I resisted The Hunger Games for a long time. Why, you ask? Well, it seemed like it was the Twilight crowd that was jumping on the band wagon and saying how great the books were. No offense against that crowd, but Twilight isn’t exactly my thing. Finally, on the suggestion of two semi trusted gentleman (the husband’s BFF and his cousin) I decided I would give them a try. If men liked them, they couldn’t just be overcheesified romance, right? Well…
The premise here is a post apocalyptic United States. Only there aren’t United States, there are Districts, and there is The Capital. Each District (all 12 of them) produce something that the Capital uses, District 12 produces coal. Every year the Capital hosts The Hunger Games, a fight to the death involving ‘tributes’ from each district. The winner gets riches and fame and all the psychological drama that goes along with killing children for the entertainment of others. The games also serve as a punishment and a reminder that uprisings (like the kind that destroyed District 13 seventy-four years ago) will not be tolerated.
Enter Katniss Everdeen (yeah, seriously, I rolled my eyes when I read the name as well… fantasy, I shake my fist at you) an above average hunter and provider for her emotionally frail mother and physically small sister. Her best friend, not to mention one handsome guy, Gale helps with the hunting while talking treason and dreaming of getting away. Life might have gone on like that for who knows how long, but those games come like clockwork, and when Katniss’ little sister is called, well, she volunteers to take her place. The other District 12 tribute, Peeta (also handsome, but in a different way, of course), once helped Katniss out it a time of need which she finds incomprehensible and a bit embarrassing. With their mentor, Haymitch, and their style team, Katniss and Peeta take the Capital by storm and prepare for the games.
I enjoyed the characters in this book. I thought Collins did a wonderful job of presenting Katniss as a conflicted teenager who has all these competing motivations and is confused as to why she is doing what she is doing for a majority of the time. I feel like even with the wild scenarios, life is similar. Rarely do people have completely pure motives. I also felt there was enough comedy to relieve tensions, but nothing over the top. The book had a serious feel to it, even though it was young adult fiction. It was an easy read, and I would recommend it to people who enjoy all types of fiction.
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