HORRIBLE! OMG, This book sounds like something I read in 5th grade.... no wait.... 4th grade. I couldn't bear the story line. If it was a physical book, I would have thrown it in the trash, but instead I deleted the audio files after two hours of listening to her ramble on in 1st person. I couldn't bear to listen for over 10 hours of this crap! The story is not exciting, makes absolte no sense, not interesting, not anything good. I don't understand what all the hype is about with the movie. It must be a tweens thing. Don't waste your money!

It's a stupid story! She goes on and on describing the most mundane physical parts of the environment and surroundings of the main character, bread, pudidng, hunting and gathering for one meal. Dear lord! It's painful to listen to.

Not sure about that; the story is most important to me, but I might.

NO - Don't buy it and I want a refund.

The idea for this book -- the post-apocalyptic world and the games themselves -- is wonderful and intriguing. However, Collins fails to accurately describe the world in a way in any detail as to make it believable. While the premise pulled me along, each time she would describe a technology I just couldn’t get past how any society with hover cars, genetic engineering, bullet trains, super-stealth technology, Star-Trek like viewing screens, etc. can be supported by districts of what appears to be a few thousand people mining coal, hand picking fruit, and barely at subsistence levels.

Collins also couldn’t seem to decide upon whether these games were farce or serious. It felt like a “Running Man” rip-off. Why does a post-apocalyptic world need to be full of cheesy 1980s game show silliness? I was hoping for a fresh take on it.

The main character was also rather unsympathetic. Despite being a trained hunter... she never hunted anyone, ambushed anyone, or successfully initiated action against anyone. Nor did the games make any sense. She walked for a full day until exhaustion in a ‘random’ direction. This would make the area hundreds of square miles. Yet... apparently other people were within a few hundred yards the same evening? Collins should watch “Mantracker” or talk with some search and rescue people. People can go a few miles in the wilderness and never be found again (even by skilled trackers and dogs) -- let alone by random children not even specifically looking for them.

However, the premise and action is generally good enough to recommend the book for a young (pre-teen) audience or those who don’t care about the glaring credibility holes in it. Still Collins could have done a better job grounding the world, skipping a lot of the silliness of the city folk, and giving us something to cheer about with the main character – at least having her actions in-line with her abilities.

I really enjoyed the book and will not go into the plot as that has been done very well by many reviewers here.

My only problem is that when the narrator reads something a person says she pauses too long before saying who said it.

I do not have a copy of the book with me but an example might be if the sentence from the book was:
"Peeta, you should rest for a bit." I say.

She would pause for at least two seconds between the quote and "I say". Then sometimes she would say the "I Say" part like it is a question.

I told my sister this as she is reading the books then she called me up the next day to tell me that she started doing it when she was reading. lol.

The plot kept me hungry for more, and the prose style is clear and crisp. However, the vocabulary didn't suit a hillbilly girl; it made me think of a well-educated and mature woman, as the author must be. Some minor characters of District 12 fit its description as a rural backwater, but Katniss and Peeta speak as if they were from any city or suburb today. It's a small nit to pick though and can be easily set aside in favor of the compelling story.

This was an excellent novel. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I will avoid overly speaking about the plot. The reason being, is that this novel keeps you in the edge of your seat through out the entire book, even up to the last seconds. It is tense, poignant, and gritty. I have heard this novel described as a "children's" or "teen" novel. Well, that may be so, but it is an older mature teen at the very least. This is a dark story, in a dark world, filled with violence and tears. I found myself crying at one point, and I am a 40 year old man. I tell you this, as I do believe that this book may be too dark for many teens. I personally will not be handing this novel to either of my daughters till they reach 16. If you are getting this novel for your children, I recommend that you listen to it first, to see if your children can cope with the concepts and violence of this novel. I will say this though, the violence in this novel is NEVER celebrated, it is presented as violence should be presented...as evil, tragic, and sad.
The production itself is top notch. I would have liked Ms. McCormick to develop a better "drunk man" voice, but that is a minor critique. She tells the story beautifully. in this first of three novels, Ms. Collins authors a powerful, compelling novel. She creates a world rich in detail and creates fully conceived characters, with whom you make an honest bond. You root for them, and you weep with them. If you can take this dark world, I highly recommend this novel.

Suzanne Collins has a weird way of reading like she doesn't always know what the sentence means. She emphasizes a word strangely every now and then. Quite distracting.

I loved that everything wasn't just fairytale perfect but it wasn't awful doom and gloom either.

If Suzanne Collins had read the book through first a few times she could have read with more meaning.

If you have a hard time listening to books anyway this isn't for you. Many other books have better reads. If you can put up with a few odd tilts periodically it was worth it.

I admit that I read the book b/c of the hype surrounding the movie. I also started listening to the Hunger Games fan podcast by Cliff & Stephanie Ravenscroft. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook along side the fan podcast. I highly recommend trying that for anyone that decides to listen to the audiobook. I am excited about the next 2 books.

Most likely not. BUT..... After the first few chapters... I then finished to book in two days.

great book...more than worth the 1 credit. It was fast paced and visually and mentally stimulating.

thrilling, smart, addictive

effectively communicates emotion and different characters.

yes!!!

I had to see what the hype was all about. This is the real deal!