The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Katniss Everdeen lives in a bleak, futuristic world, where the people are fenced into 'Districts', enslaved by their leaders who live in the Capitol. Katniss lives in District 12, nicknamed 'the Seam', where the people are forced to mine for coal. Each year, the Hunger Games are held - 24 children must fight each other, to the death. The Games are held as a punishment for an uprising, in which the people tried to overthrow the Capitol. In each District, one boy and one girl are chosen as 'tributes'. When her sister, 12 year old Primrose is chosen to be the tribute, Katniss has to do what needs to be done - she steps forward to take her place. Her fellow tribute will be Peeta Mellark - a boy that she barely knows, but one who had given her bread many years previously, when she was starving. Once the children enter the Hunger Games arena, the fight to the death begins. Along the way, and unsure of who she can really trust, Katniss is drawn ever closer to Peeta. The book ends with an unexpected twist, that I didn't see coming, and which I won't reveal in case you haven't read the book or seen the film.
When I first picked up this book, my heart sank, because it is written in the present tense. Normally, I find myself irritated by books written in the present tense, but within a page I was completely hooked. If you sit down to start reading this book, make sure that you have plenty of time to spare over the next day or so, because it is a real page turner and you will struggle to put it down. The moment you finish it, you will want to read the rest of the trilogy as well. The book has a filmic quality - it is very easy indeed to visualise the story running in your head as you read it. I'm not surprised that the books were made into a series of movies (which I've not seen, but which I've been told are nowhere near as good as the books). The character of Katniss is beautifully drawn - she is fully rounded, and she undergoes a journey of discovery during the book, just like all the best characters too. The reader is drawn along with her on her journey, and the ending of the book is a genuine surprise. If you haven't yet had the chance to read this book, which spawned a million young adult dystopian novels, I highly recommend it.
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Katniss Everdeen lives in a bleak, futuristic world, where the people are fenced into 'Districts', enslaved by their leaders who live in the Capitol. Katniss lives in District 12, nicknamed 'the Seam', where the people are forced to mine for coal. Each year, the Hunger Games are held - 24 children must fight each other, to the death. The Games are held as a punishment for an uprising, in which the people tried to overthrow the Capitol. In each District, one boy and one girl are chosen as 'tributes'. When her sister, 12 year old Primrose is chosen to be the tribute, Katniss has to do what needs to be done - she steps forward to take her place. Her fellow tribute will be Peeta Mellark - a boy that she barely knows, but one who had given her bread many years previously, when she was starving. Once the children enter the Hunger Games arena, the fight to the death begins. Along the way, and unsure of who she can really trust, Katniss is drawn ever closer to Peeta. The book ends with an unexpected twist, that I didn't see coming, and which I won't reveal in case you haven't read the book or seen the film.
When I first picked up this book, my heart sank, because it is written in the present tense. Normally, I find myself irritated by books written in the present tense, but within a page I was completely hooked. If you sit down to start reading this book, make sure that you have plenty of time to spare over the next day or so, because it is a real page turner and you will struggle to put it down. The moment you finish it, you will want to read the rest of the trilogy as well. The book has a filmic quality - it is very easy indeed to visualise the story running in your head as you read it. I'm not surprised that the books were made into a series of movies (which I've not seen, but which I've been told are nowhere near as good as the books). The character of Katniss is beautifully drawn - she is fully rounded, and she undergoes a journey of discovery during the book, just like all the best characters too. The reader is drawn along with her on her journey, and the ending of the book is a genuine surprise. If you haven't yet had the chance to read this book, which spawned a million young adult dystopian novels, I highly recommend it.
