Hunger What?

Hunger Games! Hunger Games! Hunger Games! What the hell is this book and why the hell is everybody talking about it? The first book of the trilogy was published in September of 2008 and has  has received multiple awards, one including Publishers Weekly's 2008 Best Books of the Year award, so why all the hype now? There seems to be a trending theme of dystopian young-adult books going around and with all the myths of the world ending this concept doesn't look like it's going anywhere. Sudden interest and popularity of this critically acclaimed novel can also be linked to it's similarities to both Harry Potter and Twilight. One similarity being it's film adaptation, which is to be released in theaters next month.

Jennifer Lawrence will be playing the role of Katniss Everdeen
in the upcoming film adaptation

Having no prior knowledge to this series I would like to find out what makes this book so attractive to the masses. What better place to start than with the author, Suzanne Collins. Collins' name may not be all that unfamiliar to you as she is well known as a children's television writer for the popular television network Nickelodeon. Among other things, she is also the author of the Underland Chronicles. Collins seems to gather her ideas and inspiration from ancient mythology, other pieces of writing, and lifetime experiences. From what I've gathered from multiple websites and acquaintances, the plot goes something like this. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America nation now called Panem, which is divided into thirteen separate districts, twelve in which are all living in poverty and a wealthy district known as Capitol. Due to a previous rebellion against the Capitol, the Capitol now forces children ranging between twelve and eighteen years of age to participate in an annual event known as the Hunger Games. A boy and a girl are chosen, at random, from each district in an annual lottery to participate in these games where all participants or "tributes" must fight to the death until just one of the twenty-four remains. The winner's district will then be rewarded with enough food and medicine to last the year, until the next games. Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old girl, takes the role of the main protagonist in this story. As I'm sure you've probably already guessed, Katniss finds herself a participant of the 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss must now do whatever she can to survive this lethal and ever changing event by means of sympathy, betrayal, and deception.

Cast of The Hunger Games movie which will show in theaters March 23rd

The Hunger Games, like the Underland Chronicles, takes place in a war-like scenario where friendships are made and broken in the blink of an eye. Collins often draws from imaginative places like Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland, and mythical beings like Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, for ideas. Collins' books typically take the perspective of children and makes them her main characters. While both series are filled with large amounts of action, The Hunger Games series also includes a romantic subplot.

Collins has a ways to go before her series can even touch J.K. Rowling's blockbuster Harry Potter series or even Stephenie Meyer's record breaking Twilight series, but comparisons are being made already and The Hunger Games certainly have the potential to sell millions. What The Hungers Games has that Harry Potter and Twilight series doesn't is its balance of action and plot, which makes for an excellent movie that is sure to attract many day one fans as well as band-wagoners.

The Harry Potter series has
sold over 450 million copies

The Twilight series sold one million copies in just over two years, breaking the previous record held by the Harry Potter books

I believe the emergence of this foreign yet familiar series is paving the way to a new generation of world wide best-sellers. The plot is eerily realistic as it reveals the economics, psychology, and politics of a world not too unimaginable if it experienced Armageddon. The idea of "The Apocalypse" fascinates us, so it's no wonder this book is so popular. However, with all this talk about a worldwide catastrophe the concern is that the series could inadvertently add to the pandemonium in this already fragile world.

Ranked #5 on the list of 2010 most frequently challenged books
The list of the top ten most challenged books can be found on the
American Library Association(ALA)
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010 

One of The Hunger Games' strong points is its diverse audience. Technically this series is classified as a young adult novel, but kids as young as ten and adults as old as seventy can't put these books down. In 2010 The Hunger Games was given the title of fifth most frequently challenged books. Because the audience of this book can be so young, challenges have been made claiming the book is too violent and sexually explicit for the age group.

As I mentioned early, The Hunger Games has everything in a book you could ask for. What has really impressed many readers is the setting in which this brilliant plot is brought into and how Katniss Everdeen's fate unfolds. The more I read about this series the more I want to experience this printed adventure. The Hunger Games is no doubt Suzanne Collins' best work yet and many will be waiting anxiously to see the film adaption and the possible continuation of the trilogy. If this series lives up to all its hype then it could very well be remembered right there with Harry Potter. The era of supernatural and magical themed books is slowly coming to a halt while the era of post apocalypse is on the rise.

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games series.
Learn more about Suzanne and her works on
the official Hunger Games website.
http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/

The Hungers Games has received many positive reviews from other writers like Stephenie Meyer who, on her website, gave praise to the book. "I was so obsessed with this book...The story kept me up for several nights in a row...I've been recommending it to total strangers in Target. And now to everyone who reads my website. The Hunger Games is amazing." Even the great Stephen King had great things to say about this book in Entertainment Weekly on September 8, 2008. "Collins is an efficient no-nonsense prose stylist with a sense of humor. Reading The Hunger Games is as addictive (and as violently simple) as playing one of those shoot-it-if-it-moves videogames..."


With everything I've read about this series I am more than convinced to obtain every book and read through quickly so I can watch the movie. Unfortunately I share many of the same problems of every college student and couldn't possibly find any time to start this series anytime soon. I have seen multiple trailers for the upcoming movie as well as some parody videos that make me want to see the movie even more! My friends all hopped on the bandwagon late last summer so they all have a book or two on me, but there doesn't seem like any better time to start some light reading than this coming Spring Break. They can't stop talking about it so it looks like it's about time for me to hop on this "Hunger Gamewagon."

Visit The Hunger Games official facebook page and join the community
https://www.facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie

It seems to me we are on the brink of a new generation of fictional book series but do not fear the change. We will always have the memories of the magic we experienced whilst reading Harry Potter. What we need to do is see the good in this new breed of books. Maybe the population will finally get past its undead obsession of vampires! I hope this information was as helpful for you as it was interesting to me. If there's a book on the rise and people are suddenly finding an interest in it, it's usually for a good reason. Go out, buy The Hunger Games, kick back and enjoy the fictional roller coaster that is The Hunger Games!