Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

SUMMARY: 16-year-old Katniss lives with her mother and sister in the poorest district of Panem, in the ruins of a place once known as North America. The primary breadwinner for her family since the death of her father, Katniss is accustomed to hardship, hunger, and struggling to survive. But not even a life of barebones survival can prepare the children of Panem for the Hunger Games. Each year at the Reaping, a boy and a girl from each of Panem's districts are sent to the Capitol and forced to participate in a gladiator-like spectacle called the Hunger Games, a series of bloody challenges that pit the rich against the poor and the strong against the weak. The children must battle to the death in this kill-or-be-killed event, which serves both to entertain Panem's bored ruling class and keep the districts from rebelling against the Capitol. When Katniss' sister is chosen to participate in the games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The Games require every ounce of cunning, intelligence, and strength that Katniss has. Will she be strong enough to survive, and can she escape the gruesome ordeal with her humanity intact?


OPINION: Normally I'm not a fan of books that are bloody or über-violent, but The Hunger Games is worth it. Katniss is a fantastic heroine who uses her brain as well as her uncommon physical skills to undermine the powerful Capitol, even as it forces her and others like her to kill each other for sport. The author uses the book to make a powerful statement about how governments use violence to create fear, enforce laws (including unjust ones), keep the poor down, and entertain people all at the same time. There are some scary parallels to real-world conflicts (Iraq War, anyone?), which make the book all the more interesting. I would have liked to have known more about the history of Panem -- the author alludes to a war between the Capitol and the 13 districts that are ruled by it, as well as a disaster that destroyed the original United States -- and about the Capitol's reaction to Katniss after her performance in the Games. Hopefully these will be addressed in the sequel. For now, stay tuned for The Hunger Games, set to be released on October 1, 2008.