Stacy in NJ Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Well, I personally could not make it through the first book. I didn't find it terribly well-written, but my main problem was the gruesome concept that is the basis for the books (chidren killing children for public entertainment). I have a problem w/ such a horrific concept for a story; I can't read stuff like that. The book is a dystopian novel, much like 1984 or Brave New World. I agree that it's not as well written as those books, and the romance triangle is definate fodder for female audiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My 12 year old (now 13) started reading them last year and I read them with him. The first 2 seemed age appropriate for him (he's not bothered by violence and seems to gloss over it), but if I'd read the 3rd book first I would have put it off until at least this year. There's a lot more of the horror of war in the last book. We've had some great discussions about this book. What love is. How love and trust can be related. Feelings for more than one person. Survival. Totalitarianism vs. societies completely controlled for survival. Guilt. How need molds us. The fakeness of reality television. Trying to be your own person while giving people what they want. Excess in our society. Wealth/class separation. Fair/unfair laws. How people deal with grief. There were many times I expected to be disappointed, but Collins always managed to raise a dozen issues with a subtle hand while telling an engrossing story. Its not Cormac McCarthy or anything, but I would be very surprised if its not considered a classic of YA fiction in 10-20 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I liked them, but Brave New World is one of my favorite books. So, I like the dystopian genre. Katniss is a pragmatist. She's practical. She's had to be head of her family in many ways and now she has to survive. She's not shallow and there was no personality change. She slowly let's us into her head...slowly, because she doesn't like showing her thoughts or feelings to others. In some ways? It actually reminded me of Gone With the Wind. Her character has a lot of parallels to Scarlett. Scarlett does what she has to do to survive and take care of those around her. One of the main differences is that Scarlett stays on that path; she never breaks free from that pattern. I will say more on that in my answer to Stacy. :) The book is a dystopian novel, much like 1984 or Brave New World. I agree that it's not as well written as those books, and the romance triangle is definate fodder for female audiences. I don't know that I really thought of it as a love triangle...exactly. Two boys like her. But, ultimately, she doesn't have time to think about that stuff. She's too busy trying to survive and take care of her family (both her actual family and those she sort of adopts as family). *After* the war, when her healing has begun, that's when she has time to think about it and one of them has moved on without her. eta: Oh, and I allowed my girls (13 and 16) to read them, but not my son (10). He's not ready for something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Can someone please tell me there is more to them.....a moral perhaps? Life lesson? There must be something since The Hive seems to like them! Thank you! Hunger Games is essentially a "Life Boat" dilemma - you remember being told about a group of people on a life boat - an old person, handicapped person, etc. and because there's not enough food/water or whatever, you have to choose who you are going to throw overboard to save everyone else. You are being told to decide the ethical question of what life is worth more or less than another. The Hunger Games sets up a false crisis in which a person has no real choice about whether to sin (murder) or not. My older child has read it and we were able to talk through this issue. It's a weighty one and not something they'll likely pick up on their own. I wouldn't encourage a 10yo to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 There's a lot to the series that younger kids probably won't understand. The reality tv and the minor love triangle is just the surface of what's going on. I personally don't find it particularly gruesome and I wouldn't stop a pre-teen from reading it if they really wanted to. But then, I read Wizard's First Rule when I was 14 so I'm not very sensitive to stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 One of the local libraries here shelves The Hunger Games in the juvenile section and the Gregor the Overlander series by the same author in the YA section. I told the librarian that they should flip them, but she did some research and decided to leave them where they were. :001_huh: She's not very good at researching. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheApprentice Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I actually am not a fan of the book. I did not think it was well written. Nor did my 14 yo ds. Now my soon to be 12 year is reading it, and he thinks its fine. While it is gruesome in parts, and he's had some questions about the book, to which I am able to explain the deeper meaning. Believe me, it's no more gruesome than Modern Warfare III on XBox, which he plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 The book is a dystopian novel, much like 1984 or Brave New World. Yes, I realize that. I love reading, read quite a bit, and even love some dystopian books (Nineteen Eighty-Four; Fahrenheit 451; Vonnegut's works), but The Hunger Games series was not for me. I think there's better dystopia out there.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I feel this way. I did read the first book, and I was appalled at the killing of kids by other kids with no real message about it being wrong or even remorse by the ones who kill. It does bother me that elementary aged kids are reading this book, and my 9 year old will not be reading it any time soon! But I think that's part of the point--the society that's portrayed is so morally bankrupt that it ISN'T seen as wrong. Some of the kids have literally been bred to kill and it's a game to the citizens of the capitol. It's *supposed* to strike you as horrific that a culture could sink to the level that kids killing kids is not seen as wrong, at least not by the ones in power. Then it brings up disturbing parallels and trends from our own society so you end up asking yourself, "Could we eventually end up there?