The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gripping Futuristic Dystopian Drama
This is the future, the US is a fraction of what it once was, and much of it in post-uprising poverty divided districts run by an unforgiving Capitol government. The Capitol presides over all Districts and as a reminder of a past uprising forces each to send one boy and one girl to the Hunger Games, a televised death match. Katniss offers herself as Tribute when her little sister is called, knowing that going to the games will mean certain death.
At sixteen Katniss is a survivor, her father died when she was eleven and since then she has been the provider for the family. She lives in a poor and hungry outlying district where starvation is a fact of life. Katniss has adapted by hunting the forest with her bow and arrows, saving little meat for her family but selling the larger game.
Katniss has unknowingly molded herself into a Games contender as she is a strong-willed girl with hunting and survival skills, much needed in the fight-to-the-death arena. She will compete against 23 other district representatives, most of whom are larger and stronger. Almost as s soon as she is chosen, she is whisked away to the Capitol, to be prepared for the games. Since this is a televised event, Katniss is given a stylist, and her entire outer image is transformed.
Katniss’ forest knowledge and determination keep her alive, and soon she starts to believe that she could be a contender in the games. But Peeta is an unknown factor, he’s a boy from her District who has professed his love but in The Hunger Games there can only be one winner. The rest of the Tributes must be seen as enemies; Katniss must kill or be killed.
This is a futuristic YA Dystopian novel, which will appeal to a wide reader audience. While I thought of 1984 and the whole “Big Brother is watching you” mentality, I also was reminded of The Lord of the Flies, a bit somehow. Read the book and let me know your thoughts…
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