The Hunger Games: Will the Book Escape the Fire? (By Alyssa Hellenbrand)

The Hunger Games: Will the Book Escape the Fire?

Alyssa Hellenbrand

10-23-13

Twelve districts, twenty-four ‘volunteers,’ one Capitol hungry for entertainment, and countless people cowering in fear. Many have already dove into the twisted place that is Panem, a future version of the North America we live in today. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a novel mainly directed towards young adults; this never stopped parents from diving in, though. Since the release, not much time had to pass before this novel hit the best seller lists.
Set in a destroyed version of our reality, Panem is home to the Capitol and 12 districts. The districts have a scheme to them, the low your district number, the better your life would be. In the lower district numbers, children are trained in preparation for the hunger games and proudly volunteer. Each district has to have one male and one female tribute. The hunger games are an annual fight-to-the-death in a arena of the Capitol’s choice that are broadcasted on television that all districts must watch. Basically, they are a cruel form of entertainment for the Capitol and a way of showing their power ever since a district rebelled against them.
In the higher-numbered districts, the act of deciding who will represent their district is more a lottery. Names are on folded pieces of paper and chosen out of gender-specific containers at random. One little catch, some names are in the containers more than others. If supplies are for survival, people can obtain them. However, their names are then put into the bowl on another slip of paper. In these districts, being a tribute is normally a death sentence, nothing prepares these people for the hunger games.
Katniss Everdeen is the main character whom hearts go out to. This brave girl comes from district 12 and volunteered to partake in the games after her younger sister, Primrose Everdeen was selected. She is the only volunteer ever from her district, so she shook things up right from the start. The male tribute from district 12 is Peeta Mellark, the bakers son who Katniss grew up with. As the hunger games draw near, personalities are brought to a new light and readers find themselves hungry for the next page.
Suzanne Collins did not just write this one trilogy, The Hunger Games. She has been accomplished many times in the past with different novels and has also written the Underland Chronicles. That series consisted of five novels, but they never reached the popularity that The Hunger Games brought in 2008. Directed towards young adult audiences as an adventurous science-fiction, once the word started to spread of this success, soon the pages of The Hunger Games could be found in the hands of hungry readers. It became a best seller and the release of the movie in theaters got more people diving into Panem’s twisted ways.
This book not only has a plot to hook you in, but it connects to people in numerous ways. The struggle Katniss encounters connects anyone that is found sinking in poverty, living day-by-day. With Katniss being sixteen, many teenagers find her relatable at least a hand-full of times as she deals with love struggles and common teenage distress. Yet Katniss shows a strong sense of responsibility and works hard to keep her family fed by breaking the Capitol’s laws and hunting outside of her district. Dedication to her family and bravery in many cases can allow people to almost feel like they are walking with her throughout the novel.
Although Suzanne Collins has created a wonderful adventure in The Hunger Games, there is one thing that always stands out: the love triangle. Even with violent and brutal moments were Katniss is fighting for her life, there is that cliché sitting around in the back. Love triangles have been very common in many science-fiction novels recently, and Collins did not veer away. She, instead, dug her heels into the love triangle cliché and made it into something different. She made the love triangle less like a dull cliché by adding her own special twist.
All in all, Suzanne Collins created a page-turning best seller with a plot that is relatable and creative. The Hunger Games not only created a good read, but by making Panem a destroyed future version of our reality, people fell right into the novel. Aiding the already wise placement, the characters really made everything work. Some were kind people who just wanted to survive and the spectrum of personalities went all the way to the manipulative, barbaric, and savage characters who hungered for the hunger games. With this novel success, great things are expected from Suzanne Collins in the future.