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Gran Leon Books - The Hunger Games
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List Price: $17.99
Our Price: $12.23
Your Save: $ 5.76 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780439023481
ISBN: 0439023483
Label: Scholastic Press
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 2008-09-14
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Reading Level: Young Adult
Studio: Scholastic Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing! Great book, really gets you thinking...
Comment: This was a very fast paced book. Theres a lot of action and emotion. The characters are likable, even in such an awful situation. It really makes you wonder what the world will be like in the future..
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Hunger Games
Comment: I am currently re-reading this book. It was an excellent, "I just can't put this book down" read for me.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Harrowing Story of Survival & Humanity
Comment: This is definitely a first for me, I bought and thoroughly enjoyed a book recommended by Stephen King! King wrote a positive review of the book for Entertainment Weekly. I was skeptical, as the premise sounded like The Lottery and Other Stories meets Lord of the Flies (50th Anniversary Edition) (with a little of King's own "Running Man" thrown in for good measure), but when I found it half price at a store closing I took a chance. What this book has, that I found lacking in the first two I mentioned, is hope. The heroine of "The Hunger Games" holds tight to her integrity and the good things in her life, like her sister. I was gripped from the very first page, and riveted until the last page. I am so glad there will be a sequel.
Collins creates a very realistic future dystopia. Global disaster and war have destroyed civilization and a new nation has arisen from the ashes - Panem. The ruling Capitol is surrounded by 13 districts. These districts rebelled over 70 years before, and were defeated - one completely wiped out. The remaining districts were forced, in addition to providing goods and materials to the Capitol, into providing two tributes to annual Hunger Games. A girl and a boy between 12 and 18 years old who will fight to the death on live television. When Prim "wins" the lottery, Katniss steps up to take her little sister's place. Her fellow tribute is a boy who once did a selfless act of kindness toward Katniss that she feels indebted for. How will she be able to kill him?
At first the concept seems outrageous - would people really watch young children fight to the death for entertainment? What makes the book so scary is that people likely would. Reality TV has been riding a wave of popularity. Millions tune in to Survivor to see them lie, manipulate and sabotage one another to win. Horror movies rake in millions at the box office and the more blood and death, it appears, the better. Is it so difficult to imagine people killing for not only a prize, but to save their own lives? Gladiator games were the number one entertainment during the golden years of the Roman Empire.
Yet, the author never lets the absolute depravity of what the Capitol is doing stray from readers minds. Katniss believes it is wrong, even as she fights to survive, and her acts of bravery are only equaled by her acts of humanity. The story is simply, and powerfully told. Katniss is realistic and her dialog and thoughts are those of a sixteen-year old girl, albeit a mature one. The book has a lot of action, and the emotional content is strong.
Overall, I can't recommend this book enough. However, the subject matter can be disturbing so parents may want to be sure their young adult is ready for it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Left me "hungry" for more!
Comment: Suzanne Collins has single-handed perfected a story that not only leaves you wanting more, but also leaves you really thinking about the content of the story and the characters as well.
Set in a not-so-specified future, The United States is gone and North America has become Panem. Panem is a dictatorship that puts most negative Utopias' to shame. It's dominated by TV, technology, and aestheticism; all of which is ran from a city called The Capitol. Panem is then divided into Districts, at one point there had been 13, but District 13 decided to rebel and was then destroyed because of the rebellion, leaving 12 Districts. That rebellion caused The Capitol to institute The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games themselves is worse then any reality show ever thought up (it's the product of what everyone else want to do to the Hills'). Each year 24 teenager's names (2 from each District) are drawn lottery-style and those 24 "tributes" are condemned to be thrown into a gladiator-esque battle to survive. They are thrown into the "arena" to decide who wins a life on easy street and who loses...their life; those are the only options. All of which is televised big brother-style, betted on, and sponsored.
Katniss Everdeen is our narrator/heroine, the female tribute from District 12, offers herself up when her younger sister's name is called to be another contestant in the next Hunger Games. District 12 is the poorest of all the Districts and hasn't had a winner in 30 years, that winner is now alone, a drunk, and the laughing stock of Panem. The other contestant being the baker's son Peeta, whom she has a growing affection for throughout their time in the "arena" but is complicated by her affections from her friend and illegal-hunting companion Gale.
The Hunger Games is light on the romance, concentrating more on the Darwinian aspect of surviving the other 23 tributes in the arena. Of course there is enough of the romance that you can't help but wonder, who will Katniss end up with, but the suspense of the chase, the violence, and the controversial nature of the book make it impossible to put down. The Hunger Games is one of the most addicting reads that I have picked up in a long time; it reminds me of the way you'll stay up all night and all day just to beat one of those addictive shooting games, no matter how much you know it's not real even when you're done, you still want more.
Being the first book in a trilogy, some may not want to follow and wait the long wait for the next book or may not want to stick around and see what happens to Katniss, but I know I'm already looking for Amazon to allow me to preorder the next installment in Suzanne Collins' newest story.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books ever!!!
Comment: I loved it loved it loved it! I cannot wait until the next book! There is a little bit of everything in this book, love, action, drama--it's all in there! I think this is a book for everybody, my husband and I both loved it, and we are 27 and 29, respectively!
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