The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
By: Suzanne Collins
Oh my racing heart! I now know why everything I've read about this book raves about it and tells you to make sure you have a period of time to devour this book start to finish. I really don't know how I have managed to put it down the last couple of days!
The book is set in North America after a huge war which leaves the Capitol the victor and the districts the losers. In the Capitol everything is peachy, but in the 12 districts, things are anything but. Katniss is lucky that she and her friend Gale are able to hunt outside of the district lines without getting into too much trouble, since she provides meat for her family and other important families in her district.
The title of the book, The Hunger Games, comes from an event that is held every year. Each child in a district, ages 12 - 18 has their name entered into a drawing that occurs before the games to select the male and female representative of their district. Some, like Katniss, have their names in there multiple times, because once a month they can add their name to the drawing in order to get needed supplies for their families. When her little sister, Prim, is chosen at her very first time of eligibility, Katniss immediately offers to take her place because she knows she has a much better chance of surviving than her sister. The male chosen in this year's game is Peeta, the baker's son (and yes, this is important on more than one occasion.)
Once the kids are selected, they are taken to the Capitol to be prepared for the fight for their lives, literally. The point of the games is to have one winner, the one who survives the longest. I will say that there is killing in this book, some of it is brutal, but when it comes to survival, these young children have to make an extremely stressful decision: to kill or to be killed.
This book is a fast-paced riveting page-turner that will keep you guessing about the final outcome up until the last - so much so that I dreamed about the book last night (before I finished it)! I can pretty much guarantee you that you will want more, but will find out that this is book one and I can tell you that book 2 isn't coming out until September 1st. I, for one, can NOT wait! (And if you're like me and tend to get impatient while waiting for sequel books to come out, read this one in August so you have less time to wait!) The ending is good and solid, yet there is still a lot of information that we just don't get in the first book. I am seriously chomping at the bit here, people!
Notes on the Cover:
I love the black. It really hits home the point of the bleakness of the lives of the majority of the people in each district, also of the situation the Capitol forces on the people of the districts. The gold mockingjay pin on the cover is beautiful. I just know there is more to the story of this pin, but I just haven't totally figured it out yet, nor have I figured out why the person who gave it up did, and what their motivation was. (In this book, it's all about the hidden objectives!)
Recommended To:
- Boys and Girls! I know the main character is a girl, but honestly, the boys are going to forget all prejudices they may have towards the female protagonist as soon as they realize how feisty and smart this girl is! And girls, for those of you who love your female heroines with some attitude and gumption, you will not be disappointed!
- Adults! Oh adults with any prejudices towards "kids books" put away your prejudices and just go on the crazy ride this story will take you on!
- Everyone!
On our shelves!