The Hunger Games

Written by: Susanne Collins
Published by: Scholastic Press
Notes: Book 1 of a trilogy, sequel books are titled Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Setting & Summary: Set in a dystopian future in the nation of Panem, which is the nation that arose from the ashes of America after the great war, the novel centers around The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are an annual event held by the Capitol in which they take two tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, from the outlying 12 districts to participate in a gladitorial style game in which the 24 tributes are taske with killing each other until only one remains. During the current Hunger Games, events are set into motion in which Katniss Everdeen takes it upon herself to take the place of her sister, Prim, who was selected in the “reaping” which determines the annual selection of tributes. Now Katniss must find a way to survive the games and make her way back home alive.

I first heard of this book through a news article actually. It was about how they were optioning it to turn it into a film. Not knowing what it was about I decided to ask around and read some info about it. I heard it was comparable to the Japanese film “Battle Royale” and knowing what that story was about, it got me intrigued. I was interested in seeing if a western writer could write a story that is similar in tone and style to that film which is so highly regarded.