Module 8: Fantasy and Science Fiction

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Summary: The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel.  As a result of unrest and an uprising by the masses, the government keeps the people down by  creating districts, which each must send a representative every year to the hunger games, a survival of the fittest.  The players are youth 12 years old and up, chosen in a kind of lottery, in which a person's name can be added in trade for goods (food, etc.), and are not removed from one year to next, increasing the chance of being chosen.  In our story, Katnis, the older sister of 12 year old Primrose, takes the place of her sister who is chosen her first time out.  Katnis is skilled with the bow and has learned survival skills along the way.  She and Peeta, the baker's son, become the representatives from their district for the next hunger games. 
My Impressions: I enjoyed reading this book.  There was a good combination of drama and action to keep me reading.  This is a story of survival and the ability to do anything you put your mind to.
Reviews: 

Author: Francisca Goldsmith   

This is a grand-opening salvo in a new series by the author of the Underland Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation's annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem's districts. District 12's second "tribute" is Peeta, the baker's son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents' next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. Populated by three-dimensional characters, this is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance.--Francisca Goldsmith 

Author: Jilaine Johnson

Imagine a world of the future where the United States has 12 outlying districts and the Capitol, where the wealthy and elite live out a pampered existence, and an all--powerful government of what is now known as Panem extracts a brutal price from the populace for a previous rebellion. Each year a lottery is held in each of the districts to determine which 12 girls and boys win the draw as 'tributes' to take part in the Hunger Games a reality, survivor-cum-gladiator type televised event where the contestants must fight to survive. The contestants are dropped into a different terrain each year and need to outwit the machinations of the games designers, the elements, as well as each other. There can only be one winner; the others must die. Kill or be killed; the ultimate punishment for the people who are forced to watch the televised spectacle.

Katniss is 16 years old and when her 12 year old sister Prim's name is called she volunteers to take her place as District 12's female tribute. The boy is Peeta, a baker's son who once saved Katniss from near starvation. And Peeta starts the 'love angle' that plays an important role in this year's game.

A gritty, powerful science fiction novel that, because of the inevitable violence, is more suitable for teens or mature 12 year old readers. It is a gripping, fast-paced read with twists and turns and suspenseful moments. With firestorms, killer wasps, booby-trapped food stores and the nightly ritual of 'Who is dead today?' you are hooked to the end. Collins uses the love angle and the young tribute Rue, whom Katniss befriends, to show that beneath the surface of at least some of these young people who are forced to kill, lies a core of human warmth and kindness. Highly commended.

Library Use:

Reference List:

Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games.  New York, NY: Scholastic. 

Goldsmith, Francisca. (2008, September 1). Review of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.  Booklist 105(1), 97. Retireved from  Literature Resource Center. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA185166292&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w
Johnson, J. (2009, Februry ). Review of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.  Reading Time, 53(1), 30 Retrieved from Literature Resource Center. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA196151128&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w