best YA book i've read in a long time. riveting. ( )

So I temporarily abandoned my Booker reading to devour The Hunger Games. A very interesting YA dystopia that depicts a government-mandated version of Survivor carried to its logical extreme, with a bit of "The Lottery" thrown in for good measure. It's a good book on its own merits, but the best part about it for me has been discussing it with my kids. ( )

After watching the movie on vacation this year, I was immediately hooked into this series. This book has been on my to read pile forever, so I grabbed a copy from the library & I think I read the book in one night, immediately requested the next book & read that immediately as well. To say I was enjoying the book would be an understatement.

The book's been reviewed a hundred times, so I'm not really going to say much other than the fact that this was definitely my favorite read for 2012, & this was the book that got me back into reading, after not touching a book for most of the past few months.

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After reading the book, I then listened to the audio version - which was EXCELLENT & I highly recommend.

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reread dec, 2015 - new review
So this is at least the forth time I've read this book.

I first read it in 2012 (review here), then listened to the audiobook (which I strongly recommend) and I'm pretty sure I read it at least one more time after that. I so got hooked on this series, and I finally convinced my husband to read it as well. He finally started the last book, so it was time for me to re-read the entire series so we can obsessively talk about it!

So being a big fan I am not really going to right much of a review, but I am going to mention the fact that even though all of the characters (except Katniss really) are very one-dimensional (perfect Peeta, drunk Haymitch, silly Effie, etc), they aren't really. Yes, Peeta's perfect, but he's just such a nice guy you have to love him anyway. Yes, Haymitch is a drunk, but he's just so committed to helping Katniss live that you can't help but respect him for that, and he tries so hard to be better, to save her. Effie may be silly, but she ends up falling in love with Katniss and Peeta and tries to help them survive in her own way, too. How can you not love the characters?



(though this review is published in January, it was finished in 2015) ( )

Simply not enjoyable. Found the first person, present tense point of view choppy to read. The dark, dystopian plot is depressing and could find little to make me care about the characters. It's not a stinker though. If you like dark, YA, soft science fiction, this may appeal to you. It's just not my thing. I bought it mainly because it was in a genre I tend to like and was quite popular. For me it was a waste of time and money though. If I want to be depressed or anxious about the future of humanity, I can watch the news. ( )

This is one of those books that you'll want to read in one sitting. ( )