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The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
Audiobook11 hours

The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins

Narrated by Carolyn McCormick

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Editor's Note

Fire is catching…

Equipped with only a bow and a heart of gold, Katniss Everdeen caught cultural fire, igniting the rebel in us all. A brilliant, action-packed social commentary on media manipulation that defines the dystopian YA genre.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2008
ISBN9780545142915
The Hunger Games

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Reviews for The Hunger Games

Rating: 4.340054847206904 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

23,755 ratings2190 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    An alright novel. This sort of format is a dime-a-dozen these days, but there are far worse versions out there one could read. A fun read if this is your go to genre, but lacking in terms of depth.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Hunger Games is enthralling. Katniss is forced to kill or be killed and struggles with the choices she has to make in order to survive. She has to fight against her enemies in the arena and those in the Capitol that control the games. She must work with Peeta, who is her ally from District 12, and together they must navigate the arena. Ultimately, they'll have to decide what to do, because only can survive.

    I find it impressive how well the author balances all the elements of this intricate story; there is violence, but the heart of the story is family, friendsm love and the fight to protect all of those things. The characters and relationships are all skillfully crafted. Katniss is a believable heroine. She is an ordinary girl forced into extraordinary circumstances and she has to rely on her skills and her wit to survive. She doesn't have the luxury of being superficial and that gives her a good point-of-view. The narration is believable from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old girl, but it is mature and tasteful and does not undermine the intelligence of it's readers. The real-world parallels are ever-present, but the subtlety in the message further proves how smart the writing is.

    The Hunger Games is one of my favorite books, it is truly incredible, a must-read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Hunger Games. Sort of Harry Potter and Snow-white meet Hitler and Stalin young-adult fiction with lots of “I’m a celebrity” and dressing up. The duo’s survival and fighting techniques are fascicle but the writing flows very well. Easy to see how schoolkids would lap it up. Two and a half stars.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is action packed, I found it almost impossible to put it down, and I can't wait to get my hands on the second book of the trilogy. This is one book I can say with confidence I would not hesitate for a second to recommend to somebody else.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of my favorite books that I have read. It is a book about a girl named Katniss who takes place of her sister who was picked to participate in the games. The games is an event that the capitol holds as a form of entertainment. In this event, the tributes that are picked to go to the games have to fight and kill to survive. There can only be one survivor in order for the games to end. This book has a twist that changes the whole point of the games. The Hunger Games is part of a series that you will not want to put down. I would recommend this book to students in 6th-9th grade.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Awesome read! I couldn't put it down
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I never planned on reading the book, it didn't entice me to want to read it. And now i can't believe how much I love it, I didn't know I would enjoy reading it so much. A very interesting story on the dystopian concept. To be honest I decided to read the book because I wanted to watch the movie but I couldn't bring myself to watch it before reading the book, I will at least read the second book first if not the third before watching it. Hope i'm not disappointed, the writing flowed and it never slows, it was exciting and intense. On to the next now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great book! Kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I like the movie but love the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love the dystopian universe in this book. There was just far too much love story for this to be a 5 for me. However, it's rather impressive that something with this much romance could make it as high as 4 in my mind. The amount and particular style (pining, I freakin' hate pining) in this book is usually just cause for me to give up on a book entirely, and I never even considered stopping this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    4.5 stars
    So good! I am impressed at how well the movie followed the book. Can't wait to start the next one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a fantastic novel. Absolutely breathtaking in its breakneck speed. I was completely engrossed, and ended up reading until three in the morning, and finishing the book in five hours. I just whipped through it. (Because it was so fantastic!)

    Go read it! NOW!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It took me a while to get through this book, I was having a busy few weeks so that could most def be why. I thought this book had a lot of interesting things about it.

    I loved how Peeta loves Katniss. I like the difference in character in Peeta and Gale. I think Katniss really does care about Peeta a lot more than she is ready to acknowledge. It should be interesting to see what happens in the next book. Peeta isn't a strong hunter like Gale is, I think both boys might love Katniss. The only reason that Peeta is alive is b/c Katniss saved his life, and fought to keep him alive. When they were children Peeta burnt some bread on purpose so that he could sneak it too Katniss and that kept her alive. There has always been a pull between them since that childhood bread moment. But they never talked until the hunger games.

