The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Review by Lisa Norsworthy
The Hunger Games is a hugely popular triology that is written for young adults, but there is nothing childish about this story!
The first book, The Hunger Games, introduces us to Katniss Everdeen, a 17-year-old living in Panem a few hundred years in the future. Panem is what used to be the United States but is now divided into thirteen districts under the strict control of the Capitol. In the Capitol, conspicuous consumption abounds, but in the districts, citizens are kept on the brink of starvation and have very few modern conveniences. They have limited electricity and heat, no cars, and all media is strictly controlled by the Capitol.
Seventy-five years earlier, District thirteen rebelled, and after squelching the rebellion, the Capitol instituted the Hunger Games to punish and control the remaining districts. Annually, there is a lottery for all twelve to seventeen-year-olds where one boy and one girl are chosen from each district. These children are sent to fight to the death where everything is documented on a wildly popular “reality” series on television which every citizen of Panem is required to watch.
I don’t want to reveal too much, but this series is absolutely riveting. I was told it was dark, but that is too simple. It is a story of contrasts: evil and goodness, cruelty and kindness, and cowardice and courage in the hearts of humans. It is a warning of what can happen when we don’t appreciate and fight for liberty.
A word of advice: If you read book one, you won’t be able to stop, so make sure you have all the books available!
The Hunger Game Series at AMAZON
