The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Age: YA

This is one of those books that you literally can't put down once you get started, so clear a day or two for it. I read it in one day and I honestly spent the entire day in bed. I read, and I fed my baby, and that was it. It was a pretty great feeling, because I love reading SO much, but with all the exhaustion in the later months of my pregnancy and then the new mom sleep deprivation, I'd been in this can't-finish-a-page-without-falling-asleep state, and I'd been having a really hard time making it all the way through anything. (I haven't read Catching Fire or Mockingjay yet because I'm scared of how useless I'm going to be once I get into them...so, I'll review those for you soon, and in the meantime, no spoilers, please!)

The book is set in a future North America where there is a wealthy Capitol and twelve outlying districts that are under the Capitol's harsh control. It's like the story of the Minotaur in Greek myth...every year each district has to send two tributes, a boy and a girl, to the Capitol to compete in the Hunger Games. They're basically human sacrifices, but it's somewhat more complex...the Hunger Games are a reality TV show in which the twenty-four tributes compete against each other for survival in a harsh environment. The last tribute alive wins--they get to live, and they also receive money and food for themselves and their district.

Katniss comes from the poorest district, District Twelve, and has grown up in one of the poorest families within that district. Her mother has been absolutely useless ever since her father died, and Katniss has learned how to hunt illegally in order to provide food for her family. She has a sweet little sister named Prim who she would do anything for. The book opens on the day of The Reaping, the day that the tributes from each district are chosen. Each child between the ages of 12 and 18 automatically has their name entered once into the drawing--once for each year, and it's cumulative, so an older child has a greater chance of being chosen; however, if they enter their name more than once they are paid in food. Katniss has entered her name many times over the years...it's the primary way she obtains food for the year. It's Prim's first year to be entered, so her name is only in once...but she is chosen. Since Katniss is an older sister, she immediately volunteers to go instead of Prim. Then the male tribute is chosen, and it's Peeta...a boy whom Katniss doesn't know very well, but who once saved Katniss' life by giving her bread when her family was starving.

Katniss desperately wants to survive and win the Hunger Games. It's not likely; the richer districts take the competition seriously, and their tributes are professionally trained. But she does have some mad hunting and wilderness survival skills, and beyond that she's worried about what will happen to her family if she's not around to look after them. Competing against Peeta adds another twist--she doesn't want to kill the boy she feels she owes her life to, and then he goes and tells the cameras that he's in love with her.

In addition to having a very engaging plot, and interesting characters, this book--like good sci fi should--provides excellent perspective on the condition of modern life. No, we don't actually watch people kill each other on TV...yet (but the ancient Romans sure loved their gladiator fights, so it's not much of a stretch to imagine modern or future people enjoying similar entertainment). What do we watch when we watch reality TV? We watch people give birth, get married, learn the results of paternity tests (I always think that Maury is our current equivalent of the Colisseum), raise children, and undergo plastic surgery. We watch people fight; we watch marriages fall apart. We watch people search for love, we watch them embarrass themselves, and we watch them break down. We see all of the intimate details of people's lives. I'll be the first to admit that I watch a buttload of reality TV. I recently watched Kourtney Kardashian butter Khloe in an attempt to soothe a bad bikini-wax burn. (Yes, my brain was screaming WTF??? but I still found myself unable to change the channel). Why do we find these shows so fascinating? I think it stems, at least in part, from the isolationism of our modern culture. Most of us don't give birth in front of a few dozen supporters from the community anymore...but we still have the desire to share that moment, so we watch it on TV. (I love the birth shows; they always make me cry.) We just aren't that close to our friends or our neighbors these days, so we need our relationships with the people on the TV. But in many ways I think it's sick...it's the same morbid curiosity that forces everyone to slow down in hopes of seeing gore when they pass an accident. Why do we need to watch someone get silicone implanted in their chest? Why do we need to watch a couple's hate destroy their family? What is WRONG with us that we watch?

And on the flip side, what is wrong with us that we want so badly for others to watch us? Put a camera in front of ANYONE, and they'll tell you ANYTHING about their personal life. Why on earth would someone want to be filmed giving birth and then have that film shown to millions of complete strangers? I was watching Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch the other day (I told you I'm a bad reality TV addict, but my husband actually got really into this show, too, so there) and one of the girls had to choose between staying for two more weeks of filming, and possibly--possibly--getting the chance to date this football player she doesn't even really know, or going home to see a dying grandparent who has 48 hours to live. In the end she chose the grandparent, but it was actually a big decision for her, a hard choice. (Not only that, but she was a single mom--she actually had a CHILD who she'd left behind to go on this ridiculous show.)

So when you read this book, don't be shocked that people would create such a show, or that everyone would watch. If The Hunger Games were on our TVs, we would all be glued. Because we're human beings, and that means that we have a great potential for good, but it also means that we have the same potential to be base and vile. And reality TV brings out the worst in us.

When you're writing sci fi, how do you create an interesting, believable future? I think you have to draw from what people have done before, and what they do now. And that's what Collins has done here...blending ancient and modern, human sacrifice and reality TV. Obviously this book is immensely popular right now, and books can be popular for one of two reasons...they're either actually that good, or they're bad, but in a mass-appeal sort of way (i.e. most of the population thinks they're that good). In my opinion, The Hunger Games falls squarely into the first category. I think you'll like it.

If you like this, you may also like: The Uglies series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras); Ender's Game; Fahrenheit 451; Brave New World; 1984; Cleopatra's Daughter (this last one is historical fiction, not sci fi). I like good sci fi but I certainly don't consider myself a sci fi expert, so those of you who know sci fi better than me are welcome to add more suggestions.

A note on The Uglies series: I'll have to write a full review on these one day, but for now I'll say it's got a very interesting premise (good social commentary like I talked about before)...but after I read several of them I felt like I'd just read the first book over and over again. Writers, a series is when you have such a long, complex story to tell that you can't possibly do it in just one book; it needs to be drawn out over several (e.g. the Harry Potter series). Writing the same book three times without managing to further the plot at all, and just slapping a slightly different cover on each of them--a la Stephenie Meyer--is not called a series, it's called milking a cash cow. So, you're warned. (The Hunger Games trilogy may do the same thing, like I said I haven't read the rest of the books yet...but I certainly hope not.)