Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Hunger Games


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic Press, 2008
hardcover - 374 pages.
Young Adult novel, ages 12 and up.
Very Highly Recommended

Synopsis
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual 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 steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before - and survival, for her, is second nature....
This is a dystopian YA novel where the society forces chosen teens from the outlying districts to fight to the death in a televised game show. There have been numerous recommendations for The Hunger Games, and I agree with those assessments. Some adult readers could quibble that this plot has been done before, and that Collins didn't provide many in-depth details on the society, setting, or the cameras, which is all true, but I still felt this was a very successful YA book. Since it is told from the point of view of Katniss, a teenager from one of the more oppressed districts, I believe that she doesn't know all the societal details or much more information about the setting than she is sharing. It might have been nice to know how the cameras worked, but I can accept the fact that Katniss knows they are there and so does the reader, without an explanation. At the very beginning I thought the simple reading level would start to frustrate me, and it briefly did, until I was so caught up in the story that I forgot all about it, a fact that also recommends the book. As it is, I felt The Hunger Games was a very successful novel, and I'm looking forward to book two, Catching Fire. Very Highly Recommended, probably for ages 14 and up

Quotes:

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping." opening paragraph

"Even though trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching carries the severest of penalties, more people would risk it if they had weapons. But most are not bold enough to venture out with just a knife. My bow is a rarity, crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods, carefully wrapped in waterproof covers. My father could have made good money selling them, but if the officials found out he would have been publicly executed for inciting a rebellion." pg. 5

"But here’s the catch. Say you are poor and starving as we were. You can opt to add your name more times in exchange for tesserae. Each tessera is worth a meager year’s supply of grain and oil for one person. You may do this for each of your family members as well. So, at the age of twelve, I had my name entered four times. Once, because I had to, and three times for tesserae for grain and oil for myself, Prim, and my mother. In fact, every year I have needed to do this. And the entries are cumulative. So now, at the age of sixteen, my name will be in the reaping twenty times. Gale, who is eighteen and has been either helping or single-handedly feeding a family of five for seven years, will have his name in forty-two times." pg. 13

"Just as the town clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read. It’s the same story every year. He tells of the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games." pg. 18

The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins. pg. 18

"To the everlasting credit of the people of District 12, not one person claps. Not even the ones holding betting slips, the ones who are usually beyond caring. Possibly because they know me from the Hob, or knew my father, or have encountered Prim, who no one can help loving. So instead of acknowledging applause, I stand there unmoving while they take part in the boldest form of dissent they can manage. Silence. Which says we do not agree. We do not condone. All of this is wrong." pg. 23-24

6 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Powerful story. Not sure it's really for kids, though.

Lori L said...

I added for ages 14 and up in my recommendation. I think a high school student could easily handle it, especially if they can handle Lord of the Flies.

sally906 said...

I am looking forwards to book two that is out later this year :)

Lori L said...

I'm looking forward to book 2 also!

1morechapter said...

This is definitely one I want to read soon!

Lori L said...

I don't know why I put off reading it for so long... well, probably because it's a YA novel, which I normally avoid. I am learning to overcome my prejudice and have read several excellent YA novels. This is a keeper and I think you'll like it too, Michelle!