Hunger Games book captivates

By Amber Grubbs

Hunger Games book captivates

On March 23, the world will be watching as the book series “The Hunger Games” makes its debut on the big screen.

“The Hunger Games,” which began as a young adult fiction novel by Suzanne Collins, tells the story of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives in Panem, the product of a fallen North America. Panem is divided into 12 districts, each with a purpose to cater to Panem’s rich Capitol. The strict Capitol controls Panem through fear with The Hunger Games, a yearly battle to the death. The event is televised throughout Panem, and the Capitol forces citizens to watch.

The battle begins with the Reaping, when one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 are chosen to represent each district. At the Reaping in Katniss’ district, District 12, Katniss’s 12-year-old sister Prim is chosen, and Katniss frantically volunteers as a tribute to save her sister’s life. What ensues is a fight of the mind, heart and body for Katniss as she finds herself in the middle of the Capitol fighting for sponsors and supplies to stay alive.

Author Suzanne Collins told Publishers Weekly she was inspired to write “The Hunger Games” by her inspiration from reality TV and Greek mythology.

The novel is filled with great characters, as well as hints of love triangles. “The Hunger Games” is also known for not having a lot of action until the middle of the story.

University of Southern Mississippi student Kim Bailey has been a long-time fan of the books. She felt the beginning of the story lacks action.

“The story was a bit slow in the beginning but was just interesting enough that you didn’t want to stop reading,” Bailey said.

The story has generated some controversy with its violent arena scenes in which the tributes are fighting for their lives.

Bailey, however, disagrees with this point of view.

“I didn’t think it was very violent,” Bailey said. “It was based in a futuristic time, and it was about survival. It’s not as if the main characters were going around killing for fun.”

USM student Britney Husson noted that the story eventually picks up the pace and engrosses the reader.

“I could barely put it down, and before I knew it I was done reading it and buying the second one,” Husson said.

Despite a slow-moving story early in the novel and some violence, “The Hunger Games” remains popular four years after its initial release.

According to The New York Times, the novel has 23.5 million books in print today.

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