The Hunger Games

Hello, hello! So I took a little break from YA fiction after my flood of books I borrowed from the library. I have a couple book review requests for my Examiner page and then we'll see what I'll be back at next. Since I'm usually reading 6 or more books at a time, it sometimes takes me forever to finish one, but I did finally finish The Hunger Games. I was so excited after I finished it during our snow day this past Tuesday that I couldn't wait to get the rest of the trilogy this weekend. But when I got to the store, I found out the paperback versions of the remaining two books are not out yet! Boo! This means I'm just going to have to be patient. Really patient. I'll deal somehow. :)

So where to start? I feel like it'd be real cliché of me to say the book was really good, but it was. Suzanne Collins perfectly orchestrates a regular teen appropriate story into a futuristic setting. She uses sophisticated language to have that adult book feel to it, yet stays in the teenage mind at the same time. Literally inside her mind. In other words, there's a lot of action in her story yet she manages to show you what is going on inside Katniss's mind and reveals her thoughts. As a writer, I envy her ability to do that, but I love her style. Whatever it is, she's got it.

 



Basically, people shouldn't go against the government. In this particular case, going against the government means it's time for a lesson in who's the boss. The land is divided into 12 districts. Every year each district must send one girl and one boy to participate in the Hunger Games, which is essentially a fight to the death until one child between 12-18 years old is left standing. When Katniss's sister, Prim, is chosen, she volunteers to take her place. You know she will survive this, but at what cost and what will she be forced to do? And I've just got to say this. Perhaps the thing that moved me the most about this story is how Peeta and Katniss cared for each other throughout. If their love was real, this is how marriage should be. This is love.

May the odds be ever in your favor!