Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Hunger Games - The Series - Better Late Than Never



 
Title: The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 374, 391, 390

    Since the movie has been out, I'm not going to go into detail about the plot.  Even if you haven't seen the movie, I'm sure you know it.  In some future world, after a great civil war, the government reminds the people each year of the death and destruction of the revolution through The Hunger Games.  A boy and girl from each of the 12 districts are chosen to fight to the death in the arena and televised to all.  The main character, Katniss, takes her sister's place in the Games and incites a new revolution through her refusal to play the Game as the government intended.  As a coming of age story (across all 3 books), it includes a love triangle and search for identity, while she becomes both the most hated and loved icon in this civilization.
     Reading the series, I was transported back to my own adolescent time of struggle, persecution, wonderment, and discovery.  I read this book with the purpose of being entertained, not enlightened, and enjoyed the ride immensely.  As many others have detailed, there are some very gruesome deaths and the idea of kids killing each other is quite horrifying, but the fictional arena and competition isn't much different from Survivor, Amazing Race, and the multitude of other reality shows.  What will it take before we begin to celebrate the gladiators of modern times?

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