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 But I think that's part of the point--the society that's portrayed is so morally bankrupt that it ISN'T seen as wrong. Some of the kids have literally been bred to kill and it's a game to the citizens of the capitol. It's *supposed* to strike you as horrific that a culture could sink to the level that kids killing kids is not seen as wrong, at least not by the ones in power. Then it brings up disturbing parallels and trends from our own society so you end up asking yourself, "Could we eventually end up there?" I totally disagree with your assessment. Did you read all three books? The second and third books (mostly the third) make it clear that it is wrong and that many people want something different. At the end of the trilogy a new society is blooming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 (edited) I totally disagree with your assessment. Did you read all three books? The second and third books (mostly the third) make it clear that it is wrong and that many people want something different. At the end of the trilogy a new society is blooming. I don't think I expressed myself clearly enough. I was referring to the citizens/society of the capital, and while there may be some there who see kids killing kids as wrong (like Cinna and later the people involved in the rebellion), the vast majority seem to be content with it--it's entertainment to them. Notwithstanding those individuals who may think it's wrong, the capital's society as a whole accepts it and doesn't view it as wrong. Or really, most of it seems like they're so shallow and self-absorbed that they never even seem to stop to consider whether it's wrong or not. They just willingly go along with the status quo. And it's supposed to be horrific to US as readers that it's *not* horrific to THEM. Then the rest of the story is how the masses are confronted with the truth that it *IS* horrific and then how the situation is resolved. I agree that the books do make it clear that it's wrong, and I think it's evident even in the first book that most of the people in the districts think it's wrong--they (most of them) just don't think there's anything they can do about it. I also think there is some remorse from some of the kids--Katniss is bothered after she kills the boy who killed Rue, and Haymitch's issues clearly don't stem from an untroubled conscience. And eventually you do find out that there are people in the capital that are working against the games and are against the killing. But it's not just the actual Hunger Games that the rebellion is fighting against--they're fighting against the mindset that made the games even possible, the mindset that life isn't valuable and that killing is entertainment. The masses in the capital have that mindset (at least at the beginning) and you're supposed to be horrified that such a thing is possible, that a society could sink to the depths that kids killing other kids is entertainment--that's the point I was trying to make. I hope that's more clear! Edited February 14, 2012 by Kirch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I don't think I expressed myself clearly enough. I was referring to the citizens/society of the capital, and while there may be some there who see kids killing kids as wrong (like Cinna and later the people involved in the rebellion), the vast majority seem to be content with it--it's entertainment to them. Notwithstanding those individuals who may think it's wrong, the capital's society as a whole accepts it and doesn't view it as wrong. And it's supposed to be horrific to US as readers that it's *not* horrific to THEM. Then the rest of the story is how the masses are confronted with the truth that it *IS* horrific and then how the situation is resolved. I agree that the books do make it clear that it's wrong, and I think it's evident even in the first book that most of the people in the districts think it's wrong--they (most of them) just don't think there's anything they can do about it. I also think there is some remorse from some of the kids--Katniss is bothered after she kills the boy who killed Rue, and Haymitch's issues clearly don't stem from an untroubled conscience. And eventually you do find out that there are people in the capital that are working against the games and are against the killing. But it's not just the actual Hunger Games that the rebellion is fighting against--they're fighting against the mindset that made the games even possible, the mindset that life isn't valuable and that killing is entertainment. The masses in the capital have that mindset (at least at the beginning) and you're supposed to be horrified that such a thing is possible, that a society could sink to the depths that kids killing other kids is entertainment--that's the point I was trying to make. I hope that's more clear! Gotcha. I agree. There is a spoilery bit that I won't mention that makes it clear that people are not willing to continue with the old ways or anything that looks like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Gotcha. I agree. There is a spoilery bit that I won't mention that makes it clear that people are not willing to continue with the old ways or anything that looks like them. Oh, definitely. But then there are also bits when war decisions are being made and then where it looks like the tables may be turned in retaliation and you wonder if the "good" guys value life any more than the bad guys. Lots and lots of layers and issues to consider. I think it's how Katniss deals with and resolves those issues personally that shows her "heroine-ness" as much as anything else she does or experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanna Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 But I think that's part of the point--the society that's portrayed is so morally bankrupt that it ISN'T seen as wrong. Some of the kids have literally been bred to kill and it's a game to the citizens of the capitol. It's *supposed* to strike you as horrific that a culture could sink to the level that kids killing kids is not seen as wrong, at least not by the ones in power. Then it brings up disturbing parallels and trends from our own society so you end up asking yourself, "Could we eventually end up there?":iagree: This is exactly what I thought after reading (er... audiobooking:D) the series. Hey, many nations in this world already sanction of the murder of children in their mother's womb (ie. abortion) -- how much different will kids-killing-kids in "Hunger Games" be? :( A lack of respect for life will bring people to new all-time lows they never thought possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I'll freely admit that I loved them. As in, couldn't-put-them-down love. Read all three in a week. I don't know why they appealed to me so much, as I like happy movies - chick flicks, but not sappy - and I generally dislike dystopian novels. But these....the action is fast and gripping. It felt like a guilty, secret little pleasure... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeFe Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Now, both my boys adore the author's series Gregor the Underlander. That is for kids who are 10. Actually, that has been a big hit with the whole family. :iagree: My daughter loves the Gregor the Underlander series. She is 11 and has also read The Hunger Games. She enjoyed them but after I read them I wish that I had read them first. I probably would have had her wait a year or two. Not necessarily because of the violence but because of some sexual content. It wasn't over the top and most of it probably went right over her head. Bottom line, read them first and then decide if it's right for you child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamachick2 Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 I'll freely admit that I loved them. As in, couldn't-put-them-down love. Read all three in a week. I don't know why they appealed to me so much, as I like happy movies - chick flicks, but not sappy - and I generally dislike dystopian novels. But these....the action is fast and gripping. It felt like a guilty, secret little pleasure... :D :iagree: I felt the same way. Having read them all, I would recommend you read them before allowing your child to read them, and then DEFINITELY discuss them afterwards. This is a great book to use for a character study. I told my 12yo he could read them, if he really wanted to, but that we would be discussing them. He changed his mind. I think that "discussion" might have been what did it in for him. :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I have it on my Kindle but havent started reading it. I heard the book follows the movie pretty well, but I dont know. :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 (edited) I thought the theme was very "Biblical": the inherent wrongness of domination systems, the cost of resistance- passive or aggressive, and the questions that must enter your mind. Would you be willing to pay the price? Would you be a collaborator? Would you be an enmeshed member of the system, too dependent on its wealth to have the will to resist, even if you recognize the wrong? Would you be a clueless minion? Would you have the strength to live in a constant state of stress? My sensitive new 13yo is not ready to read them. Edited May 8, 2012 by Onceuponatime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 I love the books, but my son will not be reading them until he is 12 or 13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanna Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I thought the theme was very "Biblical"... I thought this review was "right on" and he even "stole" a comparison of the violence to the book of Judges that I have made (to friends IRL) ;). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 OK, we were pretty late to the Hunger Games party, but I just finished a marathon session as a read-aloud with my 7 (soon to be 8) year old son, and we loved it! He had been dying to read it, as the work has been all the rage with the older kids. Given the theme I had my concerns, but my son is not a "sensitive" type, so I agreed to try it as a read-aloud, with the clear understanding that I might very well shut it down, and that would very likely be the case. But nope. I thought the book was wonderful and engaging. We read it for hours at a time, with him always begging for more. In three days we finished it. The author has a great gift for plotting. Every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger that leaves one wondering what will happen next. There are elements that are "derivative" to be sure, I kept thinking "Survivor" with weapons mixed with Team Jacob/Team Edward from Twilight. But what made the book so good (in my mind) were the values of love and self-sacrifice that were embedded in the story in a non-polyannaish way. The way (spoiler alert) Katniss stepped up to volunteer for her sister Prim, the impact that Peeta's gift of bread in childhood saved Katniss's family, the complexity of relationships with people like Rue, all built empathy in a complex moral setting. I know when the people of District 9 sent a loaf of bread after Rue's death I had tears roll down my face. So I like this novel a lot! Surprisingly so. The satirical social criticism only deepened the positive feelings. Who knew? :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 I really enjoyed the books. I finished all three in a week. I won't let my kids read them until they are ready to discuss the books. Right now, DS just reads for plot. He is not ready to look at charactr motivation, implications of the government system, or discuss any deeper issues in the story. I also know 13 year olds who read of and only see the romance story in it. I want my kida tobsee beyond the basics before they read it. It is an easy read, but it is a lot to digest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I just read the first book and really thought it was engaging and thought provoking. I was going to post asking about reading it with an 11yo. Thanks for all the thoughts previously posted here:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jugglin'5 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 OK, we were pretty late to the Hunger Games party,....But nope. I thought the book was wonderful and engaging. We read it for hours at a time, with him always begging for more. In three days we finished it. .... But what made the book so good (in my mind) were the values of love and self-sacrifice that were embedded in the story in a non-polyannaish way. The way (spoiler alert) Katniss stepped up to volunteer for her sister Prim, the impact that Peeta's gift of bread in childhood saved Katniss's family, the complexity of relationships with people like Rue, all built empathy in a complex moral setting. I know when the people of District 9 sent a loaf of bread after Rue's death I had tears roll down my face. So I like this novel a lot! Surprisingly so. The satirical social criticism only deepened the positive feelings. Who knew? :D Bill This. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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