 

When I finished the last page, I was looking for missing pages! I kept looking at the last page as if I was missing something! I read the last few pages over and over, seeing if I was missing something. I knew I had to be missing an end conversation between Katniss and Gale or something. A letter? A phone call? A visit? But that was it. There was nothing after the war. I felt so cheated I cried like an idiot because I wanted to know so badly what happened to him. I wish could have of least had him sneak a visit to her or something behind Peeta's back. It was all such a pissoff that last book. 

Anyway, I could write about how I felt about this series and bore the snot out of you for a long time, so I'll stop now that I'm all emotional again. This goes to show how invested I was in these books, seeing as it's been well over a year and a half since I've even read them! 

Thanks for reading my reccomendation Kyle. I'm very happy you enjoyed it, and thanks for starting this thread for me to have somewhere else to convey my love for the first two books and most of the third book! ;0)


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## Foxee (Feb 10, 2012)

I read them the same way you did, Kyle, devouring them as fast as I could get my hands on them. I enjoy tales of survival anyway and this was primitive while at the same time having some glamor and plenty of fear to spice everything up. I also have to agree about the ending, sadly, after everything that the characters had been through I expected a much bigger more satisfying finish. Still, totally worth the read!


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## Jon M (Feb 10, 2012)

Yeah, I should read this. Skimmed the first page while at my local Walmart (hangs head in shame) and it seemed decent enough.


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## FrameOfDust (Feb 13, 2012)

I thought they were good in a way, but I really didn't love them. I don't think there was even one character that I cared a hoot about. They were all so fractured and amoral. Just my take...


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## Raptor980 (Feb 13, 2012)

I loved the series. I just finished rereading the first one.
*****Spoiler in white text*****
My problem with the series is Suzanne Collins never tells about Gale who is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting characters. It seems that Katniss would spend so much more time with Gale after the games than what happens. It's always about Peeta who is pretty cool. I think she needs to elaborate some characters more.
***Spoiler Over***
Overall, I couldn't put the books down until they were finished.

Some similar books I recommend:
---------------------------------------
1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. The Enemy by Charlie Higson


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## elfwriter (Mar 10, 2012)

It is indeed a good book. But i have one problem from majority of books. They raise the hype about one thing to such a high level and end it really really quickly so the charm ends. I also think that the Katniss and Peeta scene could have been better. But all in all it was a nice book.


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## Rustgold (Mar 27, 2012)

Question.  I'm tired of all of these 'super hero' books.  The ads of TV make the main character as just another Xena Warrior Woman or Harry Potter type super hero.  Can those who love it give me a reason to want to pick it up?


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## blyish (Mar 27, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> Question.  I'm tired of all of these 'super hero' books.  The ads of TV make the main character as just another Xena Warrior Woman or Harry Potter type super hero.  Can those who love it give me a reason to want to pick it up?



Well, the characters are just "regular" people. No superpowers, no fantasy, no super anything in these books.


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## felix (Mar 28, 2012)

I haven't read them, but they definitely have a fantasy elements. 

From what I can gather the evil Capitol demand one young woman and man from each of the twelve districts of Panem (formerly the USA) as punishment for past uprising each year to take part in a sadistic fight to the death known as the Hunger Games. 

Sounds like YA fantasy to me...

Of course I haven't read it, as I said, so I may be entirely wrong. But I got the strong impression that it was YA...


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## Rustgold (Mar 28, 2012)

blyish said:


> Well, the characters are just "regular" people. No superpowers, no fantasy, no super anything in these books.


Fantasy or not, the ads have billed this book as being this 'super Xena woman' who goes to be this 'miraculous hero', with a tear jerker beginning to make sure we want this 'Xena' to succeed in every 'miraculously impossible act'; because the entire world will collapse in a 'blubbering heap' in it wasn't for this 'super hero'.

Super powers or not, it's billed in the same way as Superman, HP, Xena.  I'd just like to know what else is there before I'd consider picking it up.


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## blyish (Mar 29, 2012)

felix said:


> I haven't read them, but they definitely have a fantasy elements.
> 
> From what I can gather the evil Capitol demand one young woman and man from each of the twelve districts of Panem (formerly the USA) as punishment for past uprising each year to take part in a sadistic fight to the death known as the Hunger Games.
> 
> ...



