Suzanne Collins’ adventure novel “The Hunger Games” has garnered a great deal of media attention lately due to its theatrical version set to be released in just over a month. As a reader of this book, I can only hope the movie does this high pace story justice.
The story of Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old girl from the impoverished District 12, can be read for nearly all ages. The novel tells the story of how Katniss volunteers herself for “The Hunger Games”, a competition in which one male and one female from each of the 12 districts of Panem literally fight to the death, when her younger sister is randomly selected to attend. This story not only has the mass appeal of violence and survival, but moreover, has glimpses of romance and political undertones which separate it from other novels of its kind. The novel used the state of Panem, or more specifically “the Capitol” as the antagonist for creating the Games; which, allows you to almost forgive people for the slayings necessary for the book's action. The usage of a futuristic setting, meshed with a primal survival for the basic necessities of water and food, both in the games and in “everyday” life connects with the reader and makes you think of how our actions today may affect future generations. The character development of Katniss in particular was incredibly done by Collins. It made me want her to survive the brutal scenario of the Games all the way through, despite this meaning (to the reader’s knowledge) other characters as young as 12 years old and even the secondary character dying. Possibly the most vivid scenes in the book was when 12 year old Rue is a victim of the Games and Katniss’ view of morality and what she is a part of really hit her. This book draws similarities to both one of my favorite novels, “Lord of the Flies” and short stories “The Lottery.” I would recommend it to all! 
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