Coliseums and Costumers

Imagine the gladiators of ancient Rome, fighting to the death in the Coliseum. Now imagine the Olympics: sponsors, competition from every area of the world. Now imagine a runway model show: make-up, costumers. Now imagine Dancing with the Stars: competitors, judges, audiences. Now imagine a mixture of all of these events where fights to the death are televised for all to see. Such is the world of Panem, the home of Katniss Everdeen.

Set many years in the future, Panem is located in what used to be called North America. The capitol keeps an iron grip on its population which is divided into 12 districts. Having crushed a rebellion many years in the past, the capitol is loath to crush another one. Striving to keep the districts in check, the capitol instituted the Hunger Games to show just how weak and powerless the districts were. Every year, two “tributes” from every district, one boy and one girl, are “reaped” to participate in the Hunger Games. These twenty-four young souls will fight to the death while the rest of Panem watches.

Katniss is a strong, self-sufficient teen who grows up in District 12. After her father died when she was ten, she has been the sole provider and defender of her mother and younger sister. At the reaping this year, she is shocked and dismayed when her younger sister is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games. Without thinking, driven by her love for her sister, Katnisss volunteers to go in her place. So starts Katniss’s adventures in the Hunger Games, which are everything but normal. Katniss started with something almost unheard of, volunteering to take the place of someone else, and she keeps knocking the socks off of the viewing audiences, and the Gamemakers.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books by Suzanna Collins. The second book is Catching Fire, and the third book is called MockingJay. Throughout the book, Katniss struggles to find a way to show the capitol that she isn’t just a piece in their game; that she is a human being that they will have to deal with. She starts this trend in training, and continues it throughout the competition. This book is very exciting to read and keeps you interested in how Katniss will survive throughout the games. Twenty-four other competitors are out to kill her, not to mention the elements, wild animals, and anything else the Gamemakers want to throw at her.

As the subject matter implies, this book is pretty violent. It doesn’t get into too gory details, but the types of deaths of some twenty-two people are talked about and explained. Despite this factor, I devoured the book. What would a society look like that had to send their children to battle to their deaths? What would the process of training, competition, and elimination look like? Collins does an excellent job looking at the consequences and culture that would come from this kind of system. Collins also does an excellent job looking at our own fascination with competition, and applying that to the world of Panem. This book is expertly written, and it is no wonder that it is so popular. The only issue I have with it is the high violence content, but this story wouldn't be complete without this violence content. If you have a problem with violence this book most likely isn't for you. But, if you don't mind fantasy violence, then this is a very interesting story.