Sorry, I meant no fantasy in the sense of no magic, no weird beings, the rules of physic are followed (nobody can fly, etc.). The setting is fantasy (in the future, etc.) but the characters are "normal" people.


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## Foxee (Mar 30, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> Fantasy or not, the ads have billed this book as being this 'super Xena woman' who goes to be this 'miraculous hero', with a tear jerker beginning to make sure we want this 'Xena' to succeed in every 'miraculously impossible act'; because the entire world will collapse in a 'blubbering heap' in it wasn't for this 'super hero'.
> 
> Super powers or not, it's billed in the same way as Superman, HP, Xena.  I'd just like to know what else is there before I'd consider picking it up.


Then the billing is wrong. 

Katniss is far from being a super anything. She's compelled by love for her sister, she is talented at archery because she's been taught and has used it to put food on the table (illegally) and she represents the unexpected problems that can crop up for an oppressive government. She's rebellious and she uses that flaw to advantage even when she's scared to.

If you've not caught the significance of the Mockingjay, you can't understand the Hunger Games.


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## Jeff C (Apr 2, 2012)

Anyone else just really not like the books?  I feel like I'm in the tiniest minority of people who really didn't like them.  Didn't take to the movie either. *shrugs*


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## Dave Karnes (Apr 3, 2012)

I'm halfway through the final book, pretty interested to see how it turns out.


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## Iggy (Apr 7, 2012)

I finally broke down and read the series.  I thought they were pretty amazing.  I've never read anything in first-person, present tense, so I was surprised at how well it works.  I wish I could pinpoint one element that make this books a must read...but i cant.  The whole story grabs you and takes you on a wild ride from beginning to end.  I cried like a baby at the scene between her and rue :cry:  ...any book that can get me to care that much about the characters and has such an emotional impact is a good one as far as im concerned. 

Unlike some of the others here, i liked the ending.  Ok, I'll admit, she could have handled it a little better.  She swept over it way too quickly.  What I liked about it was the fact that it seemed real.  It isnt your run-of-the-mill happy ending where everything goes back to the way it was.  IMO she does a great job showing the way the war and everything has affected the characters.  That said, I would have liked to see it explained further and for all the loose ends to be tied up.

I definitely recommend the series though.  And the best part is they are quick, easy reads (not massive beasts like some of the HP series lol)


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## Dave Karnes (Apr 7, 2012)

Yea the scene with Rue was pretty well written for sure!


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## Dewgee (Apr 8, 2012)

SPOILER ALERT!


I thought the books were good, but it seemed like there were times when her writing came off as a little laborious or lazy. Like in the final book where she just goes on and on about those pods while they're just wandering around the capital.  Also it seemed like there were a lot of characters that she originally intended to have more of a role, and then just forgot about as the story progressed. Like the mayor's daughter, or even the Avox's. Plus I didn't think Gale's character was developed very well. Up until the final book there was really not much difference personality-wise to distinguish him from Peeta. That's just my opinion though, overall I though the books were really engaging, and honestly I didn't think the ending was half bad. Maybe a little rushed, but it was pretty realistic and not overly sappy.


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## Potty (Apr 8, 2012)

Just started reading this due to all the hype about it. It's OK so far, nothing to wet my pants over. WhatI want to know is, when they get given the fire suits in book one and parade around the captiol, why do they get so into it? They are blowing kisses and waving when before hand they were on about how barbaric the games are. Surely they should be trying to show their disaproval?


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## Potty (Apr 8, 2012)

Oh yea and apart from a few little details. This is battle royale.


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## Kyle R (Apr 8, 2012)

If I remember correctly, they're acting united and enthusiastic to win over the crowd. Katniss and Peeta still hate the games, but they're trying to play along to hopefully get the crowd on their side, and perhaps use that as an advantage somehow (sponsors).


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## Tiamat (Apr 8, 2012)

How fun!  I recently discovered the addiction this series presents.  I stayed up all night reading the first book a few days ago.  I just devoured the second book a few hours ago, and I'm currently resisting the temptation to grab the third one and forgo sleep tonight as well.

From what I've read so far, I wouldn't say that they're high quality works of fiction, but they're entertaining.  Collins gives you just enough of a lull between the action to allow you to catch your breath and then throws something else at you.  Plus, they're a very easy read, which I think is why I can honestly say, "I couldn't put 'em down."  I didn't have to think--I just had to go along for the ride.

I'm terrified to read the third book though.  I just have a feeling I'm not going to like the way she ties it all up.  (I was a little disappointed with the end of the second one.)  I'll post my thoughts in a day or two when I allow myself to read it.


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## Kyle R (Apr 8, 2012)

Collins was originally a television screenwriter. So each chapter has that "before the commercial break cliffhanger" quality to it.


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## Jon M (Apr 8, 2012)

Tiamat10 said:


> From what I've read so far, I wouldn't say that they're high quality works of fiction, but they're entertaining.


This is how I feel about the first book (only one I read). I've read better First Person stories on this forum. But I loaned the first book to my mom, because she asked, and I've never seen her read a book so fast.


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## Tiamat (Apr 10, 2012)

Spoiler alert:

So I just finished the last book.  Entertaining, but a tad bit irritating.  Here's my biggest complaint with the whole series.  Collins makes the love story a very prominent aspect to the whole series, which is fine.  But her main character (whom everyone seems to love for no really good reason) is emotionally clueless.  Peeta, Gale, Peeta, Gale, OMG--Peeta or frickin' Gale!?  Finally, at the very very end, she decides she really, truly, honestly, genuinely loves Peeta.  And it's kind of like an afterthought.  Like, "Oh, by the way, I love him, and here's a short paragraph on why."  The end.

I still say they're a worthy read.  My attention only wavered a bit in the last book because Katniss, who is typically a very strong character, is so grief-stricken that she acts like a zombie.  Several times.  Other than that, still a decent read.


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## Potty (Apr 10, 2012)

just finished the first book. An enjoyable read but it was spoiled by the little voice in the back of my head that kept saying "Just like in battle royale". Tried to block it out and enjoy it though!


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## Rank Zero (Apr 11, 2012)

i am going to read the hunger games. going to check it out at my library tomorrow


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## Potty (Apr 11, 2012)

Does no-one but me care that this is a rip off?


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## Kyle R (Apr 11, 2012)

Potty said:


> Does no-one but me care that this is a rip off?



http://www.writingforums.com/books-authors/127804-what-you-reading-now-2.html#post1508444

:encouragement:

They both seem really similar, but Collins had never heard of Battle Royale until after she wrote this book.

If anything, both The Hunger Games and Battle Royale are ripping off Greek Mythology 

(I bought a book called The Mythology Bible to do that very thing, muwahaha)


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## Jon M (Apr 12, 2012)

Potty said:


> Does no-one but me care that this is a rip off?


Nope. Look at all the super generic ripoffs that Tolkien inspired.


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## Rustgold (Apr 16, 2012)

I have ended up reading the first book.

Well, on the positive side, the actual games weren't badly done like I believed, and this is a clear strength in her book.  In this part, she stated her main character just right, not overbearingly 'super-hero-like'.

Her set of scenery is classy, and brings the book to life.  I've probably understated these two positives, so feel free to repeat them in your head.

The other thing she's done well is drawing you into the character's past.  She's broken every rule stated on this site, and broken them well.

On the negative side, her writing clearly deteriorated the moment her main character dipped her toe towards any possible 'love interest', and doubly so in the parts where the character needed 'looking after'.  I rather suspect she was advised to have a 'love triangle' to sell books.  All of those 'Twilighters' will of course love this, but the prospect of yet another developing amateurish teen 'love triangle' was a detraction in the book for anybody jibbed from experiences in previous books of this nature.

She had one catch to try to make readers love her character, which was this 'tribute' thing.  I felt as if Susanne believed she didn't need to do anything more, for aside from that, I couldn't see any attempt to make her main character lovable.  Everybody was supposed to love her, but why?  In the end, I only felt attached to the 12 year old girl (Rue); who was bumped off the moment she'd proved her usefulness.

On bumping people off, it felt like the condemned characters weren't considered of value to the author.  It was; 'they were useful, they die, next.'

Character development, or achievement.  Opps.  So the main character starts off, has this game of killing everybody, and goes home.

Something I'm undecided about is that some parts didn't seem to be developing the story, and appeared more like fattening; lots of dead-end lanes.


As a standalone book, the Hunger Games is well written, but forgettable with the exception of Rue.  The only thing which makes this book is the promise of some type of development in the second book.  Unfortunately, it also promises development of the 'love triangle', which feels me with dread based on her toe-dripping attempt in the caves.  Bella from Twilight has more going for her in this aspect, and that's not a recommendation.  Will I read the next book in the series?  Maybe eventually, but I'm not exactly racing out to do so.  And here's why.
There simply isn't much to grasp onto.  She tried to order everybody to love her main character, yet gave us nothing except the 'tribute' thing.  Her strength is in her scene setting and characters doing things, and if she was to give me that, then I'd say yeah.  But what she promises is an attempt to draw in 'Twilighters', which she's horrible at.


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## justbishop (Apr 21, 2012)

Rustgold said:


> On bumping people off, it felt like the condemned characters weren't considered of value to the author.  It was; 'they were useful, they die, next.'



I didn't take it like this. I took it more as Katniss' character just not being the type of person who allows emotion to cloud her judgment when she is under pressure. Her goal was to survive, and she couldn't mope around mourning each and every person (be it her Father, Rue, or fellow tributes she barely knew) who died. 



Rustgold said:


> As a standalone book, the Hunger Games is well written, but forgettable with the exception of Rue.  The only thing which makes this book is the promise of some type of development in the second book.  Unfortunately, it also promises development of the 'love triangle', which feels me with dread based on her toe-dripping attempt in the caves.  Bella from Twilight has more going for her in this aspect, and that's not a recommendation.  Will I read the next book in the series?  Maybe eventually, but I'm not exactly racing out to do so.  And here's why.
> There simply isn't much to grasp onto.  She tried to order everybody to love her main character, yet gave us nothing except the 'tribute' thing.  Her strength is in her scene setting and characters doing things, and if she was to give me that, then I'd say yeah.  But what she promises is an attempt to draw in 'Twilighters', which she's horrible at.



I have to disagree here as well. After reading all 3 books, I didn't feel repeatedly bludgeoned with the issue of Peeta v. Gale. I always felt like Katniss knew on some level that Gale had his place in her life, and that it wasn't as a lover.* Spoiler below, but it has to do with this train of thought.
*
I believe it's early in the second book when Gale kisses Katniss on one of their first post-Games hunting excursions, and though she is still unsure how she feels about him (and unsure of how she feels about Peeta, too, for that matter) I never felt like the Peeta/Katniss eventuality was in danger of not happening. To me, Katniss never seemed torn between Peeta and Gale, but more between the idea of being in love at all v. remaining alone.


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## Clayburn (Apr 23, 2012)

I bought the series for my sister last year, and after she finished she insisted I read them.  And that was around the time it was blowing up.  So, I did.  And I enjoyed it, but at the end I was left thinking, "Really!?!?!"

SPOILER:

I mean why did she kill Prim?  Katniss had one job:  protect Prim.  It was the catalyst for EVERYTHING.  All this was the result of Katniss stepping up to protect Prim, and for what?  It makes me feel like I was cheated.  Like I went through this entire journey just to be back where it started, or worse.  I get that the world is better now and yadda yadda yadda.  But seriously, the entire reason for all this, and she dies anyway.  Ugh.


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## luver08 (Apr 24, 2012)

i havent watched the movie but i did read the books and the were amazing!!


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## Easee (Apr 25, 2012)

Text below whited out for spoilers. 

I agree with OP, the end of the series was terrible. I loved book one, enjoyed book two, and book three was bad. Katniss went from being an action oriented girl with a strong personality and sense of will, to a puppet. That's terrible! I don't want to read that. Not to mention the death of little sister, why? Also, Katniss didn't even get to kill Snow. Okay? That was very anticlimactic, very irritating. After all the crap she went through she didn't even get to kill the jerk. Very good first book, 10/10, book two 7/10, book three 5/10. Blah. I feel like she rushed it.


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## Pirisinian (May 6, 2012)

I've always felt a major problem with the series was the lack of worldbuilding.


