::Adventure in an Apocalyptic World:: The Hunger Games

Reading this novel was… interesting. I read it not for a multitude of reasons but one: Simply put, I was darn curious about it. To give a bit of background on my exposure to The Hunger Games before news of the big-screen adaptation broke (dare I say this…), I had never heard of this trilogy. Shocking, I know. Anyway, after all of the buzz surrounding the series seemed to capture my attention, I asked Danielle if she would be willing to write a review on the book for my blog, and she graciously accepted. After that, I couldn’t hold out any longer and succumb to my curiosity. The book both entertained me and also annoyed me as a reader.

Since I have a review already posted here, I have decided to write more about what I hope is left intact in the movie. (Only be warned: This is a looong "review.")

About the book:

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: 2008

Genre: General, Teen, Fiction

The Story: Collin’s popular teen saga revolves around an annual tradition in a tyrant world in which the “Capitol” punishes each of its surrounding 12 districts because of a long-ago rebellion. The punishment is to take away residents children by holding an “event” that picks one boy and one girl minor from each district that then pits the 24 contestants against each other in a battle that could either result in fame and fortune – or death.

My Thoughts: I’ll just admit it. I read this for one reason and one reason only. Because of its popularity, I saw the book everywhere and as a result I succumbed to curiosity. There probably isn’t one person (well, maybe that is exaggerating a bit) who has not already read this book and is counting down the hours (or minutes, perhaps) until the major motion picture releases in a couple of weeks. In all honestly, I did not particularly love the book. My initial reaction was that the premise was a bit… primitive. The idea that young minds are asked to kill one another simply for the sport of their political leaders is troubling. With that being said, I am definitely not against fighting when it comes to protecting freedoms or self-defense. Fortunately, I was able to still like its main protagonists, Katniss and Peeta, not only because they were forced into a ritual they did not want but because their only “kills” were either for survival or unintentional.

The book is written in the first person, which admittedly I am not all that fond of. It seems to stifle so much about the book. For starters it only allows the reader into the thought process of one person and I find that a bit uninteresting, and it seems to be more difficult for me as the reader to really get “into” the story. Getting other characters perspective is just one of the things I am most anticipating about the movie. Below I am listing what I hope the movie adaptation strengthens...