The Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I used to giggle at women who read young adult novels. When my own mother started reading titles like the Twilight series, all I could do was wonder what she was thinking.
I'm 30 now. I get it. You go to work, you come home and do chores, you take care of your husband/wife, your child(ren)/pet(s). Your life becomes pretty routine. With age comes responsibility, and that responsibility overshadows any of the passion or energy of youth. Until I became a middle aged woman, I didn't understand what they saw in young adult novels like The Hunger Games. Apparently, no matter your age, nothing beats a good love triangle.
But there is so much more to the book than Peeta (Katniss' fellow District 12 tribute) and Gale (Katniss' best friend), so I won't spend many words on them. This is one of the few recent YA novels I've read that doesn't come with the typical whiny, annoying female lead. Katniss Everdeen is fierce and competent and clever. And she's not the only strong female. There are quite a few bad-ass girls in this book, who can fend for themselves and compete in a coed arena - Glimmer and Clove, who have the advantage of coming from the favored Districts closest to the Capital, where it's an honor to train and volunteer to compete in the Games; nimble and elusive Fox Face is constantly outmaneuvering the rest of the tributes; and darling Rue, whose youth and appearance are misleading, as she's both sharp and resourceful.
This strength is bred by the bleak, post-apocalyptic world in which they live. The United States are no more - the oceans have risen, swallowing up portions of North America, and food has become scarce. This new country is called Panem. It is led by the Capital and contains 12 Districts (apparently a 13th, rebellious District was destroyed years ago), each of which offers up one girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games. These Districts are without cell phones and computers, without distractions such as designer labels and beauty magazines. Each district serves a purpose, and everyone does what they need to do to get by and feed their families.
The Capital, by contrast, is a place of lavishness and overindulgence - a futuristic version of our present state, where everyone is concerned with what you're wearing and who you know. It's clear that Suzanne Collins has no use for these things, and when confronted by the pageantry of the Capital's citizenry, it's pretty obvious that Katniss doesn't either. Nor does Collins seem to be a proponent of the type of violence she inflicts on her characters. Even the strongest of these children are still children, and Collins has a masterful way of reminding readers - at just the right times in the book - that these children are fighting for their lives.
The story is fast-paced, action-packed, filled with interesting characters, and, yes, of course, includes the Peeta-Katniss-Gale love triangle. But I will leave that for others to describe and dissect - I just don't have it in me to compare it to the famed Twilight trio, Edward-Bella-Jacob.
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