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## AvatarAang (May 8, 2012)

The first book is my favorite. In my opinion, it really starts going downhill after that... I mean, in Mockingjay, Katniss literally spends 3/4ths of the book curled up in a dark corner, rocking back and forth. At some point, it just becomes impossible to tell where this series ends and the handbook on dismantling a child's sanity begins. 

And they killed Cinna.That just ​pissed me off.


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## Walt1093 (May 11, 2012)

I thought they were pleasantly entertaining, but not nearly as great as people paint them up to be. The character of Katniss drives me nuts, especially in the third book. Just another girl playing enie-meanie-minie-moe between two guys. That plot's been WAY overused in YA novels.


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## Potty (May 22, 2012)

Book two spoiler: (It's so hard not to read all the spoilers above!)

I found the quelling hunger games to be less gripping than the first. I think this is becuase it's a bunch of adults bashing eachothers brains in. when it was all a bunch of kids it seems more.... dirty! Like battle royale, it's watching kids kill that makes it so compelling.


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## Skodt (May 22, 2012)

I liked the first two books. The third was a total curveball to the entire character stories. Some characters were taken in a new direction without explanation. Such as Haymitch. Some were not as involved as I thought they should have been. Yadda Yadda about Katniss its all been said. Yet I figure the conclusion of the series would have been thought out a tad bit better. Just seems to have made more questions then answered.


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## justbishop (May 23, 2012)

Just a heads up for anyone like me who really wanted to read about what the heck happened during the missing chunk of time at the end of Mockingjay, THIS fanfic fills the bill pretty well...and with bonus "mature" material 

But seriously, it's actually one of the better pieces of fanfic I've ever read. Well written, and I feel like the author did really well with all of the characters, even fleshing out a couple of minor ones in really believable ways.

And just so I'm clear, the link above contains adult material. NWS/NKS!


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## Potty (May 25, 2012)

*Spoilers below.*

Just finished the last book and have been left disapointed. It kept me gripped to the very end, and I still can't work out why as I found Katniss highly annoying. I hated peeta up until the point he started seeing katniss as she really is... at which point I was cheering him on... but he got mushy again so that was a waste. And gale just generally got on my nerves, especially for not visiting his "Best friend" when she returned home. 

the fact Katniss was so keen to start up a new hunger games surprised me too. I would have thought they would all be dead set against it. The second she agreed to the new hunger games I lost touch with her completely.


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## frappie3 (May 28, 2012)

First, when everyone started making a fuss about the book I decided to just read a synopsis on wikipedia.. It sounded interesting, but not interesting enough for me to go get the book... Then the movie came out and I decided to see it...  I loved the movie, and since books are often better than the movies, I decided to read it.  Even though I know basically everything that's going to happen it still keeps me completely pulled in.  To be honest, I'm not sure if there is anything about the book I don't like.  I absolutely love the portrayal of the characters.  I love feeling like I'm inside of Katniss's mind.  I cant wait to move on to the next two books.


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## Fin (May 28, 2012)

Spoiler in the quote. 



Potty said:


> the fact Katniss was so keen to start up a new hunger games surprised me too. I would have thought they would all be dead set against it. The second she agreed to the new hunger games I lost touch with her completely.



 Oh Gosh, that surprised me so much too. I was so confused. I was so disappointed in Katniss. I get that a lot happened to her, but as my mother always told me, two wrongs don't make a right.


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## VancouverLady (Jun 15, 2012)

I really, really liked them.  Especially the first one.  I was so skeptical going into it, because since all these teeny-bopper girls liked them I was a little scared they'd be some trashy writing with a romance (AKA twilight).  But no.  I watched Battle Royale years ago (the japanese version) and thought HG did a great job of making that same story line really political and meaningful.


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## Juganhuy (Jul 13, 2012)

I thought the series was okay.

It is a taboo subject with kids on kids fightening and thats what hooked most readers. I liked the whole idea, but the books really lacked details. The characters were emotionless most of the time, and when they appeared to show emotion it was so brief.

And the actual games in the books were like maybe 10% of the book? 

Overall I think it was okay, but could have been much better.

