If it’s a daring story of survival, self-knowledge, and human limitations you’re after, then The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, will leave you hungry for more. In a stomach-lurching combination of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Gladiator, and even the recently released film, Death Race, The Hunger Games will leave you turning pages, your heart racing madly with hope and worry for the story’s unforgettable heroine, Katniss Everdeen.
When Katniss Everdeen’s little sister, Prim, is called forth from the lottery to participate in The Hunger Games–a televised fight to the death–Katniss willingly takes her place in an act of bravery rarely seen in any district in the conquered remains of North America. Now, Katniss, along with Peeta Mellark, will represent District 12 in The Hunger Games, where no one can be trusted and only one out of 24 contenders will return home alive. Cast out into a wilderness to survive on her own, Katniss is determined make it home; but perhaps the greatest challenge of all is to hold to her own values in the midst of a morally corrupt game of murder, pitting friend against friend and neighbor against neighbor.
I have to admit that it took a chapter or two before I was really into this book. At first, Collins establishes the set of the story–a nation called Panem, which was once North America. Ordinarily, I am not a huge fan of futuristic settings, so as you can imagine, I had to push myself to get used to the unusual names and desolate, coal-covered wasteland of District 12. However, once the contestants are off to the Capitol for the Hunger Games, my interest was peaked, and from that point on, I couldn’t put the book down. Why? With it’s first person point of view and present tense prose, the reader lives the battle right along with Katniss. I also love this novel because as sad as it is, I could actually see the Hunger Games happening. Keep in mind that the Romans used to watch people fight to the death for entertainment in Gladiator tournaments, and many Europeans and others once attended public executions as if they were parties. Now, as more and more people become desensitized to violence, it almost seems feasible that people would happily tune in to watch a realistic blood bath on television.
However, as Katniss Everdeen learns quickly, the Hunger Games are much different on the ground than from the comfort of one’s own home. While she is a skilled hunter, she is certainly not a murderer, but in order to survive, she must sacrifice pieces of her humanity, viewing people as targets or animals, rather than other human beings. Throughout the novel, in fact, Katniss must choose who to trust, who to help, and who to destroy in this kill-or-be-killed situation, and oftentimes, the lines between real and imaginary and love and pretend are blurred in an effort to survive. Long after the last chapter comes to a close, your mind will still be consumed by haunting thoughts of these characters who are taken from their homes and forced to become killers. What would you sacrifice to stay alive?
I highly recommend The Hunger Games to anyone, male or female, young adult or adult. I look forward to reading Catching Fire, the second installment in Collins’ trilogy and will eagerly await Mockingjay, the conclusion to the story, which is set to be released Aug. 24.
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