Author - Suzanne Collins
ISBN - 0439023483
Publication Date - 2008
Plot - Katniss Everdeen is a tough as nails young woman who has protected her family for most of her young adult life. But now she is faced with a quandary. The Capitol takes tribute each year, taking kids who are growing into their prime to have some game, to the death. And this year they have selected Katniss younger sister Prim to fight to the death. Katniss cannot allow this and takes her place, going off to fight in games that are supposed to remind the people that they have disobeyed and they cannot fight the system anymore. The fighting is set in the future where the Capitol of this new land is where the Rocky Mountains were.
Katniss and a fellow person from district 12 go to the Capitol to train, fight and probably die. As the training and all of the shows begin publicizing the big battle, Katniss sizes everyone up, guessing as to the strengths and weaknesses of all the fellow fighters. By the time all the tributes arrive in the arena, she is ready. But when it actually comes to killing a person, especially if she gets attached, that is another matter entirely. The Battle rages, and through manipulations by the Capitol, primarily to increase the betting on the games involved, Katniss and Peeta end up the last two fighters. And in an act of defiance, Katniss finds a way for them both to get out. But this act of defiance will have a price. What it is, neither Katniss or Peeta know.
Critical Review - There have been many science fiction stories where people are selected, seemingly at random, for death. The Lottery, movies like Logan Run and many others tell the tales of people who end up slated to die because of some way of choosing. Hunger Games follows that vein, although in this instance there is a sick sense of brutality in that the people they are choosing to die in this "tribute" are teens, starting at age 12 and go up to age 18. This tribute is imposed upon the 12 districts because of their sedition against the Capitol. It is an ever present reminder of what they did wrong. Suzanne Collins, tells the story vividly from the perspective of Katniss, whose mind is ever alert to what is going on around. Her character is so well drawn that one has a full understanding of how and why she makes decisions about things, even if she does not always agree that she makes the right ones. The imagery is picturesque and bleak at the same time, a perfect fitting for the world that is crumbling around them, but externally and internally. And the story leaves you wanting more as it ends. Thankfully Suzanne Collins has obliged and there are more novels to come.
Readers Annotation - What does one do in a world where everything around them seems to conspire against them? How does one handle when they are forced to go somewhere knowing that they are most likely going to die? What does one do when they see slaughter all around them? Hopefully, like Katniss Everdeen, they fight!
About the Author- Professionally, Suzanne Collins began her career writing for kids television shows for Nickelodeon. She was writing both for an older set, with shows such as Clarissa Explains It All and for Children's shows like Little Bear. She was happy to do this until she ran into the person of James Poimos.
James convinced her that her writing talents could be well suited for those of novels. As a result she decided to try penning children's novels. Immediately she began thinking of large story arcs, that could not simply be accomplished in one story. Hence, she has written a five-part fantasy series in the Underland Chronicles. But as she decided to write The Hunger Games, she drew from more personal fare. She took much of what she saw in her dad, as he was in the air force, and drew on that to write about the effects of way, poverty, and hunger on a people. The series has become a runaway best seller in the process.
Genre- Science Fiction / Fantasy
Curriculum Ties - Compare and contrast between other post-apocalyptic worlds in literature. Relate the control of its population to 1984 by George Orwell. How does their method of control differ? How does this effect the population of each? - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss stories of survival with the teens. Ask them what things do they think they would need to survive in the wilderness. If they had a backpack like Katniss, what would it include and why?
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - Graphic Violence towards children may cause some parents to desire to pull the book.
Overcoming challenges - Be prepared to discuss the history of the science fiction genre. Relate to those challenging the book that science fiction only tells of a possible future. Give parents materials on how to interact with their child when reading this novel with a series of questions that will engage the child about how and why this kind of future might take place, and what might they do to prevent it.
Why Included - It was my favorite novel of the semester and I was able to include it in our list of items for this project.
No comments:
Post a Comment