The Hunger Games Book 2 - Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins, how dare you? How dare you make me experience a roller coaster of emotions a la Ron Burgundy? While I question some of her plot points, I have to say that the characters Collins has created in the Hunger Games series have me dying to find out what happens to them. I'm just going to have to distract myself until August 24th when Mockingjay hits store shelves.

The first book left me with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth, mainly because I thought Katniss was being too much of a silly little twit for her own good. Then I remembered being sixteen, and promptly realized that it is difficult for a young lady at that age to be anything other than an annoying brat. I stand firm to my assertion that the young women of today do not need another boy crazy heroine, and even though Katniss keeps telling us how boy crazy she isn't, the fact remains that she is. There's also an undercurrent of staying with someone to make other people happy even if it makes you miserable, which is gross, but it seems as though in the second book, Collins is at least giving Katniss the brains to stop that relationship from becoming something it should not be.

Once again, it's hard to review this book without giving way too much away, but let me say that I do appreciate Katniss: 1) admitting she's annoying; 2) realizing what her real potential is; and 3) absolutely embracing it. One great thing about Katniss is that although she might sulk for a bit, she truly understands that she has absolute power, and she knows that it really scares some very important people. Which is pretty cool.

Throw together a few new characters, the potential for another love interest (this brings dear Kat up to three), the fate of their world squared on her shoulders, some very covert attempts to end her life and there you have this book. While Geronimo complained that one of the plot points was rehashed, it didn't bother me as much, as I felt it seemed the only logical direction the story could take.

When I read the final installment, Mockingjay, I'm sure I'll have much more to say about this story overall, but until then, it's just going to be a whole lot of stomachaches and wondering.

(Here's the credit for the lovely rendering of Katniss - http://rohanelf.deviantart.com/)

Book Review: The Hunger Games and Teenage Female Expectation

My friend Geronimo and I have started a book club. Since we're the only members, we alternate book choices. This time around, I chose The Hunger Games, the first in a three part young adult series written by Suzanne Collins (told you I was a little kid at heart). The reviews were glowing and it seemed like something that I'd enjoy, so I gave it a shot. While I'm still kind of on the fence because I haven't finished the series, my initial reaction is that it's pretty slick.

The Hunger Games is an American version of Battle Royale, with the main difference being that it's set in post-apocalyptic America, and the names of every child from the ages of twelve to eighteen are chosen from lottery-style. There are twelve districts with a girl and boy chosen from each, and they must fight until only one has survived. The protagonist, Katniss, is a sixteen year old girl who becomes one of "tributes" when she offers to take the place of her twelve year old sister, Prim, after her name is drawn.

Katniss is a very likeable character. She has a ton of integrity and is as loyal as they come. Her devotion to her sister is touching and she's also very smart. At the beginning of the novel, she's just this regular girl who's trying to help her family survive during very tough times. Katniss and her best friend Gale, a boy she has known since childhood, regularly break the rules and hunt outside of their district. Katniss is more inclined to do what is right than she is to follow the rules. She also doesn't adhere to gender roles.

As the story progresses, Katniss becomes more and more flighty, mostly because of her relationship with Peeta, the male tribute from her district. After I finished the book, I found this a little disappointing. The recommended reading age is grades seven through nine, and I'm not sure if any pre-teen or young teenage girls need their heads filled with any more of the stereotypical gender roles that Katniss begins to fall into as the relationship develops. Not to give too much away, but there are times when I shook my head at this smart, strong teenage girl.

I think that a good story should be transformative for the reader, and I think that Collins may have missed her opportunity to give young women a new type of heroine. Katniss drastically changes from the beginning of the novel to the end, although I did try to take into account that she did experience something very traumatic and that her decisions may have been based on the the stress of being in the arena, fighting to survive. I am very interested to see where Collins take Katniss next - I certainly believe that she has a lot of potential, and I hope that she becomes the kind of heroine that makes the girls who read this realize that it's ok to be strong.

Overall, I think that this is a pretty solidly written book. It moves along at a good pace and there is a sense of profluence throughout. There were times where I couldn't put it down because I had to know what happened next. The style is a little juvenille, but it is from the viewpoint of a sixteen year old and it's written for thirteen year olds, so I couldn't expect much there. Even though I was slightly disappointed at the end of the first book, Collins has hooked me and I need to keep reading, which says a lot.