The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press, 2008. 374. Dystopia.

978-0439023481

Reading/Interest Level: Ages 10+

Curriculum ties: Government (dictatorships), ethics

Booktalk Ideas: Reality TV gone bad: Talk about how reality TV evolved and became deadly because of corruption. Explain the premise of the Games. Or What would you do to survive?: Describe the premise of the event, the Hunger Games.

Challenge Issues: Violence against children

Challenge Response: First Defense File

Reader’s Annotation:

When her sister’s name is drawn for a reality TV game that will surely result in her death, Katniss Everdeen takes her place and strives to survive, though the odds don’t seem to be in her favor.

Plot Summary:

Set in a future where North America has been destroyed by natural disasters and war, the nation of Panem rises like a phoenix out of the ashes. Panem once contained thirteen districts and a Capitol, but when the districts rebelled, the Capitol fought back. District Thirteen was obliterated, and the remaining districts were forced to surrender.

As a reminder of the Capitol’s power, the treaty each district was forced to sign requires that they send a boy and a girl, age 12 to 18, to compete in the Hunger Games each year. The Hunger Games, a live reality TV event where the contestants fight to survive. It’s kill or be killed, winner takes all. The book follows sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who, when her little sister is called to compete, volunteers to go in her place. Katniss doesn’t want to die, but to live she must make decisions regarding the life and death of others. Together with Peeta, the boy from her district, they put on a show and become capitol favorites, but that comes with its own price.

Critical Evaluation:

With the prevalence of reality TV, some of which is quite controversial, and many negative views on the future of the United States, it’s not hard to imagine where Suzanne Collins got her inspiration for The Hunger Games. Katniss loves her family and would do anything for them, a theme that is clear throughout the book. Whenever there is something Katniss doesn’t want to do, she remembers how her actions will affect her family, and she does what she needs to.

Young adults are still figuring out how their actions affect others, and this book does a great job of showing a strong, female heroine who can be a good example to teen girls. Katniss doesn’t like violence, she’s not in the game for the thrill. In fact, those who are in the game for the thrill of it are hard and unlikable characters. Katniss is in the game to save her sister, a very noble reason. Though violence is blatantly displayed in this book, it’s not glorified from the hero’s point of view, making this an excellent, engaging, and suspenseful read.

About the Author:

The youngest of four children, Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in Hartford, Connecticut. The daughter of an Air Force officer, Collins moved a considerable amount during her childhood, living in places like New York City and Brussels.

Collins attended Indiana University, where she graduated in 1985 as a double major in theater and telecommunications. She then went on to earn a master's degree in dramatic writing from New York University.

Following graduate school, Collins moved into television. After proving herself as a talented children's television writer, Collins published her debut book, Gregor the Overlander, the first book of The Underland Chronicles. In 2008, the first book of The Hunger Games series was published. –

-from Biography.com author page-

Justification of Selection:

This is a best seller book that has also been made into a very popular movie. It has received great and even starred reviews in journals such as Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. It showcases a strong, confident heroine who detests violence, fighting for her family in a society with very questionable ethics. Katniss Everdeen is a great example to all.