I am actually very disappointed in what was supposed to be an awesome book. “The Hunger Games,” written by Suzanne Collins, is a young adult novel that reads in the first person viewpoint of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old living in a post-apocalyptic world. Get this, this “post-apocalyptic” world is known as Panem which is the former United States. Sounds like the makings of something epic, right? Eh, not so much.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Collins had an excellent idea but a poor delivery and, not to mention, an even poorer editor. The amount of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors was enough to make me want to put the book down. Can someone give this woman’s publishing house a call and tell them I’m available to edit her work? Come on Scholastic, constant errors are not acceptable.
However, the plot does have an interesting spin on a unique situation I wouldn’t have thought of. In the story, children ages 12-18 are basically sacrificed as tribute in the “Hunger Games,” which is one giant kiddy-killing spree, until only one victor remains. The winner of the games then returns home with wealth and glory. Two children are randomly chosen from 12 districts in an annual drawing in an event known as The Reaping. Each of those “tributes” chosen has their own economical class and skills. I’ll admit the logistics were hard to grasp, but I just let her continue without question. It got easier to read that way.
I hate the fact that this super tough chick, Katniss, was made a fool of by having her character sink to that “Bella-Swan-damsel-in-distress” level. At one point, the fast-paced action of the book was overrun by lovey-dovey crap. Come on! This is the Hunger Games, there’s no room for that in war.
Personally, I’m sick of all the hype these mediocre books receive when something better may be out there somewhere shelved from publication. It really is a shame. Not to forget, “The Hunger Games” movie is on the horizon and, hopefully, delivers more than this book did (which I doubt).
