The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is to dystopia futures what Harry Potter is to magic.
Set in a time where the United States is made up of 12 Districts, the future is bleak for our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, she lives in the coal mining district. Her days mostly consist of going outside the gates, illegally hunting with her friend Gale and trading squirrels, deer and rabbits for food.
That is until Reaping Day arrives, it is the one day a year when two people from each of the twelve districts are chosen for The Hunger Games.
Katniss does not get chosen for the games, instead her younger sister Prim does only to have Katniss offer to take her place.
Once chosen, each of the participants are brought together where they are fed, trained, brought out in front of the cameras complete with their own version of Richard Dawson. It’s The Running Man for this Generation.
The Hunger Games is the Olympics and every Reality Television Show you’ve ever seen but with one lovely gruesome twist: It’s Thunderdome with twenty-three people. Complete with opening ceremonies, prep crew, clothing designers and trainers. It’s perfect.
District 12’s last survivor tells Katniss and Peeta, the partner she’s saddled with to: Survive.
It’s a great read and I can see why Hollywood is circling this trilogy. The first book covers just enough of the world to make it a fast read without dragging. The radiation ruins of District 13, the tracker jacker bees and the mocking-jays are just enough.
The characters are well thought out without being whining. The diabolic Government that runs the Games does not come off as one note since they are barely seen and only heard.
Highly recommend it.
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