A review by kenzieburns
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

After the tik tok Hunger Games craze a few months ago, I decided I wanted to re-read the series with fresh eyes, so I set out hunting it down from local thrift stores. I'll keep this brief since I'm assuming almost everyone has read the books or seen the movies... I had to keep reminding myself that this is a middle-grade level book, because the writing style was just so simplistic. It's interesting, because I think Harry Potter is technically also middle-grade level, but feels like a more sophisticated writing style. Also, I wanted more as far as symbolism and other literary devices. Like, this book/series has so much potential to make bold statements on oppression and classes, even at the level it's written for, but mainly Katniss is just a stubborn teenager who, despite hating the political system, doesn't think about it much? Idk, maybe it's because we're living in a much more polarized political climate today than what it was at the time this series was first published, but taking a step back and considering the context of children fighting to the death as entertainment and reminders of war? I feel like Katniss was more of a doormat than I remember when it comes to just accepting her fate and competing in the Games. But also maybe I'm remembering Jennifer Lawrence's mature performances in the movies and holding book Katniss to a bit of a high standard. But based on the immaturity in Katniss' character, I did look up how old Lawrence was when playing Katniss, and she was 21, 5 years older than 16-year-old Katniss. 5 years might not seem like much, but at that young age, I would call 16 a child and 21 an adult, so I think my memories of the movies set the bar pretty high and the maturity of the characters just fell short for me. Last thing I'll mention is I still don't get the fake/real romance between Katniss and Peeta. Like, is he actually in love with her or is it a show?? It was quite unclear. Also, if her and Gale are "just friends," why is she so concerned with what he thinks? I didn't get romance vibes in the Katniss/Gale relationship until the end of the book, which made it even weirder that she was so concerned with her "friends" perception of their relationship.
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