The Hunger Games (Hunger Games #1)
by Suzanne Collins
YA Dystopian Future
384 pages, hardcover
Target Reader: 14+
Scholastic Press
978-0439023481
Release Date: September 14, 2008
From the publisher:
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.I really liked this series. Yes, it's brutal in places, disturbing. And I definitely would have had my children wait until they were mature enough to read it. I don't think anyone under the age of 14 has any business reading these books, and for most teens, I'd say sixteen (or older) to read it. Readers who are sensitive to violence might never want to read it (in fact, one of my adult children probably shouldn't read it).
Given that, here's why I liked it. First, Suzanne Collins has done a superb job with the mechanics of writing in this series. The writing is beautiful, eloquent, poignant—laugh out loud funny in places, tear-jerking in others.
The suspense keeps you going. There are a few predictable places, but other places where she totally surprised me. A few places were slightly unbelievable—would adults really trust so much in a teenager they couldn't control? But then on the other hand, it made sense when the teen is seen as little more than a pawn in a game.
Katniss and the other teens are trapped in an unfair "game" where they are forced to fight for their lives. Don't we all feel that way at some time or another? Teens are trapped in school, adults trapped in their jobs. Maybe we're trapped with health or financial issues—whether of our own making or completely out of our control. Life itself often seems like an unfair game—and we won't make it out alive. We form alliances the best we can, and it breaks our hearts when we're betrayed. Katniss is used and betrayed over and over again. The heartbreak sometimes sends her to her bed. But she gets up again. And again. Her strength in the face of adversity is inspiring.
Plot:
Characters:
Ending:
Cover:
Content Ratings
Language:
Mild swearing.Violence:
Teens murder each other to survive the government-sponsored game.Drugs/Alcohol:
One of the secondary characters, a previous survivor of the games, is an alchoholic.Immorality:
Values/Themes:
This is a hard book, but I think it makes you look at your choices.Age Appropriate:
Definitely a book for mature teens and adults, not for children.Writing Mechanics:
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