Bibliographic Information


Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

ISBN: 978-0-439-02352-8

 

Plot Summary

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is the first book in a trilogy series about a dystopian society called Panem made up of 12 districts. Every year two tributes (one boy and one girl) from each of the 12 districts must compete in the Hunger Games. Tributes are children and teens ages 12-18. They are chosen at random and have no choice but to compete if picked. The tributes are required to battle for their lives against one another until only one of them remains. The story follows Katniss Everdeen from district 12, the poorest of all the districts. Her sister Prim is chosen to be the tribute for their district for this year’s Hunger Games. Katniss volunteers to take her place in the games in order to save her sister’s life.  The boy tribute for her district is Peeta, who secretly loves Katniss. In order for Katniss to make it home alive she must survive the Hunger Games, which means killing Peeta too.  

 

Critical Evaluation


The Hunger Games holds true to traditional YA books with themes about teen heroes and a dystopian world ran by a corrupt government. What is different about The Hunger Games is the ethics of having children fight to the death for entertainment. I think it brings up a few questions. First how far do we take reality television as a society? Do we have a line that we ever cross or have we become desensitized to killing in the news. Today reality shows seem to be getting more and more extreme. I think Collins used children killing each other for the public’s entertainment as a form of satire on the current state of reality television.  She said she wrote the book in 2008 after she was inspired from some late night television watching. As she flipped through channels one night she began to wonder if society was becoming desensitized from all the reality shows and coverage of war. She said reality television is often dehumanizing and she wanted to show that with The Hunger Games. As I was reading the book it also reminded me of Greek mythology or gladiator style games. The Hunger Game battle took place in an enormous arena type setting where the children then fought to the death.   

 

Reader’s Annotation


Katniss Everdeen will be tribute for district 12 in the Hunger Games. If she wants to survive and make it home she must kill 24 other tributes, including the kind and generous Peeta.

 

Author Information

The following information was taken from the author’s biography, http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com.

 

“In 1991, Suzanne Collins began her professional career writing for children’s television. She worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. For preschool viewers, she penned multiple stories for the Emmy-nominated Little Bear and Oswald. She also co-wrote the Rankin/ Bass Christmas special, Santa, Baby! with her friend, Peter Bakalian, which was nominated for a WGA Award in Animation. Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days,and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

 

While working on a Kids WB show called Generation O! she met children’s author and illustrator James Proimos, who talked her into giving children’s books a try. Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy/ war series, The Underland Chronicles, which became a New York Times bestseller. It has been sold into 21 foreign territories. Her next series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, is an international bestseller. The Hunger Games has spent over six years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It has been sold into 56 territories in 51 languages. In 2010 Collins was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list.”

 

Genre

Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopian

 

Curriculum Ties


Could be used for a unit on government and/or ethics.

 

Booktalking Ideas


• Do you think reality television has gotten this bad? Why or Why not?

• Do you think we are desensitized to reality television and war on the news? Explain?

• Would you have done the same things as Katniss? Explain?

• Who was your favorite character in the book and why?

 

Reading Level/ Interest Age


Grades 6-12

 

Challenge Issues


Children killing each other, violence

 

Challenge Issue Resources (for usage in a challenge situation)

• Active Listening

• Explanation of why it was chosen for the collection (Rational)

• Awards

• Reader Advisory Reviews (Students, Parents, Educators)

• Positive and Negative Reviews

• National Council of Teachers “Right to Read”

• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials

• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Library Selection Policy & Library District Reconsideration Form

 

Why I choose it

I choose to read this book because it was made into one of the best selling YA books to movies of this era.