My holiday present was a Kindle. How fitting. Now I'll be able to read more books throughout the year without being tethered to the library. Hooray! So, I had to choose some new books to load up on my Kindle. My co-workers have been raving about an adolescent book called The Hunger Games, and so I made it my first purchase.
At first, I wasn't thrilled with the book. The first 30% of the book is nothing but description and Katniss' thoughts. Oh, by the way, have I mentioned that I despise books where characters are given stupid names? This book certainly takes the cake: Primm, Haymitch, Cinna, Peeta...all absolutely dreadful names. Anyway, the reader is taken into Katniss' world, the United States sometime in the future when it's been renamed Panam and things are pretty totalitarian. So far so good. I like dystopian novels. Go on. Nonetheless, Katniss describes everything down to the clothing put on her body, every single emotion and thought that pops into her head, and while that's nice, it's hardly necessary. However, Suzanne Collins does do one good thing--she knows how to end a chapter. Every chapter ends on some weird note that makes you think, "Hmm, what's happening here?" or "Hmm, what's going to happen next?" and you find yourself reading on, even if you thought the last chapter (and the one before it) was boring.
Finally, the Hunger Games begin. I won't summarize the book for you. If you want a summary, look elsewhere online. But once the Hunger Games began, I found myself plowing through the rest of the book. It was exciting, although in truth, there's a lot of sitting around in trees, in caves, just sitting, wondering, thinking, staring at the sky, starving, injured, etc. But the threat of danger just keeps you, the reader, reading on to find out what will happen next.
Another unsettling thing: what's with all the references to Romeo and Juliet? Collins incorporates the phrase "star-crossed lovers" a million times throughout the book. And the two almost commit suicide at one point in the book. It's weird and I'm not sure if I like this "borrowing" from Shakespeare. Since I teach Romeo and Juliet to my high school students, I'm not sure whether to praise it or roll my eyes and say, "Way to be original."
Nonetheless, I found myself purchasing the second book in the trilogy (oh yes, it's a trilogy...isn't every book nowadays?). I rate The Hunger Games 8/10: An easy read, an exciting journey (once it picks up), and an interesting concept.
