As I prepare for the 4th installment from the Hunger Games series, I decided to take a trip back down memory lane by reading the first one that started it all, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I decided to do the audiobook this time around, and the narrator Tatiana Maslany is stunning! I originally read this back in my library days, so let's see if it still holds the same 5-star rating I gave it ten years ago. This one is for the latecomers and the nostalgists!
"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 weight survival against humanity and life against love"
Being that I've seen the movie plenty of times and still remember the shock of reading the book for the first time, listening to Maslany gave a great go-between from book to movie. I need more narrations like these in the future! She was phenomenal and the perfect person to read the 10-year edition release.
We are pulled into a post-apocalyptic-like world where the nation of Panem is divided by districts. In this world, each sector has to sacrifice a boy and a girl between ages 12 – 18 for a horrific survival of the fittest event called The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute to save her little sister Prim from entering the games, thus creating the spark of rebellion within some of the districts. As she fights for survival in the tournament, she now must fight to protect her home and the people she loves from the Capitol. I'm not sure how we got here in this time, place, and mindset, but we're rolling with it.
I've always respected Katniss's character. The movies didn't portray it much to me, but she was a survivalist in the books. She did what she needed to do to get back home and, at the same time, was still compassionate enough to try to save or flee in a situation. She has a "pay my debt" attitude, so she feels she isn't considered charity or pitiful. Some people may believe that pride, but I admire that about her in the world she lives in.
Of course, my favorite heartbreaking scene has to deal with everything, Rue. The moments Katniss shared with Rue showed compassion within the games. I'm sure all of Panem has seen acts of kindness like this over the years of this tradition, but it was something special about how Katniss handled it. That was the big moment that sparked an unrest rebellion to kick off and further the writing for the trilogy.
Overall for the second time, I rated this book a 5-star read. It still has all the feels like opening up a bag of chips for the first time. It's so good you keep going back for more. I have no complaints with the writing of this book, and again Maslany needs awards for this! Continue the journey with me in Catching Fire!
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