The Book Pirate

I was given a copy of The Hunger Games by my sister and she demanded I read it at once. While I am a huge fan of young adult fiction I had never heard of this book but I chalked it up to the fact that I had recently been busy with school.

The basic plot: In the future there is a country called Panem, this country exists in a place that used to be something known as the United States. Within Panem lies a huge Capital City that went to war several decades past with those who live in 13 run-down districts. Each district specializes in something different. Those in District 11 specialize in farming and orchards, those in District 12 with coal mining.

As punishment and a reminder of how the districts were beaten by the Capital, the government in the Capital hosts an event each year called The Hunger Games. Two tributes, one boy and one girl from each district are chosen to compete and be thrown into an expansive arena. Basically, kill your competitors and be the last left standing-and you win. You are showered with money and glory for the rest of your life…and oh yeah…you get to live.

We see the games through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, the girl tribute from District 12 who has been illegally hunting animals to survive with a bow and arrow. She is a great and interesting hero for the story and hearing what goes on in her head is interesting and moves the story forward in an exciting way.

I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t read many books this fast and I had to slow myself down sometimes because I just wanted to keep going and find out what happened. The other characters that are introduced make the story exciting and expand the world quite a bit. Characters like Haymitch, who is a sort of mentor to Katniss and Rue, another tribute, were among my favorites. Also, Cinna, a stylist assigned to Katniss was quite a surprise.

Yeah, a stylist. One interesting aspect to this book was how much it mirrored the world we are living in. The Hunger Games is a sort of Reality show style competition, being televised with everyone in the districts forced to watch and those in the Capital enjoying the show. The tributes are given stylists, are forced to do interviews, and the better they perform in the arena, the more corporate sponsors they receive. This means gifts, things that literally fall out of the sky to help the competitor. It was exciting seeing what Katniss does to play up to the cameras in order to receive some help. She really knows how to play the game.

But speaking of the cameras, that’s really my only complaint. The author doesn’t really explain where cameras are, how they are attached or how they even work in the future. In one scene when Katniss and another tribute are holed up in a cave, she knows the cameras can still see her. How does she know this? I wish there had been a little more clarification. Gifts from sponsors fall out of the sky and we are left to assume that they are dropped in by hover craft. If that were the case, wouldn’t it alert other tributes as to where someone was, therefore making it easier to perform a kill? Who knows. Perhaps those questions are answered in Collin’s second book in the series, Catching Fire, which I will be reading as well.

More than anything this book examines what it is like for young adults to be affected by war. Katniss hates that she is a toy of the Capital and the book does a great job, not only through her but also other characters, at attempting to maintain a sense of individuality and morality when against all odds you are being forced not to. Honestly, put down all those vampire books and read this. It’s much more interesting, and while not wholey original (I’m thinking of Battle Royale) still kept me interested and satisfied.