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At the beginning of the year my three girls and I joined the masses of American readers in the
“Hunger Games” series. We were not dissapointed!
The book, based on the theory of a new government order where the capital controls (and opresses) the nation, which has been totally (and topically) reconstructed into 12 districts. Each district has its own industry – agriculture, coal mining, etc., struggling to maintain survival under the oppression of the government, who controls the amount of food each district receives.
This all sounds very dry but one’s interest is caught and maintained right from the beginning due to the main character, Katniss Everdeen, who lives in district 12. Her strong will to not only survive, but to provide for her mother and younger sister, drive her to become inventive, venturing into forbidden territory (the forest) for wild game. She becomes an excellent marksman, which later provides her with the skills needed to survive the yearly “hunger games”.
Each year, two tributes (one boy, one girl, ages 12 and up) from each district, are selected to compete. The winner gains a posh lifestyle and plenty of food for life for the family, which is a big deal, because everyone is basically starving.
The games are all about surviving to the end at all costs. There are 24 participants, but there can only be one winner, and you win by staying alive. Meaning, all of your opposers must die. A lot of this gets taken care of by other participants, so you don’t have to actually kill everyone, just those who get in your way, depending on your strategy.
Anyway, Katniss’s little sister gets picked, and Katniss volunteers in her place (called volunteering as tribute). A guy named Peeta is the selected male member from 12. Being the son of the local bread maker, he tossed a loaf of day old bread years ago (intended for his pigs) to Katniss once during a rain storm when she had come to beg for food. So the two of them had known each other, but had only experienced that one personal encounter.
As the story unfolds, Peeta divulges his secret love for Katniss, which he has carried with him for years. This complicates the entire story because one of them has to kill the other in order to win the hunger games.
I am not telling you any more of the story because that will ruin it for you. This is not normally my type of book, but it’s well worth the read because it’s just so different. Actually, it’s not hard to read – once you scan the first few lines, you’re hooked!
Now that I’ve explained all of that, my next post will describe my visit to “The Hunger Games” midnight premier, and my own story of survival staying up late in the midst of a sea of young people!!!!!
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