Monday, February 9, 2009

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


I was so anxious to read this YA novel to see what the fuss was all about! I felt like I was reading a novelization of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." I enjoyed the book, and fled through it, but am not quite sure why it got the rave reviews. And I'm actually glad it didn't receive the Printz or honors because it doesn't bring anything new to the field of YA lit. Don't get me wrong--I'll recommend this to tons of kids, but I couldn't stop thinking that it had been done before in "The Lottery" and some other book that I can't think of right now.

The Capitol does The Hunger Games annually in all 12 districts to keep them in awe of the Capitol's greatness. Names of kids/teenagers are drawn, and two from each district must fight to the death in the Hunger Games. Katniss's younger sister's name is drawn, but she volunteers to fight in her younger sister's place. Katniss has always been a survivor. She can hunt with a bow-and-arrow, set snares, and find ways to survive in starving times. But this is different. This time she is fighting humans who want to kill her. And it is ALL televised and controlled by the Capitol government. Fun, fun!

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