The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Author Biography:
Suzanne Collins has had a successful and prolific career writing for children's television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Collins made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times bestselling five-book series for middle-grade readers The Underland Chronicles, which has received numerous accolades in both the United States and abroad. In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age. Collins lives with her family in Connecticut. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439023521
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia
Reading Level: Ages 12 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
16-year-old Katniss lives in a government controlled society divided into 12 districts, each of which provides goods for the central capital where the ruling class resides. Each year the capital initiates the Hunger Games where two young citizens of each district are selected to battle to the death on television while everyone watches their struggles. Katniss’s sister, Prim, is selected, though Katniss begs to be chosen instead – and is granted her wish. Though she manages to protect Prim, Katniss is now charged to battle the other 23 children to the death or suffer a terrible fate herself.
Plot Summary:
Katniss Everdeen lives in a world where the only thing certain in her life is hunger and eventual death. With the government and its capital watching over her district and the 11 others, live is incredibly difficult. Though they are forced to collect resources for the capital, there’s barely enough to support themselves. Worse still, leaving the capital to hunt is extremely illegal, and only the most desperate or self-assured dare to do so. Katniss happens to be one of those people.
For others, many will apply for the tessera, government provided rations that will just barely sustain their lives. In exchange, however, younger citizens must add their names multiple times in a district-wide lottery to be selected for the Hunger Games – a terrible event where at least 23 children will be slaughtered by each other on live television. Through the Hunger Games, the government teaches the citizens of each district that they ultimately have no control over their lives, and that rebellion is impossible. Though the fate of the tessera is terrible, many take the chance just to make ends meet.
Katniss has the misfortune of watching her young sister Prim be selected for the Hunger Games, though she volunteers to take her place and joins local baker Peeta as the selected tribunes. After the lottery they are shipped off to the capital where they are treated to food the likes of which they have never tasted, made presentable to a television audience, and dropped into an arena where only one can emerge alive.
If Katniss and Peeta are to survive until the end of the Hunger Games, they need to use all of their strength and wit to kill the other children – along with some choice public relations tactics. As the audience watches, Katniss and Peeta can appeal to them by performing well, or pulling on their heartstrings by enacting a (fake?) love story between the two of them. If the audience likes them enough, they can spend incredible amounts of money to air drop supplies to help them succeed.
But even if they do emerge as the last remaining teens alive, what will they do when they have to face each other? And is their love story act really an act? Can Katniss ultimately trust Peeta, who seems to make the audience dance with every word he speaks?
Critical Evaluation:
The Hunger Games is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. While many novels take a lot of time establishing characters and developing the world around them, The Hunger Games quickly introduces both of those elements and drops the main characters into a violent and bloody struggle. Readers see each of the characters in the book gradually develop as they struggle with the world around them, as well as their own internal issues. Yet readers cannot get too attached to the characters as they are introduced, as ultimately they will be slain in battle. The book is fast-paced, harsh, and full of ethical quandaries as the characters struggle with not wanting to harm each other while also wanting to survive. In a cruel twist, readers will also realize that they are just like the audience in the capital as they excitedly read chapter by chapter in the relative comfort of their own lives.
Curriculum Ties:
Challenge Issues:
Defensive Maneuvers:
Book Talk Ideas:
Could you ever trust somebody to have your back when they may very well turn on you and kill you? Would you do it for the short term? Knowing that one of you two MUST die, would you be the one to make the first strike?
Why This Book?
The Hunger Games, though extremely violent, explores the issues of a powerful dictatorship as well as the ethical quandaries facing the tributes selected for the game. Readers may find themselves asking what they would do if they were selected for the Hunger Games, and how they would react to being forced to kill friends, families, and lovers. They may also question how they could possibly resist an all-powerful government that possesses nearly all the food, goods, weapons, and resources needed to live. For these reasons, the Hunger Games is a worthy addition to the collection of any library.
Suzanne Collins has had a successful and prolific career writing for children's television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Collins made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times bestselling five-book series for middle-grade readers The Underland Chronicles, which has received numerous accolades in both the United States and abroad. In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age. Collins lives with her family in Connecticut. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439023521
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopia
Reading Level: Ages 12 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
16-year-old Katniss lives in a government controlled society divided into 12 districts, each of which provides goods for the central capital where the ruling class resides. Each year the capital initiates the Hunger Games where two young citizens of each district are selected to battle to the death on television while everyone watches their struggles. Katniss’s sister, Prim, is selected, though Katniss begs to be chosen instead – and is granted her wish. Though she manages to protect Prim, Katniss is now charged to battle the other 23 children to the death or suffer a terrible fate herself.
