A couple weeks ago Jake showed me an article in the paper about the dark nature of recent successful Young Adult fiction. Among those included was Jay Asher's novel about teen suicide, Thirteen Reasons Why, which I read a couple months ago. Other books mentioned featured eating disorders, depression, and murder. One title that stuck in my head was The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins who writes the Gregor Underland Series for 8-9 year olds (I read the first one and had a mixed reaction awhile back). The Hunger Games takes place in a futurisitc United States, where people live in one of 13 Districts. Katniss, the main character, takes care of her mother and younger sister, following the death of her father in the coal mines. Katniss's family is beyond poor and she has learned to survive by becoming an outlaw hunter with her best friend Gale. Once a year, the Capitol hosts the "reaping" - a festival of sorts featuring The Hunger Games. One boy and one girl from each district are chosen at random to fight to the death until only one victor remains, bringing food and much needed wealth to their district. When Katniss's 12-year old sister is chosen, Katniss volunteers in her place. Along with Peeta, the chosen boy from her district, she trains in combat and survival and is ultimately dumped with the other 23 competitors into a man-made landscape. The Games are televised, like a reality "Survivor" for the rest of the country to watch. Young children pitted against each other in a Lord of the Flies situation, is barbaric, and Collins does not hold back in her descriptions of how the kids die away. Katniss struggles with her own participation in the games - she does not want the Capitol to have control over her, but at the same time, she has a strong survival instinct, as she tries to figure out who to trust and which alliances to enter into. There is a great deal of sadness in this book - ideas of loss and control, as well as destiny and love. It is a definite page-turner. Even though I assumed things would somehow end well for Katniss, this did not stop me from being worried everytime a predator was near, or wondering how she would get herself out each successive difficult situation. I was sad to come to the end of the book, but very happy to learn that this is just the first in a series, the second of which comes out in September (Catching Fire). I look forward to hearing more about Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and everyone else in this strange new land. But, I am a bit concerned that this is the direction young adult fiction is taking, and wonder how Collins's target audience interprets the blood-thirsty nature of The Games, and what effects positive or negative this series will have on young readers.
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
A couple weeks ago Jake showed me an article in the paper about the dark nature of recent successful Young Adult fiction. Among those included was Jay Asher's novel about teen suicide, Thirteen Reasons Why, which I read a couple months ago. Other books mentioned featured eating disorders, depression, and murder. One title that stuck in my head was The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins who writes the Gregor Underland Series for 8-9 year olds (I read the first one and had a mixed reaction awhile back). The Hunger Games takes place in a futurisitc United States, where people live in one of 13 Districts. Katniss, the main character, takes care of her mother and younger sister, following the death of her father in the coal mines. Katniss's family is beyond poor and she has learned to survive by becoming an outlaw hunter with her best friend Gale. Once a year, the Capitol hosts the "reaping" - a festival of sorts featuring The Hunger Games. One boy and one girl from each district are chosen at random to fight to the death until only one victor remains, bringing food and much needed wealth to their district. When Katniss's 12-year old sister is chosen, Katniss volunteers in her place. Along with Peeta, the chosen boy from her district, she trains in combat and survival and is ultimately dumped with the other 23 competitors into a man-made landscape. The Games are televised, like a reality "Survivor" for the rest of the country to watch. Young children pitted against each other in a Lord of the Flies situation, is barbaric, and Collins does not hold back in her descriptions of how the kids die away. Katniss struggles with her own participation in the games - she does not want the Capitol to have control over her, but at the same time, she has a strong survival instinct, as she tries to figure out who to trust and which alliances to enter into. There is a great deal of sadness in this book - ideas of loss and control, as well as destiny and love. It is a definite page-turner. Even though I assumed things would somehow end well for Katniss, this did not stop me from being worried everytime a predator was near, or wondering how she would get herself out each successive difficult situation. I was sad to come to the end of the book, but very happy to learn that this is just the first in a series, the second of which comes out in September (Catching Fire). I look forward to hearing more about Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and everyone else in this strange new land. But, I am a bit concerned that this is the direction young adult fiction is taking, and wonder how Collins's target audience interprets the blood-thirsty nature of The Games, and what effects positive or negative this series will have on young readers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment