Voice, narration and structure: 7/9. Despite the occasionally tangential verbosity and sentimentality, the first-person narrative is clear, simple, and accessible, which accounts for the book’s popularity.
Plot, suspense and climax: 7/9.
It was splendidly abundant with serried suspense and tension but not enjoyable to me because of the heavy topic on untrained children killing others for the entertainment of the nation and inability of the adults. Reading it was a literal crucifixion for me.
Also, I suppose that the book would have been better if it had opened with the critical moment when the protagonist sacrificed herself for her little sister, and if Suzanne Collins had interwoven all the introductory information through the protagonist’s recollections whenever the plot required.
Nevertheless, it was pretty clever how Suzanne Collins managed to have the protagonist and her boyfriend win in a merciless arena without nauseating her target readers:
- No other contestants could compare with the protagonist in archery, not even those so-called Careers.
- It seems from the context that there have never before existed star-crossed couples in so many previous hunger games.
- Other contestants weren’t sly enough to package themselves, manipulate the show, attract as many gifts from the sponsors as the protagonist and her boyfriend did. If erotic scenes were favoured by the audience, why didn’t other contestants put on similar performances for better resources? Did they lack of competent tutors?
- The protagonist never killed anyone actively, let alone those who were kind to her: Her first kill was in self-defence, her second one was for vengeance (which gained her an opportunity of surviving a lethal scuffle later), and her final kill was out of mercy! Contestants favouring her were all annihilated by other contestants, providing a good excuse for the protagonist’s killing.
- So did her boyfriend Peeta, who killed Foxface out of misadventure and Foxface’s own fault of stealing food from the couple as well.
Character, dialogue and interaction: 7/9.
The existence of an infatuated man in a cruel environment who volunteered to sacrifice himself for the protagonist was like catnip for the young females.
Also, the protagonist’s toughness, calculation, lethality and capability were unforgettable, especially her altitude of prioritizing food and survival over sentiment and romance.
I would have given a higher score, if Suzanne Collins had built more comparable or compelling contestants.