"The Hunger Games"
Suzanne Collins
Scholastic
Ya Science Fiction
I've seen this golden bird plenty of times throughout the years. And for the last few, I've walked right past it, on purpose I might add. And I'm not really sure why. But I've decided to blame it on "psychic inspirational patience." Reasoning: When i was younger, ( a girly girl of a girl), I wanted all the mush and the gush and the love and the "Oh, I need you for the rest of eternity my love." kind of books. As I grow older, I'm finding those love stories to be a bit "bland" If that's the right word. (NO OFFENSE TO THE MUSHY GUSHY GUYS) because I do enjoy love very much. But this novel. OH. this novel is
SO.
MUCH.
MORE.
There is a story here that involves much more than the characters mentioned. It involves a world. You have your books that are written solely about the main characters issues, and then you have books with those personal problems and then everybody else's as well. Thus, I call my excuse "psychic inspirational patience" because, I've always been into writing, but I've also always had a problem making my tiny ideas into great giant stories. and this book was a huge light bulb waiting to be switched on inside of me, filling me with insight on how to establish a personal relationship with your characters. Many many thanks to the wonderful Suzanne Collins who turned my distaste for first-person into a love I can never part with.
Now on with the show,
Here we meet Katniss Evergreen. A sixteen year old girl raised in one of the thirteen districts making up the ruins once known as North America. The districts are controlled by a cruel Capital, that was almost over thrown by its unhappy citizens until the panicked Capital decided to destroy district thirteen. That cut the resistance short and the people of the other districts were home quickly, locking their doors behind them. To keep the fear alive, the Capital created the Hunger Games. An annual collection of two tributes, one boy and one girl from the ages of 12-16, from each district. They then take these twenty-four children, glamour them up, and throw them into a weather dome where they are forced to fight until the death on national television. Twelve year old Prim, is picked out of the raffle for the seventy-fourth hunger games and Katniss volunteers to take her sisters place without a second thought. She, along with the baker's son, Peeta Mellark, will represent the tributes of District 12 in the upcoming games. Little does she know, surviving this sick twisted blood bath will be the least of her worries.
Phenomenal book. Collins really knows how to take you there. Inside the mind of a scared teenage girl thrown into the woods with twenty-three other children trying to kill her in her sleep. While she's awake wouldn't be much of an issue either. But she doesn't leave our Katniss completely empty handed. She has her talent. In her home, hunting outside of the electric fence surrounding District 12 is forbidden. Yes I said hunting. This a post-world thrown into a mixture of pure neanderthalism and futuristic technologies well beyond our era. There is a chink in the fence ironically, where Katniss and her best friend Gale sneak into the woods to hunt for food to sell in the towns black market. Katniss's weapon of choice. Thee always awesome and badass bow and arrow. And she is talented indeed.
SPOILER POINT!! (I have a lot of things to say about this book. Most of these things include some sort of spoiler. Not too bad though.)
First thing I would like to say is THANK YOU Suzanne Collins for giving us a heroine who can take care of herself AND her male counterpart. It's always the same damsel in distress who needs be saved repetitively by the grand ol' hero guy of the story. Not in this fairy tale. Nope, Katniss is pretty much dying herself, hunting for squirrels and wild dogs, watching out for the predators watching her and taking care of the lovely, but injured Peeta, who isn't worth a quarter in this book. And all with a sort of smile on her face.
AND SHES DEAF IN ONE EAR.! round of a frikin' applause please!!
One thing that entrapped me about this book was the Capital. How these people. Human beings. Could pick out each others kids and televise them killing one another. And you know, that's not even the disturbing part. The people of the Capital look at this as an annual festivity. Throwing parties and showing re-runs of past games. There are sponsors for the best looking tributes and this whole interview talk show celebration before the games begin. These children are dressed up in these elaborate costumes and sent parading around like warrior pageant contestants in front of all the entire country, gaining fans and hopefully a sponsor rich enough to send them something useful in the arena. It's nuts. It's brilliant. I love, love Love it.
Other things i love....
- Cinna.The District 12 Games stylist. He was the first character I fell in love with in this book. Before Peta. Before Prim. Before Katniss! I knew from the moment he said to Katniss as she pondered the daily life of Capital people:
"How despicable we must seem to you."
where Cinna was. On our side :) He's cool calm, and collected and Lenny Kravitz happens to be playing his part in the movie coming out in March. It is a perfect match.
-The boy with the bread. Oh yes, our dear Katniss tries terribly hard to hate this boy she must kill in order to make it back to her family, but Peeta is "the boy with the bread." And although he may not seem like much he is stronger in many more ways than his hunting abilities. And his Story is insanely sweet. If you are ever having doubts about Peeta Mellark turn to page 300 (chapter 21) and read. Shame on Katniss for being so hard on him.
-The underlying drama. Now these two had to "fake" this whole love thing on the big screens of Panem and the whole time Gale is watching, and I'm thinking to myself, if I was Gale I'd be pretty pissed off. Then there's that butterflies in the tummy moment when you remember there's a second book sooooo:
1.she HAS to make it out alive in this.
2.There's NO WAY she's getting rid of Peeta so he's getting out too.
3. Gale is waiting at home for them both.
LET THE REAL HUNGER GAMES BEGIN.! haha
-Another thing I really enjoyed while reading this book was the grittiness of it all. She takes you there. Inside The nature of it all and into the mind of a survivor.
"A foul rotten taste pervades my mouth , and the water has little effect on it. I drag myself over to the honeysuckle bush and pluck a flower. I gently pull the stamen through the blossom and set the drops of nectar on my tongue. The sweetness spreads through my mouth, down my throat, warming my veins with memories of summer, and my home woods and Gale's presence beside me."
like i said phenomenal book. filled with passion, blood, fear, suspense, and amazingness. A definite must read for everybody.
There is a MOVIE!
I mentioned Lenny Kravitz playing Cinna earlier.
I am very pleased with the casting:)
It's scheduled to hit theaters March 23, 2012.
I WILL SEE YOU THERE!
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