The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Amazon Description:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

My Review:

How the heck am I just now reading this book? It seems like everyone I know is finishing the second or third book. I suppose it’s because my to read stack is so high. One of my friends told me about the book and she almost seemed embarrassed. She clearly loved it but kept adding “for a kid’s book.” OK, I read this book and there is nothing about this book I would say is just for kids. Sometimes young people are called upon to do extraordinary things. It doesn’t make their story less spectacular. If this were just a young adult book about having a boyfriend I might say, hmmm perhaps this is not meant for me. This book is filled with extremely grown up concepts.

Alright, off my soap box….

The best way I can describe how I read this book is that I devoured it! It was delicious! It is one of those you start reading in the bath and realize your hot water has become an ice bath because you have been in there so long. Once your pruned toes are back to normal you jump back in and can’t put it down until your done. Yup, that was me.

We are in a time full of so much unrest it is not hard to imagine our nation falling. Considering this book takes place in a post America time it was easy to say “what if” and imagine it to be true. A new society is in power and the Capitol rules 12 districts. It is really interesting because each district is important in its own way. They supply different things like electronics or agricultural goods.

At one point a long time ago there had been a rebellion against the capital that had failed. The capital decided what better way to remind the districts how weak they in fact were than to host the hunger games each year. How it works is they choose 2 children from each district between the ages of 12 and 18. They fight to the death until there is only one kid standing (see what I mean by not being child concepts).

The entire thing is televised so that everyone throughout all the districts can be reminded of just how little power they actually have. There were some holes here and there in the structure of the new society and how it all worked but the rest of the story is so strong these are easy things to over look.

So when I started reading the book I made this assumption the main character Katniss would find a way to get around killing anyone. I mean how can she be the hero of the story if she is a killer. Well my eyes were glued to the page when I read how Katniss made her first kill. My mind was then further blown when she seemed proud of herself.

Did I find Katniss disgusting and immoral after she headed down this road. Somehow no! I don’t know if its the writing or some of the other things revealed to us in the book but I felt sorry for her. Sorry for her? Yeah, her trainer in the book had survived the hunger games and now he is an alcoholic hot mess. You see how a soul can be squashed and then tormented for the rest of their life when they make the hard choice Katniss did.

Alright, if you haven’t read The Hunger Games yet hurry up and go read this five star book. I am off to read the 2nd book!