Team Katniss

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins

If there's a book that I've read this year that I haven't been able to put down since I picked it up, it's this. Seriously.

[T]he idea of the girl with her maimed tongue frightens me. She has reminded me why I'm here. Not to model flashy costumes and eat delicacies. But to die a bloody death while the crowds urge on my killer.

Katniss Everdeen is not your ordinary sixteen-year old heroine. She's a hunter. She forages the woods for game and crops with another hunter named Gale. She has to in order to feed her family: a depressed mother and a twelve-year old younger sister Prim. Lest you think it's a fantasy with magical entities surrounding the woods and a witch waiting inside a gingerbread house, it's not. Katniss' world is set in the far future, in a place called Panem, composed of twelve districts and a Capitol that oversees all inhabitants. It's a future that is dark and deadly, because in Panem nobody is safe, particularly the young sons and daughters of its inhabitants. Why? There's the annual Hunger Games you see, where a girl and a boy tribute randomly chosen from each district are placed in an arena to battle against each other to the death. On live tv even.

Sounds horrendous? Yes. Scary? All the more. Believable? You bet.

It's a future that is familiar to each of us, one way or another. Little instances of inequality and injustice are amplified. We can recognize them in a heartbeat. Those who have the money, those who have the power control majority of the resources. Those who have less get by, or try to otherwise they'd die of hunger. Katniss is getting by with the lot thrown her way. She's the voice of the book and it's her point of view we follow as she prepares for battle. And yet you can't even forget that she's still a teenager. That while she grew up practically raising her family with her hunting skills, simple things such as hot chocolate is such a pleasure to her or even reacting sarcastically to some coaching thrown her way. Oh and yes, there's a love angle. Fortunately it's not forced and actually flows seamlessly with the story.

It's a compelling story that makes you relish the actions unfolding on each page. You cheer and fear for Katniss, Peeta and Rue. You doubt, believe, doubt and believe Haymitch. You laugh at moments when Katniss' sarcasm hits the mark and then you stop and look over your shoulder thinking "Is it really apt to laugh at that?" and hoping that nobody's watching you and tsk tsk tsk-ing upon seeing the book you're reading. Because it's a serious story and yet you have to laugh a bit, sometimes, to survive.

Read this. Word of advice though, don't crack this open at the end of your day thinking you need just a paragraph or two to tide you over to dreamland. That won't work. If you must rest go pick up something else. Reserve a time for this one. It practically demands it.

Other interesting points of view:

Becky's Book Reviews
Bobbi's Book Nook
Books and Movies
Bookshelves of Doom
Dear Author
Devourer of Books
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Lucid Conspiracy
The Reading Zone
Wands and Worlds

Let me know if I missed yours.