Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.
This book became an obsession. At the beginning, it was a decently slow read. I would read 30 pages, stop and that would be my allowance for the day. But once Katniss and Peeta enter the Hunger Games, I could not put it down. I took it everywhere. The suspense and action is so intense and I am definetly planning on reading the next book when it comes out. Even though this is not my normal genre, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think anyone will like it. A quick warning though- The Hunger Games involve basically, everyone killing each other so if you are uncomfortable with that theme, you may not want to read this one.
The Hunger Games is a science fiction novel aimed at the teen/young adult market. It is part Survivor (Yeah, I watch Survivor; it's one of my guilty pleasures), part gladiatorial games and part devshirme (the systematic collection of non-Muslim children as tributes by the Ottoman Empire). Well maybe that last is a little stretch; but maybe not either. The premise is that after some sort of catastrophic collapse of the United States a new government formed in North America, centered somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. A rebellion occurred and was brutally quashed and the survivors in twelve outlying regions now are subject peoples forced to participate in a deadly lottery once a year. From each of the twelve regions a girl and a boy (between the ages of 12 and 18) are chosen who will be forced to participate in a winner-take-all fight to the death Survivor-style. That is, they are all dropped in some wilderness and must compete for access to a limited amount of food and supplies in addition to the last-man standing takes all death match. It's all televised, of course, and some behind the scenes games makers rig the environment to boost ratings and force dramatic encounters between the various "tributes". The winner will be given free food and housing for life and his or her province will get extra food for the year, which is huge because they are generally kept on subsistence rations.
The heroine of the tale is sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen who chooses to take the place of her younger sister who was chosen on her very first time out in the lottery. The story is fast paced with many flashbacks to her life before the games, developing her into a complex character as well as exploring the social and economic implications of living in a totalitarian state. It's a coming of age story, but also --perhaps?-- a romance. A little grim at times and might be too much for some more sensitive souls; but the violence is never over the top and never graphic. Most of all a page turner I couldn't put down.
Even though reading is one of my favorite leisure activities, I haven't had much time to do it lately. The Hunger Games was so engrossing that I stayed up way too late two nights in a row to finish it.
The story takes place sometime in the (maybe not so far) future in Panem, a North American nation that used to be the United States and is now ruled by the cruel, sophisticated and ruthless Capitol. Panem is divided into twelve districts and each is required to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to the annual Hunger Games, a terrifying fusion of reality show and Roman Colliseum death match.
The heroine is sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen whose father died in the coal mines of their impoverished Appalachian District 12. She lives with her mother and younger sister Primrose, and supplements their meager income by hunting and gathering in the forbidden woods. When Primrose is chosen as one of the "tributes", Katniss immediately volunteers to take her place. The other "tribute" is a boy who years before, had saved her from starving by risking punishment at the hands of his hardhearted mother in order to give her two loaves of bread.
The most interesting part of the story to me is how Katniss uses survival skills that she has learned in hunting and foraging to keep herself alive. There are the typical young adult fiction points where she must make decisions between morality and survival. The conclusion is satisfying but you should know ahead of time that this is part of a series and not all questions are answered at the end of this book. On the positive side, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. She really knows how to keep your interest and keep you reading past midnight.