When I read it, it was after the movie came out. I had never heard of it before. I watched the movie. It was okay but figured there was more explained in the book but I was a bit dissapointed. They left little out of the movie, but what they did leave out nmakes me question how they will explain it in the future movies.

Sorry for my rambling.


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## Potty (Jul 13, 2012)

Juganhuy said:


> When I read it, it was after the movie came out.



I think Suzanne wrote after that too... goddamit I think I have a problem.


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## Alabastrine (Jul 13, 2012)

I was pleasantly surprised at how good the books were. However, that being said...it was an odd sensation going from the YA book to a more mature book. The Hunger Games were super easy and fast to read and required no thought process really (not being rude) whereas a more mature book causes you to slow down and think about what is being written more. Maybe that was just me?

anyone watch the movie? was it better or worse than the book?


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## Kyle R (Jul 13, 2012)

Potty said:


> I think Suzanne wrote after that too... goddamit I think I have a problem.



Suzanne came up with the idea for her books after watching reality television, and then flipping the channel and seeing news of the war in the Middle East.

She wanted to combine reality television with war. And the children aspect she took from Greek Mythology, specifically the legend of the Minotaur, where children are thrown into the labyrinth together to fight for their lives.

The similarities with Battle Royale are striking! But coincidental, as she had never heard of that novel until after she had finished her first book.


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## Potty (Jul 13, 2012)

That's what Im going to say when I finish my WiP "The Hoppit".

Ok ok, that was the last time, honestly. I actually enjoyed the books, but I just don't buy into where she got the ideas from.


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## Kyle R (Jul 13, 2012)

I suppose it's possible she read _Battle Royale_, then decided, "I know! I'll just write a story with a similar plot, and hope that nobody notices! Then if they ask, I'll lie about it! Yeah!"

Lol. I don't see that happening, but it could be the case. If so then she's simply doing what Hollywood has been doing for decades. Look at _The Amazing Spider-Man_. Gee, I wonder where that movie idea came from. Oh yeah! From the the Spider-Man movie franchise that was already done just five years ago! And from the Marvel comics series, too! *slaps forehead*


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## Aesmind (Aug 17, 2012)

Absolutely adored them. Will reread immediately.


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## MisterTribute (Aug 18, 2012)

I absolutely love The Hunger Games trilogy. It is the first dystopian series that I have read. Usually, I read supernaturals.

----------------******** SPOILERS Alert ********----------------
In the end of Mockingjay, I was a bit disappointed on how there are so many unanswered questions. Like what happened to Gale? Why he was just wiped away from the story? And her mother? And also Haymitch? Who did really dropped the bombs to the children? What happened to the rest of District 12? Why was she delivered to District 12's Victor's Village after she killed Coin? So much questions to ask.
What I wished was to have another book consisting of the answers to those unanswered questions, in the point of views of the other characters.
----------------******** SPOILERS Over ********----------------

But overall, the three books are great. The actions in the Games are intense. A total bloodbath.
The Hunger Games trilogy led me to other dystopian novels. And now, I am addicted to dystopian novels.


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## Sardonis (Aug 25, 2012)

I have several problems with _The Hunger Games_. One, the concept is unoriginal. _Battle Royale_, a movie-turned-novel out of Japan was the first to use the "stick several teenagers on an island and force them to kill each other for the enjoyment of others" concept. Granted, I'm aware that _The Hunger Games_' story goes much beyond that and the whole world the author built is interesting and engaging, but the shocker, the games, the part of the book that made it so gripping was not her concept and it just... kind of bothers me that it isn't considered copy right infringement. The other thing that bothered me, the part that made me unable to read them was the writing style. Over-flowery first person present tense is not my cup of tea.

EDIT - I'm sorry, but I almost refuse to believe that she didn't read/see _Battle Royale_ before writing _The Hunger Games_. Just sayin'. Does this mean that I can write a story about several boys that get trapped on an island and end up murdering each other out of madness and just feign ignorance? "Oh, _Lord of the Flies_? What's that?"


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## Jeko (Aug 25, 2012)

> kind of bothers me that it isn't considered copy right infringement.



Well, whatever story you're writing, someone's done it already. Remember that.



> The other thing that bothered me, the part that made me unable to read  them was the writing style. Over-flowery first person present tense is  not my cup of tea.