    The hunger games are like "The Running Man" with kids. You know that movie from the 80's with the Govanator? Yeah, that. Also these kids are not convicts being sent out to do for punishment for their crimes. No, they are picked randomly every year, two from each district (there are 12) one boy and one girl. The enter the Hunger Games and try to survive... The Hunger Games originated because the people of the districts tried to go against the Capitol. Figure it out sparky... The poor people live in districts starving to death, barely able to get by, and the Capitol is the Main city, the governing body. They are well fed, even fat, and they do not appreciate any sign of rebellion. So that's why when the Districts came against the Capitol, they destroyed the 13th district making them completely gone. And as punishment, and in remembrance to their defiance, the capitol made it so that every year two children from each district (between ages 12 - 18 ONLY) must go to some "arena" and fight for survival. The last child alive wins the games, and earns a year of food for their district.

    Here are a few things about the Hunger Games.
    1. You can have sponsor's. These are people who believe you will go far in the games, bet on you like you are an animal about to enter a race, and they're even able to pay for items to be sent to you while your in the "arena". These items, the farther your along in the games, the most expensive they are.
    2. That brings us to the next part of the games. Everyone puts on a show for who they are. Katniss and Peeta are pretending to be kids in love. Remember only one person can win the games, so they have a lot of sympathy b/c people wish the couple to live.
    3. Now, after you have put on your show, trying to get as many sponsors as possible, you enter the "arena". The arena is a closed off area somewhere out in the wild. It can be in a desert, it can be in mountains, or it can be in some random forest. They dump these kids in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on their back.
    4. In the middle of the area there is always a place where there is a mass amount of food and weapons for the kids too. So once they are let into the arena, they try to get some necessities, maybe food, maybe a weapon, and try not to die. The first day when they are released is when the most die.
    5. Everything is televised. It's like I said, it's like running man meets survivor, meets death race... with kids. So their every move is being watched, and cheered on. Ever death is cheered, with money being put down for bets. If the kids haven't been active and killing each other for a couple of days, the game masters will try to heard the kids together to force them to kill each other. For example: setting the forest on fire to heard Katniss toward the other kids.

    Katniss and Peeta live in district 12, the coal district. They have had like only a few winners ever. The last one that won for their district was a few decades ago, is still alive and is a total drunk. But when he sees that Katniss and Peeta are smart enough to survive he decides to help them.

    This book had a few sad moments, and kept you on your toes wondering what coupld possibly happen next. I see now why it gets such good reviews.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great book, read in 3 days. I loved the character of Katniss, she was strong, vulnerable and brave. There is so much about this book that I would love to discuss...it makes you think about your freedom, choices and survival. One of my thoughts while reading it was 'How can this be a 'young adult' book?, after finishing I started thinking that maybe this should be required reading for all young adults. I am definitely going to read all the books in the trilogy. Update: I didn’t read the next books in the series; I decided the subject matter was too disturbing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    great book.full of action.couldnt put it down.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had a hard time getting into this book, but it intrigued me enough to want to read the sequel. I like Katniss's character, but the futuristic society of blood-hungry sadists is very disturbing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read all these books in a day and this one is certainly the only one that is worth reading. Katniss makes a great hungry dog (a hungry dog is an angry dog) but once that is over, it's kind of downhill. The series ultimately disappointed me, and maybe could have just been books one and two and ended in a different way. Anyway, this one was pretty good.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I L*O*V*E*D it...The audio was AWESOME. I didn't care for the ending. It left me high and dry. I just knew they were going to be forced to marry each other or something along those lines. I cringed at most parts of the book with the thought in my head, child cruelty. I can't wait to read Catching Fire. Tomorrow I'm on my way to the Theatre to watch the movie.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was fantastic. Reminded me a lot of Lord of the Flies obviously. But even more so of a tiny cult classic, Battle Royale. I would never have guessed this was a Young Adult book if I hadn't known going into it. The ideas and the writing are incredibly sophisticated and the messages very adult like. Hands down...loved this book. I've already started the second book :)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Hunger Games is a thrilling, quick moving dystopian novel with a flawed and yet totally compelling heroine. This is a book to be read at an absolute gulp. The story is dark, but the messages are extremely important (both about the voyeuristic nature of reality shows, and the disparity between the haves and have-nots.) I let my fifth grader read this book (after a good deal of begging-- but ideally, it should probably be for middle schoolers and above
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A must read, it had me hooked from the beginning. This story was a rollercoaster of emotions, it was as if I felt everything Katniss felt. I was hoping for a happy ending but you can't have everything .
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm no longer the last person in America to read this book! I gave it four stars, mainly due to the quickness and intensity of the plot. I thought the details were too sparse in areas, and too often completely missing. But overall I enjoyed reading it and appreciated the good social commentary. Now I am on to the sequel, Catching Fire...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent young adult book with a strong female heroine. Highly recommended for middle school and above.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Suzanne Collins weaves a fantastically dysfunctional little world in which a hero becomes such without any desire whatsoever. She is just trying to save her sister. Plenty of daring and the awkwardness of teenagers ensues. Pretty soon our Katniss must choose between family and heart's desire.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is action packed, I found it almost impossible to put it down, and I can't wait to get my hands on the second book of the trilogy. This is one book I can say with confidence I would not hesitate for a second to recommend to somebody else.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not much to say about this one, I guess. I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written for YA's.

