Librarything / Goodreads
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 374
Summary: Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdee steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
Thoughts: I adored The Hunger Games. I consumed the novel in less than a day, and suffered from acute post-amazing book depression. But since everything that could possibly be said about this book has already been said, I'm doing something a bit different for this "review". I'm giving you a few book-a-likes: novels that, if you loved, pretty much garuntee that you'll love The Hunger Games (and vice-versa!).
Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Review
Both Katniss and Graceling's Katsa have had lives that have made them extremely mistrusting, almost emotionally numb, and reliant only upon themselves. And yet, despite their harshness and their talent for making things die, they're easy to root for. The only difference? Katsa manages to get through a lot of her issues in the one novel. It's going to take Katniss a while longer.
Enclave by Ann Aguirre - Review
Enclave deals with one of The Hunger Games' key issues: children killing out of necessity. Enclave's Deuce also shares many of Katniss' vulnerabilities: they would both sacrifice themselves for their families, and both are complete innocents when it comes to romance. Had Deuce been born in District 12, her name would have been Katniss (although Deuce does have much better control over her temper!).
The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
This one is bit of a stretch, since I can neither say it takes on any of the sociological issues that The Hunger Games addresses nor that it's protagonists have anything in common. However, both of Katniss and Maya are fierce, fierce, fierce leading ladies. If you want another novel with a tough-but-sensitive star, read The Gathering.
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre - Review
All that react-before-thinking that Katniss has going on? Grimspace's Jax has that in spades. And I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, but there was a certain vibe in The Hunger Games which reminded me all too strongly of Grimspace. If you're willing to take my word for it, give this Adult Sci-Fi novel a shot.
Bottom line? All the above books I gave 4.5 stars or higher, and would 100% recommend them. I hope by comparing them to The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins fans will add them to their wishlist. But if you were like me, who emphatically resisted all the hype surrounding this novel, I hope this post gave you some incentive to start reading Collins' fantastic trilogy!
I knew you'd love it. I have been eagerly awaiting your verdict!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with your comparison of Katniss and Katsa and will have to check out Enclave, The Gathering, and Grimspace. Loved this post.
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