Flowery? I thought she was badass.



> Does this mean that I can write a story about several boys that get  trapped on an island and end up murdering each other out of madness and  just feign ignorance?



_Yes._


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## alanmt (Aug 25, 2012)

I enjoyed the series.  Had to suspend my disbelief a few times.


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## miller.4314 (Aug 26, 2012)

I personally give Collins props for her ending. Over the entire length of the actual games she never saw or spoke to Gale once. 

**SPOILER**(Highlight Text)
Once she realized Prim was killed by the same design that Gale created in the third book, he lost the only edge he had on Peeta-she looked to gale for protection for Prim, and he failed. Once that occurred, I thought it was pretty reasonable that she chose Peeta. And to have the entire 3rd book focused on Peeta's twisted form of reality, and ending the story with Peeta asking the question, "You love me, real or fake?" Or however it was worded, was a crafty ending.
**END OF SPOILER**
Excellent books. I would read the series again from start to finish.


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## JackKnife (Aug 26, 2012)

Never read the books. Just saw the movie about a week ago. I wasn't totally gripped by it, although Jennifer Lawrence was downright awesome as Katniss. The one scene from the movie that really stuck with me was the cannon scene when the children are first unleashed into the battlefield and a bunch of casualties occur almost at once. Just hearing those shots one after another was fairly chilling when you considered the connotations of it all.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Aug 26, 2012)

Back when the books came out, I didn't see what was so interesting about them. Most people didnt even pay attention to them, and then the movie was released and EVERYBODY had to read the book. It became the top book just because of the movie. I didnt want to read the books when they came out, and I dont want to read them now just because the movie came out. 
I'm not saying that it is a bad book (Well I wouldnt know, never read them) I just dont want to be one of those people who only read when there is a movie about it.


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## HKayG (Aug 28, 2012)

I have a real love/hate relationship with these books.

I love and hated Katniss as a character. She was annoying (especially when depressed) but I admired her skill and her will to protect.

I hated the ending for one point and one point only. -> Why did she kill prim! Utterly ridiculous, and as some one said earlier, makes you feel cheated out of the whole book - it was the only reason Katniss even did the Hunger Games to begin with!

Otherwise I did enjoy it. My favourite book was actually the second - I loved the clock island and how everyone began to choose sides.

But undeniably, the first was the best because it was seemingly a completely different plot! The only one really focused on the hunger games.

And PS I always wanted Peeta to end up with Katniss.  Best decision Collins made.


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## WhiteInk13 (Sep 2, 2012)

Oh you silly adults, you don't read younger fiction until EVERY KID IN THE WORLD HAS ALREADY *AND*THERE'S A MAJOR MOTION FILM BEING MADE OF IT. I tried reading it once in middle school but it started off sort of slow so I left it for a year and I was HOOKED. It's YA Sci Fi about a girl without any powers at all except her wits and talent with a bow. It's an awesome piece of fiction and everyone should read it. My mom read it and even bought Mockingjay because I didn't have it. Katniss to me is like the female, American Harry Potter who changed the world WITHOUT superpowers. It's a girl who volunteered her own life to spare the one of the one she loves and bring courage to the districts to rise up against "the man" aka the Capitol. God, I love this book.


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## Jeko (Sep 2, 2012)

> Oh you silly adults



You know, I'm 15.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Sep 2, 2012)

Cadence said:


> You know, I'm 15.



WHAT?, your 15 by the way you write I thought otherwise. You sure had me foooled. Dang.


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## Potty (Sep 2, 2012)

TheWonderingNovice said:


> by the way you write I thought otherwise.



I know right? I thought it was strange that a minor would be interested in joining the forums!


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## TheWonderingNovice (Sep 2, 2012)

Yeah, but it just shows that he has talent.


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## Potty (Sep 2, 2012)

Swing and a miss.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Sep 2, 2012)

"Strike three, your out."


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## Jeko (Sep 3, 2012)

> I thought it was strange that a minor would be interested in joining the forums!



I don't have much writer-friendly stuff around me, so I had to go hunting for it.

I fool many people into thinking I'm older... I was talking to a random guy in the library (about epic fantasy) and he thought I was in college. It must be the hat...

I must get a profile picture of me wearing the hat.

