The Hunger Games- relfection

The Hunger Games

Genre: modern fantasy

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

Of course I've heard of people talk about The Hunger Games, but I never really understood the scenario and the movie trailers didn't really look like "my kind of movie". I've never been a big fan of action and violence, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it. But since everyone has talked about it, and I saw it on the list for modern fantasy, I figured I'd give it a shot. Now I am so glad I did!

The Hunger Games is a modern fantasy that is written from the first person point of view of a young girl named Katniss. She lives in a war-torn nation named Panem. Panem is divided into twelve districts and the Capitol. The Capitol controls all all the districts with overly strict laws, lack of necessities, and fear. In Katniss' district, District 12, the majority of families are poor, malnourished, and struggle to stay alive. Katniss' life is particularly difficult since her father passed away in a coal-mining (District 12's specialty) accident several years earlier. Collins immediately captures you with her wonderful writing. As soon as I finished the first chapter, I had to read the second. I had to find out what this "reaping" was and I really wanted to understand The Hunger Games.

The reaping is a day, once a year, where the Capitol sends an escort to each District to retrieve one boy and one girl, ages 13-18, to compete in a glorified death match called The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are treated as a sporting event in the Capitol, with people cheering, betting, and sponsoring competitors in the Games. However, the Games are really no game at all. Children are forced to kill or be killed in the arena. Only one winner remains in the end.

When Katniss' younger sister, Prim, gets drawn to enter The Hunger Games, Katniss has no choice but to volunteer herself as tribute. Only one person makes it out of The Hunger Games alive and District 12 has only had one victor in the history of The Hunger Games. There is very little hope for District 12 to have a winner but Katniss goes in confident and willing to do whatever it takes to get back to her sister, Prim, and mother. 

Katniss is portrayed as the protagonist throughout the story. You can't help but pull for her throughout the games, but she is far from perfect. She sometimes says things she shouldn't and doesn't always make the best decisions while in the arena. Collins' writing keeps you turning pages to find out what happens to Katniss as well as other beloved characters we meet a long the way, including Peeta, Rue, and even Haymitch. The characterization in this book really makes you feel like you are there and know each character personally. You are continually learning more about the characters as if layers are being pulled back. 

After reading the first installment in The Hunger Games trilogy I will definitely be completing the set. I would recommend this book to anyone 12 or older. Although this book is fairly violent, it is not gory, and I think mature middle-school students would be able to handle it. This would be a wonderful book to have students put themselves in the main characters shoes and learn about understanding the character's opinion versus their own. If I were to teach this novel in a middle or high school setting I would have students choose a character and create a journal or diary from that character's perspective. Students can describe the character's feelings and empathize while using details from the book.