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.