The Hunger Games

Almost everyone has seen the infamous Hunger Games movie but it wasn't until this class that I finally picked up the book, and I'm unbelievably glad I finally did. Suzanne Collins has a way with writing that really interests me and kept me interested throughout the entire book.

Katniss Everdeen is a young teenager living with her widowed mother and young sister Prim. Every year the Capitol holds the annual Hunger Games where one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts is chosen as a tribute for each of the twelve districts under their rule. Here all twenty-four participants battle it out for their lives; only one can come out of the games alive each year. This year Katniss’ sister Prim has been chosen for the games but, being the older sister she is Katniss will not allow this so she volunteers to go into the games herself. The games are watched live by all of the districts. Before the games, the tributes are taught to fight and survival skills that could be necessary. I won’t spoil the ending for those of you who haven’t seen the movie or watch the book but Katniss’ spunk and ability to stand up to the Capitol and it’s rules with her partner in crime Peeta, allow this book to take a surprise turn at the end.

This book is recommended for grades 7 and up and I definitely agree with this. This dystopian style novel discusses a lot of death and rebelling against the government that I think would be suitable for this age group. As I said in another blog, I would use dystopian style novels together in my classroom. This book and Unwind would be good novels to compare and contrast. They are about two completely different subjects but their rebellious tone and ideas are interestingly similar. I would also be interested to know what would happen and how my students would feel had they got chosen for The Games. I would have them write a short story about their journey through the games just to see how they think they would stand against their classmates and why.

I would recommend this book as well as the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy: Catching Fire. I finished this first novel and immediately begged my sister to let me borrow the second. They are extremely hard to put down.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a novel I would recommend to anyone and everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the amount of honesty that you usually don’t see in a novel about death.

 This novel is told from the perspective of Vera Dietz, an eighteen-year-old girl struggling to cope with the death of her “ex” best friend Charlie. Vera attempts to cope with his death while putting up with her father, her annoying job, and avoiding her destiny, as her father calls it. Vera’s blunt thoughts and alcoholic-like actions make this story hard to put down. It is comedic in an honest and cruel type of way. Vera is the epitome of teen angst.

This story contains a lot of switching between present and past. I would have the students work on a timeline in order to keep them on track with Vera’s thoughts. She goes back and fourth a lot in order to help us see her love for Charlie and where her anger stems from. I would use this book in a classroom as low as 5^th grade due to some crude, sexual language and drinking.

This book reminded me a lot of Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why. I think they would be good to read together. It is also about students learning to cope with a peer’s death in their own ways. I would have the students compare and contrast the attitude of the narrators and their coping strategies so we may discuss healthy versus unhealthy coping strategies in teens.

The Giver

As I began reading The Giver I was thoroughly confused as to what the plot was actually going to be. I found myself reading just so try to understand where the title came into play. The story is based around a young boy, Jonas, about to take part in the Ceremony of Twelve where he will receive his working orders. All children at the age of twelve receive their orders and begin working immediately. In this so-called “utopian” community the government controls everything. They control how many children you have in your house, they control where you work, etc. Jonas is selected to be a receiver. The receiver is the person who is control of emotions, weather, and even memories of all the community members. Once Jonas begins his training with the receiver, who calls himself The Giver instead, decides that a change needs to be made in the community. Since change would be such a huge blow to the community Jonas decides to rather take Gabriel, a young infant under the care of his father, and escape the community with the help of the giver.

Personally, I would not use this novel in my classroom as I did not enjoy reading it. I had a hard time keeping myself interested in this novel. However, I do believe that it would have some good teaching points about everything is not as it seems and perfection is not always a good thing. I think fun activities could be made such as deciding where each student would fit in the community and allowing them to play a part in a mock community.

The Giver is the first book in a series called The Giver Quartet. Since its release The Giver has been made into a major film that was released in 2014.

Unwind

Unwind is a curiously thought out novel. Initially when I read the plot for the book it didn’t interest me but once I started reading I was hooked. I finished it in one afternoon!

Unwind begins as a story centered around three young teenagers who are about to be “unwound” or sent off to harvest camp so that every inch of their body can be taken and given to someone who needs it; this way the teen does not technically die, they are allowed to live through others. This gives the parents a sense of peace as they sign away their children’s’ bodies.  The three teens are on the run from the police so they will not be forced to go to harvest camp. Each teen is completely different. We have Connor, the runaway, Risa, a ward of the state, and Lev, the 13-year-old kid who feels honored to be unwound. We follow these teens on their journey to anywhere but harvest camp. Along the way they lose characters and gain new allies. Through risky decisions and close calls this book is truly a page-turner!

As a teacher I would have the students research what organ and body part harvesting is before you read so that they may understand the harsh idea that this book possesses. I would use this novel in a 5^th grade and up level. The language and point of view is simplistic but the idea of sending your own child to harvest is a bit gruesome.

Although the books are two completely different ideas I feel like it would really pair with The Hunger Games. Both novels focus on teens and young adults trying to escape the harsh reality that has been placed upon them by adults. By having the students read both these novels I think the dystopian futuristic, post civil-war world could really become interesting to them. The students could compare and contrast the two worlds along with the ideals and attitudes of the characters.

Unwind has a sequel called Unwholly. This series would be a great read if your students enjoy Unwind. I started the second book and it’s already hard to put down! There has been talk of a film adaption coming in 2016. However, there has been a short film made on YouTube. 

The Faults in Our Stars

I will admit I was extremely excited to see this book on our reading list. I did not get a chance to read this book before the movie came out last year and I was disappointed that I never got around to reading it until now.

The Faults in Our Stars follows Hazel Lancster a teen suffering through lung cancer with a mother who pushes her to therapy groups with other kids who have or have had cancer. There she meets Gus as well as his best friend, Isaac, who also have cancer. Hazel and Gus, unsurprisingly, fall in love and are able to stand by each other through the ups and downs of hospital visits and Make-A-Wish trips. I won’t ruin the ending for those of you who haven’t read it but this book is a delightfully warm page-turner in a topic that usually isn’t so warm.

The story is told through the eyes of Hazel and we see first hand her account of her cancer. It digs into the pain and struggles she has on a daily basis just to get out of bed. She carries around her oxygen tank everywhere and constantly on a cannula.

This book has been made into a major motion picture and I would use it to compare and contrast between it and the book. I felt that the book was much more raw and allowed us to really feel the emotions while the movie glazed over these portions so that we could have the love story be the real center of attention. The story of Gus and Hazel is major in the book but I felt as if Hazel’s sickness was much more severe in the novel. I wish it could have come to life more in the movie so that we could actually sympathize more with it.

This book reveals true friendships and allows for readers to be there as multiple people suffer from cancerous diseases. Not often to children of this age get to see it first hand. Most of the time they are sheltered from it because of their age and I feel that forces them to struggle with the reality if/when it ever comes later in life. With that being said I wouldn’t use this novel lower than a sixth or seventh grade level because it does contain a little sexual content. I would also bring to light the reasoning for the title. It gets into it a little in the book but not enough, I felt. Shakespeare was the basis of the modern romance and forbidden love. John Green gives credit to him with this title but I feel like the students need to understand why this quote from his play and his work has affected so many authors today.