The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Published by Scholastic Ltd: London, UK, 2009 (2008).
Book One in the 'Hunger Games' series: 'The Hunger Games'; 'Catching Fire'; 'Mockingjay'.

As far as book-to-film adaptations go, the film version of The Hunger Games is very accurate. A few minor things are changed - as an example, book Katniss is given her mockingjay pin by a minor character, Madge, whereas movie Katniss is given it by her sister, Prim - but beat by beat the plot unfolds as a fan of the movies would expect. The one advantage the book has over the movie (which is a normal advantage) is that the book can go more into Katniss's reasoning, emotions, and even backstory. Jennifer Lawrence did great emoting Katniss on the big screen, but we get a far more internalised Katniss here, pondering whether Peeta is acting or really feeling the way he states, reminiscing about Gale and wondering about her feelings towards him...

None of which will make sense to someone that hasn't seen the movie and doesn't know the book!

The Hunger Games tells the story of a future in which the former USA has become Panem, 12 districts subjugated by 'The Capitol', who in order to keep reminding the districts of their defeat forces two 'tributes' from each district (a boy and a girl aged between 12-18) to fight to the death in a yearly contest called, no surprise, "The Hunger Games." Katniss, the protagonist, volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, becoming a celebrity and gradually a favourite to win the games. She must use her wits and her skills to survive the Hunger Games arena, while also dealing with the affections of Peeta, which may or may not be a ploy to help them win a sympathetic audience, and possibly as a result, aid to win the Games.

This is a well-written young adult novel. While it hits many of the usual beats a novel like this hits (strong female protagonist, love-triangle, unhelpful parents) the author does a good job at keeping the action flowing. Even having seen the movie, I wanted to keep reading, and got through the book quite quickly.

Fans of the movie, and of young adult fiction, should enjoy.

Completed 13 May 2020.


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