    I enjoyed the premise of the story; the government taking our children and making them fight to the death for entertainment. Certainly the characters were quite likable and developed well throughout the book. There was the potential for a lot of blood and guts and gore, however, the author stopped short of all of that. For that reason, this is definitely a good read for the Tweens and more.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Devoured this soon after it came out. YA with violent underlying themes even though the main characters are children and teens. This book owes a shoutout to Lord of the Flies, and set an entire genre on fire, igniting a bunch of (lesser) copycats. The first remains the best of the trilogy, maybe because the visit to this parallel world is so fresh and vibrant. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book makes me green with envy. Wish I had written it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The first proper book that I read when I was about 13. Needless to say, I absolutely LOVED it! The trilogy itself was one of the most enjoyable reads I've ever had up until now and even now as I'm 18, I still can't forget about the most nerve-wrecking adventures I had with Katniss Everdeen. I deffinitely would read again and recomend it to everyone!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this book because of the strong recommendation of my daughter and my son, both of whom raved about "Hunger Games," despite their being too old for young-adult fiction. A combination of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", "1984", "Lord of the Flies", and the CBS television show "Survivor"--with some Harry Potter-like creatures thrown in for good measure--"Hunger Games" is the story of a futuristic dystopia in which two dozen young teens are selected by a lottery each year to fight one another to death over a period of several weeks on a nationally broadcast television show. It's not great literature, but it is a surprisingly gripping read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was introduced to The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, a few years ago by my friend before it became a pop hit around the country. With the new release of Catching Fire in movie theaters, I have decided to come back and reread the book. Coming back to the world have Panem for a second time around still held up fairly well to my expectations. It's no wonder that The Hunger Games has become a huge hit .Natural disasters and human war has brought humanity into a precarious life. People live in what is now North America, albeit a different version, in the country of Panem. Within this country lies twelve districts, each one specializing in certain products and where the people live poverty-stricken lives in order to support the jewel of the nation, the Captiol. Years before, there were thirteen districts. After a failed rebellion, the thirteenth was destroyed and the rest were burdened with what is known as The Hunger Games, an event that pits two children, one male and one female, in a fight to the death.The Hunger Games is the story of Katniss, a sixteen-year old girl who supports her family on her own through illegal hunting since her father died in a mine accident. For the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss takes the place of her sister, Prim, as tribute for District Twelve and finds herself in a fight for her life and the life of her fellow tribute, Peter Mellark.Katniss definitely grows and changes throughout her experience in the Hunger Games. At the beginning, she is this young girl, focused on trying to keep those she loves alive. As time goes on, she begins to get a first look into the lives of those outside her district and begins to form her own opinions about society and life. I sometimes found it a bit tedious to listen to her ramble on in her head at some points, but I just passed it by. The rest of the characters have their own personalities, but most just seem to be there to pass along the story to and help set up events for Katniss.It's funny how such a brutal event, where kids are supposed to kill each other for entertainment, gives way to some sort of real/fake love story. The Hunger Games are described as gruesome bloodbaths, with tributes killing and maiming others in horrible ways. Yet, Collins almost downplays this key characteristic in order to focus on the romance that constantly switches between a fake show and true emotions. There were some very violent moments, but for the most part, the romance plays the largest role. I found that the constant switching became a bit annoying, as if Collins wanted to make sure the reader absolutely understood the problem.Within this story of romance and perseverance, Collins takes a stab at the growing split between the very rich and the very poor. She paints the rich, the people who live in the Capitol, as terrible people who find entertainment in watching children and teenagers fight and kill each other in cold blood. They feast upon delicacies and live in posh apartments while those who live in the districts live meager lives, barley scraping by every day. She builds the entire world upon the premise of the gap of wealth and wants to show that it will only get worse if it is allowed to linger around.I really enjoyed The Hunger Games both on my first read and in following ones. For some, it's a story of an individual trying to overcome all odds. For others, it's a romantic drama between two young people. The Hunger Games can take on different meanings, which is one of the reasons why it is such a good book and why it is one of the most popular series today.