Guest Post: The Hunger Games Book Review

Today, I am thrilled to bring all my readers The Hunger Games book review. Brought to you by Danielle from Book or Big Screen? (Welcome back, Danielle!) I asked her if she’d be willing to guest post here again by writing something on the book that has everyone in a flurry of excitement for the March 2012 release of the big-screen movie starring newcomer Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth – she graciously agreed. Thank you so much, Danielle – I enjoyed reading your wonderful review, and I hope all  of you will too. Find out what Danielle thought of this, the “new ‘Twilight'” below.

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The Hunger Games Book Review  

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Every now and then, it’s nice to pick up a book that’s easy to read. The pages are crispy and white; the words are set in a large, clear font, and the story unravels in a direct first-person narrative. It’s also nice to pick up a book that you can’t bear to put down. The Hunger Games has all of these elements. It is YA at its best – a riveting, fast-paced story with intriguing characters, loads of action, and a love triangle that will have all the girls swooning, Twilight style. I will call it now – by this time next year, Edward and Jacob will be well and truly out, and it will be ‘Team Peeta’ or ‘Team Gale’ all the way. I devoured this book in two nights, and wished that I didn’t have to work or sleep so that I could finish it sooner.  

Guest Post: The Hunger Games Book Review #fromarchives Share on X

[I] find it difficult to criticize a book that kept me turning the pages so swiftly – so let’s just say that I have a small list of ways that I think The Hunger Games could have been made even better (be warned, some of these may be considered spoilers):  

1.  As I said in my intro, first-person narrative is fine – it’s clear, it’s to the point, it gets the job done. But there were so
   many points in this novel where I wished that I could get into the minds of some of the other characters. Did Cato get a warm, fuzzy feeling when he took someone’s life? How did Clover plan her kills?
2. While we’re talking strategy, it would have been nice if Katniss had one. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a tough, capable girl, and she’s excellent at keeping herself fed and staying out of trouble – but I was yearning for her to make a real plan, to kick some tribute butt.
3. Another thing about Katniss. It was so refreshing to have a strong female lead that gives the guys a run for their
   money – it would have been so much more impressive if she also had some self-esteem. I understand that she’s had a hard life, and feeling pretty has never been a priority, but at times I had serious flashbacks to Bella Swan’s
   self-effacing disbelief of Edward’s feelings. You’re hot, okay? Take a look in the mirror and accept it.

Despite these small, picky things, I have to reiterate that I loved this book. If you haven’t already, you should jump on The Hunger Games bandwagon – or risk being one of the people that’s running behind, trying to catch up to all the fun.