Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Reviewed by: Kelly McKinnan
“The heat is horrible, but worse than the heat is the smoke, which threatens to suffocate me at any moment. I pull the top of my shirt up over my nose, grateful to find it soaked in sweat, and it offers a thin veil of protection. I run, choking, my bag banging against my back, my face cut with branches that materialize from the gray haze without warning, because I know I am supposed to run.”
Katniss Everdeen lives in a post-apocalyptic world, once North America, in the country of Panem, which consists of twelve numbered districts dominated by a decadent, exploitative central city called the Capitol. Every year, two children from each district are drafted by lottery to compete in a televised gladiatorial contest, the Hunger Games, an annual spectacle in which twenty-four children are forced by the government to fight one another to the death. We experience this story through the eyes of Katniss, a resident of District 12, a harsh, cold region mostly given over to coal mining. She steps forward to take the place of her sister who is chosen for the games. Katniss turns her energies to out-witting the system and forcing an ending with more than one survivor. She must decide who her friends are and what side she is on. Throughout the trilogy Katniss, Gale her childhood friend, and Peeta her fellow District 12 tribute, fight against the government in order to simply survive in the face of the corrupt Capitol.
Collins’ writing is different than the typical young adult fiction that fills most bookstores and library shelves. She refuses to write the predictable novel with mostly happy endings. She presents amazing character development, leaving you attached to certain people and keeping you turning page after page wanting more.
Collins’ writing comes alive with her amazingly detailed descriptions. After a life spent in freezing poverty, Katniss experiences pleasures of warmth, food, and beautiful clothes. The descriptions also emphasize the horrible plight of the tributes and the gross desensitization of the Capitol dwellers. You feel very much like you are alongside the reluctant heroine as she battles her way through just about any imaginable situation.
Collins shows us the horrors of violence and war, though she does not glorify it or present it as a fun game. The series presents broken people with scars that will never go away. She does not write violence for the sake of violence but uses it to stress the perverseness and horror of the Games.
Government control and Big Brother are two themes that are shown throughout the series, through the Capitol's controlling rules for the residents of the different districts, as well as the Hunger Games themselves, where the Capitol has children fight to the death, simply to assert their power.
There is an apparent love-triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta; but it is far from the typical vampire-werewolf scenario. It adds to the character development and presents the layered, conflicting emotions of the characters, and the often mysterious motivations of those around Katniss.
Katniss shows a love and dedication to her family by providing for her mother, who is suffering from severe depression after the death of her husband. Katniss also sacrificially offers herself up to take the place of her younger sister to participate in the games.
The Hunger Games trilogy is well-written and very engrossing—definitely not a one-time read. The twisted plotline will keep you going and on the edge of your seat through all three novels: The Hungers Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
Note: As this series is not written from a Christian worldview, discernment on the part of readers is required, especially in light of Biblical ethics. As always, parental involvement is encouraged. Though marketed for younger teenagers, The Writers' Block recommends this series for mature readers only, because of mature elements and the amount of violence (some of it very graphic).
