Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, welcome to another book essay about something that was too big of a thought to fit into a normal review, specifically: Why Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is not like The Hunger Games. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who gets a monthly shoutout, Case Aiken. The support of our Patrons makes this podcast (and blog) possible, and we're grateful to all of you.
When perusing other reviews of Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong, I've seen many comparisons to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This comparison is both slightly true and mostly unhelpful as a generalization, as what they have in common are either superficial genre features or not unique to The Hunger Games. I understand why the comparison occurs to people so I'd like to take it seriously. Nicole and I have covered The Hunger Games on our podcast, and I recently reviewed Immortal Longings. I'll also make some reference to an earlier book with many of the same elements as later appeared in The Hunger Games: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. You can find both parts of our podcast discussion on that book here (Part 1, Part 2), as well as my written review of Battle Royale. While I think it does make sense to compare and contrast them, these books are not interchangeable.
Please refer to the link for the full essay.
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Series 9, Episode 1: Labyrinth Lost - Zoraida Córdova
Highlight 13: Graceling - Kristin Cashore
Stand-Alone 16: Thirsty - M.T. Anderson
Highlight 12: Unwind - Neal Shusterman
Interview 7: Kevin Klehr, Part 1 of 2
Stand-Alone 15: Early Departures - Justin A. Reynolds
Highlight 11: Shadow Rising - Robert Jordan
Stand-Alone 14: Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
Highlight 10: Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee
Stand-Alone 13: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea - Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Highlight 9: Soul of the Fire - Terry Goodkind
Stand-Alone 12: The Midnight Bargain - C.L. Polk
Highlight 8: Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse
Interview 6: Sara Codair, Part 1 of 2
Stand-Alone 11: Under the Pendulum Sun - Jeannette Ng
Highlight 7: So This Is How You Die - edited by Ryan North
Stand-Alone 10: All the Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Anders
Highlight 6: The Cat Who Sniffed Glue - Lilian Jackson Braun
Stand-Alone 9: Beneath The Citadel - Destiny Soria
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