I heard about this book when it was first published and Stephanie Meyer was a big fan of it, so I automatically shied away from it. I really didn’t want to read something as shallow as the Twilight Series. But I have been hearing a lot of hype about this book online and among various friends; I figured I’d better give it a shot and see what it was all about. Low and Behold, it was only five buck in the Kindle store!
Anyway, I really liked this book! It was so refreshing to see a main stream literature that was actually pretty decent. Just a warning for parents this is not a good book for young kids. They will absolutely not get it!
This book is about a dystopian society that reminds me a lot of the Roman Empire. The setting of the story is in futuristic North America where the U.S. has crumbled and has been split up into thirteen districts (the thirteenth was destroyed trying to revolt against the totalitarian government.)Every year a country called the Capitol holds the “Hunger Games”. Each district has a boy and girl (between the ages of 12 and 18) chosen to represent them in the annual games. They compete in a vast arena and have to face surviving in the wilderness. Oh and did I mention the games are a fight to the death. Only one person can survive the games.
The sad thing about the Hunger Games is that you can’t volunteer to be in them. Once you turn twelve, your name is put into the cup for your district, and then you get enough grain to feed your family for about a month. And as you get older your name gets put in more times depending on your age. You can even add your name multiple times in exchange for more grain, just so you don’t starve. The heroine of the story, Katniss, from District 12, puts her name in multiple times every year just so she can supplement her familys food supply with her illegal hunting. Katniss world is shocked when the day of the reaping comes (the day that candidates are chosen for the Hunger Games) and her little sister, Prim, is picked! Katniss valiantly steps forward to take her baby sisters place, and along with her the boy Peeta is selected to go with her to the Hunger Games.
It is sickening the way that people in the Capitol respond to the Hunger Games which is exactly like the games of Rome when gladiators were bated against each other. They eat up watching these children fight, bleed, suffer, and eventually die all for the sake of entertainment. And the ultimate ulterior motive is so that the Capitol can reinforce the idea that to resist them is futile.
The whole message of the book is do you resist a government that could crush you, or do you stand by and watch it suffocate the way you live? Peeta wistfully tells Katniss, “I keep wishing I could think of a way to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” (figurative and literal! Did you catch that? ;-)) Katniss and Peeta both set out and without realizing it defy what the Games aren’t meant to signify. First Katniss, befriends another contestant while in the arena, and comes to call her a friend. When her little friend dies she weeps over her body and sings softly. Showing compassion that another human being has died, and she despises the fact that people have to die to survive. The Capitol is not impressed; they expect the contestants to be happy when another contestant is dead because it just brings them closer to victory. And I can’t tell you what happens at the end of the book, because it’s the ultimate defiance, so just go buy a copy and read it. My review isn’t really doing this book justice.
Rebellion isn’t talked about in this book, but I definitely will be in the sequel (which I think I’m going to have to go get very soon!). The book does have a bit of a love story between Peeta and Katniss. Typically, I can’t stand romances where to girl is oblivious to the fact that the guy likes her. I just want to say “What a ding-a-ling?!” But this story I actually understood why Katniss wasn’t sure. She is never sure if Peeta’s affections are real or if he’s playing some angle to stay alive in the games. However, that doesn’t stop her from showering him with quite a few kisses (not somethin’ I’d be doing if I wasn’t sure what a guys motives were).
Objectionable Content for Parents
-Katniss has to undress fully for a designer so he can design her costumes for the Games
-One character dies a pretty awful death. It made me a little queasy.