Plot Summary:
Katniss Everdeen lives in a world where the only thing certain in her life is hunger and eventual death. With the government and its capital watching over her district and the 11 others, live is incredibly difficult. Though they are forced to collect resources for the capital, there’s barely enough to support themselves. Worse still, leaving the capital to hunt is extremely illegal, and only the most desperate or self-assured dare to do so. Katniss happens to be one of those people.
For others, many will apply for the tessera, government provided rations that will just barely sustain their lives. In exchange, however, younger citizens must add their names multiple times in a district-wide lottery to be selected for the Hunger Games – a terrible event where at least 23 children will be slaughtered by each other on live television. Through the Hunger Games, the government teaches the citizens of each district that they ultimately have no control over their lives, and that rebellion is impossible. Though the fate of the tessera is terrible, many take the chance just to make ends meet.
Katniss has the misfortune of watching her young sister Prim be selected for the Hunger Games, though she volunteers to take her place and joins local baker Peeta as the selected tribunes. After the lottery they are shipped off to the capital where they are treated to food the likes of which they have never tasted, made presentable to a television audience, and dropped into an arena where only one can emerge alive.
If Katniss and Peeta are to survive until the end of the Hunger Games, they need to use all of their strength and wit to kill the other children – along with some choice public relations tactics. As the audience watches, Katniss and Peeta can appeal to them by performing well, or pulling on their heartstrings by enacting a (fake?) love story between the two of them. If the audience likes them enough, they can spend incredible amounts of money to air drop supplies to help them succeed.
But even if they do emerge as the last remaining teens alive, what will they do when they have to face each other? And is their love story act really an act? Can Katniss ultimately trust Peeta, who seems to make the audience dance with every word he speaks?
Critical Evaluation:
The Hunger Games is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. While many novels take a lot of time establishing characters and developing the world around them, The Hunger Games quickly introduces both of those elements and drops the main characters into a violent and bloody struggle. Readers see each of the characters in the book gradually develop as they struggle with the world around them, as well as their own internal issues. Yet readers cannot get too attached to the characters as they are introduced, as ultimately they will be slain in battle. The book is fast-paced, harsh, and full of ethical quandaries as the characters struggle with not wanting to harm each other while also wanting to survive. In a cruel twist, readers will also realize that they are just like the audience in the capital as they excitedly read chapter by chapter in the relative comfort of their own lives.
Curriculum Ties:
- The government as a dictatorship
- Rebellion
- Ethics
Challenge Issues:
- Violence against children
- Ritualistic sacrifice (As in, a yearly sacrifice of 23 children is required by the government)
- Anti-Democrat/Republican/Moderate, ect.
Defensive Maneuvers:
- Have the library's collection policy on hand and memorized. Even though you may have it committed to memory, being able to show specific provisions as proof with strengthen your position.
- Be familiar with the book. Having great knowledge of it will prove you understand the content and the way the challenged matters interact with each other.
- Cite any awards the book may have. Though the patron may disagree with the book, showing that it is well known and seen as having great literary merit will strengthen your defense.
- Have a few reviews ready from respected sources such as Amazon or VOYA. At the very least, you can prove you understand the material and reviews will corroborate that.
- Have a strong idea WHY that item is in the library. Explain its merits, who the intended audience is, and so on.
- State your library's commitment to providing intellectual freedom as written in the Library Bill of Rights.
- Stay calm. Getting defensive or hot under the collar will only weaken your position.
- And finally, be open to discussion and LISTEN. Even if you do not agree with the patron, their concerns are still legitimate and you should show that you are engaged with them. Listening to their concerns may be enough to take the edge off.
Book Talk Ideas:
Could you ever trust somebody to have your back when they may very well turn on you and kill you? Would you do it for the short term? Knowing that one of you two MUST die, would you be the one to make the first strike?
Why This Book?
The Hunger Games, though extremely violent, explores the issues of a powerful dictatorship as well as the ethical quandaries facing the tributes selected for the game. Readers may find themselves asking what they would do if they were selected for the Hunger Games, and how they would react to being forced to kill friends, families, and lovers. They may also question how they could possibly resist an all-powerful government that possesses nearly all the food, goods, weapons, and resources needed to live. For these reasons, the Hunger Games is a worthy addition to the collection of any library.