I have come to the conclusion that my experience with The Hunger Games has not been as amazing as everyone else's. A ton of people "ooh" and "ahh" over it but I don't really get it.
Perhaps it's because this is not my usual genre. Or because it took me 4 attempts to even make it through the first chapter. But...after so many great reviews I decided to push through in the hopes that the book would get better.
Maybe it's just me, but pitting young kids up against each other in a fight till the death rubs me the wrong way, especially 12 year olds! As a mom that is very disturbing. I guess that's a good thing. That means I'm not completely desensitized to violence.
I tend to like characters that I can relate to and Katniss was far from that. Apart from her willingness to take her young sisters place in the games, there's little I can relate too.
She's fierce, cunning and emotionally detached to pretty much everyone in her life. This detachment bugged me. I get the need for that separation with her opponents, but other than her sister she was pretty much a recluse. Even her relationship with her best friend Gale was awkward.
I must say the most disturbing part of the book for me was surrounded around the final death of the last opponent. The entire scene made me feel sick. Thank Ms. Collins for not going into GREAT detail on what was happening. I don't think I could have handled it!
Knowing the essence of the book made me reluctant to invest my emotions into any character. I didn't like this aspect because that's exactly how I like to read a book. I want to care about them. Sad thing was, because of this, I didn't shed a single tear over any of the deaths, which if any of you know me I'm a definitely a crier!
Overall, for my personal preferences, I would give The Hunger Games a 3.5 star rating. It really didn't "wow" me like so many others. I do have the second and third book on hold at the library so I plan to finish the series. I'm really hoping they redeem my standoffish view with the first one.
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I haven't read it, but Kirsten said she hated it. I had never heard of it until a couple of months ago.
ReplyDeleteJust because something is popular doesn't mean it's good. Some people tend to jump on the bandwagon, but I'm sure most truly did love this book. I for one am still on the fence about it until I finish the series.
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