Before reading this book I had heard various things about it. Some staff from other schools thought it was wonderful, but a few people warned that it was confronting. It is certainly a very intense book but I thought the themes of self sacrifice and critique of a thoughtless pleasure seeking society justified the challenging theme.
Katniss is a fourteen year old girl who lives in District 12 in a future version of this world. Her district is controlled by a powerful central city. Following an ancient rebellion of the districts against the city, each year two teenagers are picked from each district and forced to participate in an “entertainment” for the big city rather like the ancient gladiator games. The teenagers are placed into a fenced wilderness and manipulated to ensure they have to fight each other for their survival.
Katniss’ sister Prim is chosen, and Katniss decides to go herself instead of her younger sister. In the arena she simply aims to survive by running away and hiding, but is confronted by other players who seek to trap and kill her.
Rather than blurring moral boundaries, this book brings them into absolutely clear prominence. The opening of the book starts with Katniss’ sacrificing herself for her sister, and later she has to decide how to care for and protect other players who reject the bloodthirsty premise of the “Hunger Games”. We are made to think about the nature of a society that is prepared to sacrifice individuals for its hunger for entertainment, as well as the consequences of violence, revenge and trauma.
The world and the characters are complex and the story simply engrossing. The close leaves options open for further books (and indeed there are two more in the series) as it seems Katniss’ defiance of the powerful City will not go unpunished!
I would recommend this for Senior School readers. It could be appropriate for older Middle School students with parent support but the strong violence themes need to be taken into account.
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