Something I’ve been really struck by recently is just how much Young Adult fiction has moved on since I was a teenager. Racking my brains I seem to recall trips to the local library (as that’s how people read books back then!) and working my way through pretty much everything Judy Blume had written and a few notable others like I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan (which apparently now has an updated version rather than the 1973 version that I’m pretty sure I must have read). Nowadays the YA section at most bookshops is sizeable and social media, TikTok in particular, has lead to rushes to read certain YA titles like the successful Heartstopper series.
In an attempt to make sure that my daughter is reading a whole range of books I spent some time recently browsing the shelves myself and picking out a few that I wanted to read along side her – the first of these being The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
A worldwide best seller
The Hungers Games is one of those books that virtually everyone seems to have heard of. The term “hunger games” crops up all over the place now and there has of course been a series of successful films released based on this first book and others in the trilogy, with a film of the prequel book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes set to release in 2023.
Released in 2008 The Hunger Games passed me by somewhat as by then I was firmly into adulthood. For those of you (like me) that may have missed all the hype, let me tell you a little about this dystopian best seller.
What is The Hunger Games About?
The book is set in Panem in North America, a country that is divided up into numbered districts and a Capitol. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest district in Panem, which is centred around coal mining. District 12 is also a place where residents regularly die of starvation.
Originally Panem had 13 districts but District 13 rebelled against the Capitol and was eventually destroyed. As a punishment for this rebellion there is now an annual competition in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 remaining districts competes. This is the Hunger Games. Chosen by a random ballot, the contestants fight to survive and fight each other with the winner simply being the last one alive. The Capitol and the Games Makers control the Games to ensure that the television audience across the whole of Panem never forgets the Capitol’s power or the consequences of District 13’s failed rebellion.
My thoughts on this dystopian thriller
The Hunger Games is utterly gripping. It’s been a while since I’ve had my nose glued in a book like this and by the end I was desperate to get my hands on the next book to find out what happens next. The dystopian genre is one that I’m not very familiar with, having only really read Vox that fit into this category before, but I found myself totally caught up in the world created. A slightly strange feeling as I’m someone who has never really got on with Science Fiction books or films, so I’d always assumed that I wouldn’t like anything dystopian either. How wrong I was.
Where to get The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games can be bought online here or you can get hold of the whole trilogy as a box set here.
Want to read more?
Please hang around if you want to find out more about the other Dystopian or Young Adult Fiction that I’ve been reading lately.
Disclaimer: All books mentioned in this post are ones that I have bought myself or borrowed from the local library. Some links are affiliate links. If you happen to buy anything having clicked on one of them I receive a small commission, but it will cost you no more than normal. Thank you for any purchases that you make. All are very much appreciated.
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