Anyway, I'm watching The Hunger Games on DVD today. Should be fun.


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## Kaleidoscopic (Sep 3, 2012)

It was a very engaging read for me. I liked the backstory and I believed Katniss. She was a very real character, especially when compared to heroines of other recent novels. Yes she was kind of snotty and annoying sometimes, but who wouldn't be after going through everything that she had? What I really like about the series is how it pulls the reader into a war torn world and makes it real. I wrote an article about it actually. In this day and age I think it's really important that we understand the implications of global violence and poverty. This book is entertaining while also delivering a vital message to the section of the population (young adults, teenagers) who will be forced to deal with these problems someday. Job well done, Ms. Collins!

Though I will say that the last book was one of the most depressing things I've ever read. Yet, I can't imagine a more perfect ending. It had to be that way, it just made the most sense.


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## jacqueline (Sep 3, 2012)

I'm going to start reading this book. I have heard so many people talking about it that I chose it for a book club I have with my facebook friends. A couple of them say they have already read it and liked it. The subject is very much outside what I normally read so it will be interesting to see if I like it as much as my friends do.


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## Potty (Sep 4, 2012)

Just watched film and it's the first time I've enjoyed the film more than the book. I will say however that it felt a lot like harry potter films... they have sort of summed up the book rather than make it into it's own work of art.

I was somewhat dissapointed by the costumes of Katniss though.


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## Jeko (Sep 4, 2012)

> Just watched film and it's the first time I've enjoyed the film more  than the book. I will say however that it felt a lot like harry potter  films... they have sort of summed up the book rather than make it into  it's own work of art.



I disagree on every point. I thought it was _nothing _like the Harry Potter films. They tried to capture a sense of the magic of it all, but lost some of the effectiveness of the storytelling. The Hunger Games told its story brilliantly in both the film and the book.

I watched the film yesterday.



> I was somewhat dissapointed by the costumes of Katniss though.



I liked her burn. Very real. Made me go 'ouch!' when she touched it.

All in all, the Hunger Games is the most entertaining, and most depressing work of wonderful art that has ever repatedly chucked me into a saddenning hole and left me to my own devices to try to climb out time after time. It didn't make me cry when reading or watching it. It did after.

You know, this is my 1,000 post! Hurrah!


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## Potty (Sep 4, 2012)

The original did it better.


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## Potty (Sep 4, 2012)

I also feel that the first fight scene at the start of the games was a real anti climax. I was expecting to see some real horrific sights. Not a jerky camera view of people swinging weapons.


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## Jeko (Sep 4, 2012)

> I also feel that the first fight scene at the start of the games was a  real anti climax. I was expecting to see some real horrific sights. Not a  jerky camera view of people swinging weapons.



Yay! We're still disagreeing!

I _loved _that scene. Especially the minimalism techiniques used in the soundtrack. I found it very horrific, but not because of what i was seeing. Because of what I was thinking.

A movie that makes you think? Witchcraft! But the Hunger Games really made me relflect on emotions and connotations and connections and realisations _during the film_ more than any other film I have ever watched.


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## Potty (Sep 4, 2012)

Disagreeing? Nay, discussing perhaps!

Don't get me wrong I am enjoying the film (Watching as I comment). It's a good film. but there were certain parts I was really looking forward to seeing which I felt the film didn't do justice.


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## Jeko (Sep 4, 2012)

> Don't get me wrong I am enjoying the film (Watching as I comment). It's a  good film. but there were certain parts I was really looking forward to  seeing which I felt the film didn't do justice.



i think the trick is to not look forward to specifics. The films should stand alone as it's own work of art anyway. And for me, it does.



> Disagreeing? Nay, discussing perhaps!



Well, at least this isn't a God debate thread.


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## Fin (Sep 4, 2012)

I'm going to wait a few months before I see the Hunger Games again. I saw it opening day, and I re-read the book the day before that. My expectations were so high going into it, that it wouldn't let me accept anything else. I was just waiting for it to be over with the entire time. 

More than any other genre, when I read YA, the visuals I get are outstanding. So when I saw the movie, it was just less of a movie than the one I felt I'd just watched the day before. Bad choice on my part, really. I ruined what was probably a great movie.


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