The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

One-sentence summary: In a post-America sci-fi world called Panem, a common teenage girl finds herself fighting for her life in the cruel and deadly Hunger Games held yearly and enforced by the oppressive Capitol.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 9 (the first time we have all given the same rating for a book)

Our favorite thing about it: If we had to pick one thing it would be the creativity of the book. From the concept to the details, the book is extremely creative and different from anything else we’ve ever read.

Our least favorite thing about it: It is hard to pick something we didn’t like, but in some cases, the plot can be a bit predictable. Sometimes it seems that the author intends for that to be the case and sometimes you can just see where she is going. But that didn’t really take away from the overall enjoyment of the book for us.

Main Topics of Discussion: Relationships, Government, Rich/Poor, War, Reality TV, Imagery, Survival, Human Behavior

Our favorite quote: “It’s funny, because even though they’re rattling on about the Games, it’s all about where they were or what they were doing or how they felt when a specific event occurred…Everything is about them, not the dying boys and girls in the arena.” (p.353-4)

Notes: This book kept us on our toes reading it and none of us could put it down. This was one of our fastest reads and definitely one of our highest-rated books. And we all gave it the same rating, which has never happened since we began rating books. Strangely, after reading a summary of the book, a few of us were not sure if we would like it at all. This book is not like any other book we have read but we unanimously enjoyed it. The originality of it was amazing to us all.

Another thing we loved were the parallels the author makes to our own society. She speaks to the dichotomy of rich and poor on many levels and in many different ways. She definitely touches on the themes of social awareness, oppression, control and justice.

Through the narrative, the author speaks to many a basic human instinct - survival - and how that manifests itself in each character, especially the tributes in the Games. But, it takes place not only in the area during the Games, but back home in the Districts as citizens struggle to keep themselves and their families alive.

The images in this book (coal, fire, forest, mockingjay, etc.) really help highlight some of the themes in the book mentioned above. Even the names of the characters and the terminology of Panem (reaping, tributes, etc.) evoke powerful imagery with only one word.

Ultimately, the concept of this book, once discovered, drew us in completely and the momentum of the story kept our attention. We can’t wait to read the second book and the other(s) that follow.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Food, Glorious Food! (see below), Dara’s Birthday, a dip in the hot tub, and our first sequel as a book club pick

What We Ate: Lamb Stew with Winter Vegetables (with significance from the book), Greek Salad, Moroccan Olive Bread, and the most decadent apple pie