The Hunger Games

I finally read "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. I'm gonna start off with the summary right away, because I have a lot to say, and I don't want the summary getting in my way:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

I managed to hold out from reading this book for almost two years. For some reason, I kinda don't like reading books that everyone else and their dog likes (yes, I'm talking about you, Harry Potter and Twilight). They never seem to live up to the hype. I read them and I think, sure, this is a good book, but I don't see why people are so obsessed with them, because I've read better.

And, honestly, that's pretty much how I felt about "The Hunger Games." Yes, I think it was a good book. Yes, it kept me interested. But, no, I don't think it lived up to all the hype. I really wanted "The Hunger Games" to be as phenomenally good as everyone has been saying it is, so when it turned out to just be your average good book, I was kinda disappointed. Which is sad really. I think if I hadn't been expecting so much of it, I would've been happy with it being a good book, instead of feeling let down because it wasn't as awesome as I hoped.

And maybe it's not even "The Hunger Games"'s fault that I liked instead of loved it. It's action based, and I prefer books that are more character based--maybe it's just a matter of personal preference. I never really connected to Katniss, the main character, and I didn't fall in love with the love interest, Peeta--he was too much of a useless, lovesick sap for my taste. (All you Peeta lovers, please don't hate me for saying that . . . I will admit that he does have some good qualities too.)

But anyway, I still recommend "The Hunger Games"--I did like it after all, and I'm about to start the second one and will probably read the third. I just can't help feeling slightly disappointed.