I can't remember the last time I finished a book, then immediately rushed off to grab the next volume in the series because the cliffhanger sentence of the last line was such that I needed to read on immediately.
This was the case with volumes two and three of "The Hunger games".
I really liked volume one, but I thought these two were going to suffer from sequel-itis: they didn't.
The third volume is definitely the stronger of the two, but both are good old fashioned ripping yarns that the reader wants to go on and on.
I won't write about the plots of these books, because it would be too easy to give spoilers. They really have you on the edge of your seat. Once again, the violence and body count both surprised and distressed me ( remember it's young adult genre and most of the major characters are under 18) and there are some very gritty scenes and themes: post traumatic stress disorder is featured very strikingingly and movingly. At one point in the third book the story becomes a full-on war novel. While some of the characters are a bit under-written, others are complex and interestingly, not very likeable ( Katniss, the damaged heroine, for example). The futuristic slave society is simply horrible.
The film version of - I think the first book only? - comes out in March.
I started tearing up when watching the trailer so I'll have to see this on my own on a weekday morning so I don't mortify anyone else by sobbing aloud.
I agree about the Hunger Games - my daughter made me read it and I did reluctantly. But I also tore through it. I'm actually really looking forward to the movie.
ReplyDeleteDrat you. I cannot resist reading your book reviews and I already have too many books in the unread pile(s).
ReplyDeleteI saw melancholia this week and was sobbing so much at the end I had to wait until everyone left the cinema before damply and sheepishly hobbling out of the nova
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