bruna's Reviews > The Hunger Games

★ 3.75 stars

“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.”

is it crazy to say that this is my first time experiencing this universe? i personally feel like it is. i’m terribly late to the party. it seems like everyone has read the books and/or watched the movies and i’m the only person on the face of earth who didn’t have this phase. i was just a kid a decade ago and i don’t remember much, but i do recall seeing the way people were obsessed with The Hunger Games when the movies came out. everyone was going crazy about it — but me? well, frankly, i was not interested in it and i’ve never felt the urge to watch the movies or read the books. it was just not my thing back then, and now i regret that because i bet it was so fun to be a fan at that time. sighs. what a bummer.

but hey, after a decade (more than that, actually) i’m finally here! you know what they say... better late than never. now enough with the small talk; let’s get into it, shall we?

so... it’s difficult to say something about this book that hasn’t already been said. everyone knows what it is about (even me, who haven’t read the books or watched the movies) but i must say that the premise of the games where 23 teenagers aged 12-18 are forced to fight to the death and only one of them can survive is intriguing and obviously insane (irrelevant, but i’m a hundred percent sure that i would be the first one to die if i were there, there’s no chance i could survive). and the fact that it’s a televised event? what the hell... the whole thing is absolutely vile when you stop to think about it. but even though it’s brutal, and also sort of predictable in a few aspects, it’s undeniable that it’s entertaining to read.

i’m not fond of dystopian novels. in fact, this was my first one, so i didn’t know what to expect and i was a bit hesitant that i wouldn’t like it. thankfully, turns out i ended up liking it and finding it interesting. although i have to admit that i was kind of confused with some stuff (i’m not kidding when i say that not even 20 pages in i was already lost) but i was honestly expecting that since it was my introduction to a new genre.

it took me awhile to get into the story given the fact that it was slow at the beginning, but i got hooked once the pace picked up and i started growing attached to the main characters.

“Katniss, the girl who was on fire!”

i believe we can all agree that Katniss Everdeen is a badass. i mean, how could we not? she’s a determined, brave, smart, fierce and independent girl who doesn’t take shit from anybody. such an icon. i must say that i adore reading books with female main characters like her.

another admirable thing about her is that she’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect and make sacrifices for the people she loves — especially her younger sister, Prim. given her father’s death and her mother’s depression Katniss had to take on the role of protector for her sister and, on top of that, she had to be the provider for their family. not the responsabilities someone from her age should be having of course, which is undeniably sad, but i admire how strong and selfless she is above all. if it wasn’t for her selflessness, she wouldn’t even be part of the 74th Hunger Games; Prim was the one who was chosen during the reaping, but Katniss decided to sacrifice herself and take her place because she couldn’t bear the thought of her little sister facing the cruelty of these games.

Katniss is not perfect, she’s a flawed character who can be annoying at times, but given the circumstances, we can totally understand why she acted the way she did and i don’t think we should be too harsh on her. and besides, she’s a teenager who’s just trying to survive.

“I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.”

now, about Peeta Mellark... see, i’ve always seen people saying he’s perfect and that he’s the ultimate boyfriend, but i was like “this guy can’t be all that, i bet they are exaggerating a bit.” but oh silly me, how i was wrong! you guys weren’t exaggerating, he deserves all the hype he gets. what’s not to love about him? he’s so kind, sweet, thoughtful, funny and easily loveable. i have a thing for MMCs who are cinnamon rolls so it’s not much of a surprise that i fell for him. the truth is that Peeta made this book more entertaining. i wish we got more of his personality, though. i didn’t feel like he was a well-explored character in certain aspects. either way, i liked him and i’m glad that meeting him was not a disappointing experience.

the romance was nice, Katniss & Peeta have a great chemistry and many of their moments together made my heart melt. but, generally speaking, i don’t think the romance was exactly what i wanted. sure, it was good, but not awesome, you know? and i can’t say i am super obsessed with their relationship; not as much as i wanted to, at least. don’t get me wrong, i did love their dynamic and if you check out my updates you’ll see me fangirling over them, the thing is that i just felt like something was missing overall and i was also expecting much more. probably because of all the hype surrounding them. though i think that in some way i can understand the reasons behind that — romance isn’t really the most important thing here, is it? and besides, this is the first book, and i have two more books to read so i believe (and hope) that Suzanne will develop their relationship more and surely my feelings will be a little different by then. all that being said, EverLark are cute and that’s something i’ll never deny.

and since we are on this topic, i need to ask an important question: where is the love triangle? i’m very confused, guys. the chemistry between Katniss & Gale was nowhere to be found here and, at least so far, i don’t understand at all why people like and choose Gale. he’s kind of bland, sorry. but well... let’s see what happens next, maybe it’s too early to make assumptions. whatever happens, though, i won’t switch teams. and i’m sure about that. what can i say? the boy with the bread won me over.

anyways, moving on... i’m giving this book 3.75 stars because, sadly, i had some issues with it. as you might have noticed, i mentioned a few complaints throughout this review and there are other things that prevented me from giving it a high rating.

↳ 1. first of all, this didn’t meet all of my expectations. it was a great book and i did like it, but i had over the top expectations and, unfortunately, some of them weren’t met. i was expecting to finish this book and be like “wow, greatest book i’ve ever read. it deserves more than 5 stars!” but that’s not quite what happened.

↳ 2. although this book was enjoyable for the most part, there were lots of parts that were monotonous to me and there were also some things that i would change if i had the chance.

↳ 3. i started losing a bit of interest in the last couple chapters. i can’t pinpoint why, though. i was just not having much fun anymore and that was one of the main reasons why i couldn’t rate this story higher.

↳ 4. the ending was not precisely what i wanted. i was expecting something satisfying and perhaps more intense, but that’s not what i got. i was disappointed.

but keeping all my complaints aside, i still managed to enjoy The Hunger Games and i am glad i finally gave it a chance. it offers a relevant, interesting and well-written story with remarkable characters that are easily captivating, so of course i think everyone should read it at least once. if you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? go for it.

i will continue the series and i’m extremely excited to do so! i literally can’t wait to see what the next book will bring — hopefully something better that will exceed my expectations. now, please excuse me while i go watch the first film. 🏃🏼‍♀️

︵‿︵‿︵‿ ꒰💌꒱ ‿︵‿︵‿︵

ᰔ quotes:

“You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.”

“For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.”

“I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun.”

“Destroying things is much easier than making them.”

“Stupid people are dangerous.”

“I remember everything about you. You’re the one who wasn’t paying attention.”

“Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”

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➷ pre-read:

i know i’m super late to the party, but i’ve finally decided to start this series and i can’t even express how excited i am! let’s see if it’ll live up to my expectations. 👀