The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First impressions of the book

My expectations of the book were quite high, and I was curious whether the book would be how I hoped it would be. Fortunately, It was. I enjoyed reading the book because it was full of events in every part of the book.  The first part of the book explains how life is in district twelve and specifically the life of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. This part was boring and long-winded sometimes, but it was important for the understanding of the other parts of the book. “The Games” was part two and in my opinion it is perfectly written. The part is elaborate but that didn’t bother me at all, on the contrary, it pulled me in the imaginary world. 

Insights after discussing the book in class

In class we discussed the book by making mind maps and comparing them. The mind map of my group is down below. Our main themes of the book are: Separation, friendship, Higher Power, hunting, family and death.

A couple of my group members had some ideas for the mind map where I had not thought about myself. As you can see we put the mocking jay in the middle, because multiple times the writer refers to the mocking jay.  The mocking jay is the symbol for district twelve, where Katniss’ mother, little sister and Gale live. Katniss and Prim get along very well, which makes it hard for Katniss to think about the fact that she would probably not see her litter sister again. Gale, is the guy who hunts together with Katniss and her thoughts go out to him a lot too.  The symbolism of the mocking jay was not something I recognised that much while reading the book, but now I discussed the book in class with the others it is clear to me.

The subject of another group’s mind map was ‘Rebellion’ . They said that Katniss’ actions are rebelling against the higher power, which is the Capitol. A couple times she makes a decision that would not be appreciated by the capitol and its Gamemakers . When I thought about it in class, I could remember one specific situation where she makes a decision  that rebels against the capitol and its habits, the point where Katniss decides to eat the berries together with Peeta at the end of the Game. Katniss and Peeta put the Nightlock in their mouth , avoiding the fact only one of them can survive, instead neither one of them would survive, leaving the Game without a winner. Although Katniss rebels a lot throughout the story, this was not something that was the most important part of the story.

Relating the Theory to the Book

The Hunger Games can be related to the theory very well. According to Donald Maass, a great novel for children should include the following(Reader, p. 22):

-          An intriguing character

-          A dramatic, meaningful plot

-          A captivating setting

-          An appropriate theme

-          An accessible, straightforward style

The Hunger Games  got it all. Katniss is an intriguing character. She goes through a lot at the same time, and we as readers, read what she thinks and feels. Also, we can see that Katniss develops throughout the book. She is not a static character, but a dynamic one. I can imagine that teenage girls look up to Katniss. She is strong, intelligent, but most of all, independent. She can take care of herself and in the games  and smarter than everybody else.

The plot is dramatic, because Katniss has to miss her family and friends during the games, and a friend she made during the games, Rue, died which is dramatic part of the story.

The setting couldn’t be more captivating. The Arena where the game takes part, has been described so extensively, that the reader gets drawn into the setting. The book activates everybody’s imagination.

“Ideally, a great children's novel leaves the reader stronger, wiser, and better able to cope with whatever real-world challenges he may face.”(Reader, p. 21). Children who read the book think that they can do everything that Katniss did in the book. Katniss faced some difficulties in the book but she survived, and children think the same. When they face difficulties they would probably be able to handle it.

The style of the book is perfectly for young adults. It is not hard to read and straightforward.

Age Suitability

I think this book is perfect for teenagers, and not for children.  I would say that the book is suitable for 14-18 year-olds. This is because teenagers  face the same problems as Katniss, so they can relate to the main character. Furthermore, the book is not suitable for kids in primary school due to all the murder and death in the book. Teenagers wouldn’t see this as a problem.

809 words.

Sources:
 Reader, p. 21