Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 14, 2008)
In the Hunger Games we find ourselves inside of a dystopian future called Panem, which is all that remains of what used to be the world that we know now. Panem consists of the Capitol City where the citizens live in the lap of luxury and where the central government of Panem is located, which rules over the surrounding 13 districts. The districts are where the rest of the population lives, and definitely not in luxury; life in the districts is dismal and work is mostly hard labor such as coal mining, farming and working in factories with little pay. District 13 was destroyed, though, as a display of the Capitol’s power when they attempted to revolt against the atrocities that the Capitol has forced the districts to bear.
After the ill-fated rebellion, the Capitol started the Hunger Games – a yearly reminder to the residents of the districts of the Capitol’s power. Every year, one girl and one boy are selected from each of the remaining 12 districts to participate in the Hunger Games, where they are placed inside of a state-of-the-art arena filled with traps that are meant to kill or hurt them, unless the other children kill them first, for there can only be one victor in the Hunger Games; you must kill the others in the arena before they kill you if you want to survive. And the older and poorer you are, the “better” your odds are of being selected from the pool. The last child alive wins a lifetime of luxury and celebrity back in their district, though; of course, they have to live with the memories of the Games and how they managed to survive, which is very similar to the post traumatic stress disorder that soldiers experience when they come home from war. The Hunger Games are filmed and broadcast to all of Panem, most especially for the gruesome enjoyment of the citizens of the Capitol.
We follow the story of 16 year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in District 12 with her mother and younger sister, Primrose Everdeen (Prim), who, at the age of twelve, faces her first year in the “reaping;” the ceremony in which the one male and one female “tributes” from each district are chosen. Katniss’ family is very poor; her father was killed in a coal mining accident, leaving her mother in a state of crippling depression and Katniss having to hone her hunting skills taught to her by her father to keep the family fed, albeit illegally; the residents in the districts are not allowed to hunt because keeping the districts hungry is another way that the Capitol controls them, but Katniss and her best friend, Gale, regularly sneak through the fence that surrounds District 12 and hunt in the woods together, selling some of their kill on the black market, helping to pay for the essential things that their families need.
This is what Katniss and Gale are doing on the morning of the reaping. But when Prim’s name is selected in the lottery, Katniss immediately jumps in to take her little sister’s place in The Hunger Games, knowing that Prim’s entering the Games would mean her certain death. Katniss is now thrust into the world of the Hunger Games, a woody arena in which twenty-four children must now compete to survive by killing off their competition or waiting for them to be killed by someone or something else. The goal, of course, is to be the last person alive and be the champion. Katniss is a skilled hunter and can kill anything with a bow and arrow, a weapon which she manages to secure during the Games. And even though she doesn’t want to kill anyone, she also doesn’t want to die.
Unwillingly, Katniss forms an alliance with Peeta Mellark, the boy tribute from her district, pretending to be star-crossed lovers to win the love of the Capitol audience and the possibility of sponsors who will send gifts such as food and medicine that will help her survive during the Games. As her feelings for Peeta become more complicated, though, and she realizes that Peeta’s romantic feelings toward her have always been genuine, Katniss struggles with the realization that she might have to kill him to survive and win the Games.
The book does not shy away from showing how cruel the world and people can be to one another, and the limits that people might be surprised to see themselves go to in order to survive. This makes the book a refreshing addition to the current literature for young adults, and there is also plenty of depth, character development, political intrigue and excitement that will make this book a favorite with adults. The Hunger Games ends on a cliffhanger, and you will be dying to know what happens to Katniss and what the fate of her world will be in the next installment in this trilogy, Catching Fire.
You can purchase The Hunger Games at Amazon.com
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