The novel The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins takes place in a futuristic America where they have an annual game that results in 23 deaths. Everything starts going down hill for Katniss when her younger sister is selected to participate. In a quick act of heroism, Katniss volunteers to go for her sister knowing that she will most likely die. In order to get to the capital for the games, Katniss gets on a very luxurious train and meets Peeta, the other contestant. After living in the poorest district all their lives, they are shocked when they see the capital due to its sheer beauty. For the next three days they train and try to get sponsors for the games which will hopefully help them throughout the games. Once the games start, it is an all out free for all in the middle where most of the weaponry is stored, but as predicted, the strongest players begin to form alliances to up their chances of survival and wipe out weaker groups. Unlucky for them Katniss is a master in archery and has recently obtained a bow. After finishing the book, I was very happy with the ending. It gave a feeling of victory because something had changed. Despite the love being fake at first and being very obvious to the reader, it actually felt real, like an act of defiance out of love. It is very interesting to see Katniss actually love Peeta because it is obvious that Gale loves Katniss. Even though it had a nice happy ending, the book still had its sad and emotional moments. I think that the author is trying to compare the futuristic government to that of our own due to its corruptness and power. The districts seem to be like classes in society, the poorest district has the hardest labor but the worst living conditions which is really sad to read about. Despite the rest of the world being presumably wiped out, it would still be interesting to know what happened and if there is anything beyond America. Overall, the book was a fun read, not the best, but something fun. I definitely think it is better to read the book before watching the movie so that it stays suspenseful throughout the whole games.
Tanner K.
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