The Hunger Games

"May the odds be ever in your favor! -Effie Trinket, The Hunger Game

Book: The Hunger Games

By: Suzanne Colllins

Main Characters:

Katniss Everdeen

Peeta Mellark

Pages:  374 

The Hunger Games is the first of Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games trilogy, in which a bleak futuristic setting is used as the basis of the Hunger Games that Katniss knows are not logical, but nevertheless, Katniss Everdeen watches every year---the tributes who are forced to fight for common necessities as a reminder of the rebellion of the no longer existing District 13.

Plot/Summary: In District 12 of Panem (what was once North America), Katniss Everdeen, sixteen years old, has been illegally hunting and providing for her mother and sister, Primrose, with her friend Gale since she was twelve after the death of both their fathers. In District 12, where coal is the main export and starvation is a common death--Katniss is sure that as long as she provides for Primrose and can keep her away from the "Hunger Games" that they will have a simple life until Primrose turns 18.

 

When Primrose is chosen at the annual tribute announcement for the "Hunger Games"---a televised fight to the death of districts 1-12, Katniss immediately volunteers to take her place as tribute because Primrose is everything she has to live and protect for---and Katniss's survival would ensure Primrose's health after the games.

 

Katniss is immediately sure that she won't survive as a tribute, but knowing that her sister will be watching the games, she knows she has to seem committed to survive as the last tribute. Throughout the process of the "Hunger Games" Katniss becomes known as, "the girl who catches fire" and Katniss devises a plan and technique of survival with the use of her bow and arrow to impress "sponsors" who are able to support their favorite tributes in the game when they are low on supplies. In the "Hunger Games" Katniss realizes that her death is not determined and that she can fight back to the Capitol, keeping her integrity and spirit as she fights to the death.

 

My Review: I was reluctant to read The Hunger Games because the basic plot sounded depressing, and I'm not the biggest fan of science fiction, but Katniss Everdeen's character is truly fearless and honest that it was difficult to put the book down. Every moment offers a new twist, and it was difficult to predict what was to come at anytime. The Hunger Games is shocking and creative, and the experience of each tribute is well detailed and easy to sypathize and admirer as victims of the Capitol and it's manipulation to pin each impoverished district against the other by using innocent children.

 

Every character is so well developed that it was easy to relate and Peeta Mellark is my new favorite male literary character because he's always looking out for Katniss and wears his emotions on his sleeves in a way that isn't corny, but modest and adorable. I also really love that each main section of the "Hunger Games" is separated by chosen tributes, the actual games, and the victor because it makes it easier to follow the plot and distinguish what point in time Katniss is in. The overall feel of the book felt similar to George Orwell's 1984 , which is an impressive feat, I think.

 

Author's Writing Technique: Suzanne Collins separates the novel into three main parts: The Tributes, The Games, and The Victor to know what is expected, and to not confuse each event with another point in time of the games. She also uses long, descriptive sentences with commas often used.

 

Writer's Tip: Write descriptively with the use of commas and incorporate important events of a story, such as flashbacks or inner thoughts, in a way that blends and doesn't detract from the actual story. Ultimately, the story is a piece of science fiction, so anything is possible.