The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Ages 11+)

Collins, Suzanne. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.

Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure

Lexile: 810L

The Hunger Games is a book that touches on different social and survival issues in an adventurous and fictional way. The main character is Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who is the provider of her poor family. She lives in district 12, the mines. In her nation, Panem, the “Games” are held once a year and one boy and one girl are chosen to compete from each district. The Games are essentially a game of survival and death. Each district sends two into the arena and only 1 can come out. The one who wins brings riches to their district.

The Hunger Games provides cognitive development by encouraging students to apply logical rules, reasoning, and formal operations to abstract problems (Norton, 14). The book is more complex giving students an opportunity to question and discuss what is happing and why they think what’s happening is. The book also meets the criteria for high literacy because it promotes personality development. The issues that occur in the book have a lot of emotions and being able to somehow relate to the characters provides the readers with a sense of relationship and perhaps gives them and idea of how to deal with their own anxieties. Social development is also talked about, when students begin to understand society and its rules. This book has to do a lot with the districts and how they will survive after the games is over. Katniss has to make tough decisions in order to help the society that she lives in.

Characterization- The characters in The Hunger Games are relatable to the children who read this book. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is a strong young girl who is the provider for her family- mother and sister (Prim). She struggles with her choices and does them for the good of her family. Then there is Peeta, the young boy who goes into the arena with Katniss. He is seen as a week boy who is the baker’s son. Throughout the novel you see his personality come out. Collin’s has created a very tough character by the name of Haymitch who coaches the two before they go into the arena. He is a strong character; he plays the role of tough love. I think that many can relate to this type of figure in their life. Other characters in the book that help to build a great sense of characterization are: Prim, Gale, Cinna and Rue.

Plot- The Hunger Games has a plot that will keep you reading. It builds into a suspenseful must read. The book creates something that children can interact with and feel that they are in the arena with Katniss and Peeta. As children mature they want to have more advanced plots and this book allows for that. The book shows a good order of events, an opening, middle-action/conflict, and ending. As you read you can begin to see the conflict that arises between Katniss. 

Conflict- In this book a lot of conflict takes place: Person against person, person against society, person against nature, and person against self. Collins does a good job of representing the conflict throughout the book. We can talk about person against person because the majority of the book its every person for themselves. The children in the arena are all fighting against one another for their survival.  We see person against society because the games are on television and what the children do in the arena affect what happens to the societies. The children in the arena are constantly battling with issues of nature and what happens, whether it is swarm of bees, floods, or lightning. I think one of the biggest conflicts in the book is person against self. The choices that the children, in the arena, are making way heavily on their conscious and what are right and wrong. They are in a constant battle with themselves because no matter what only one can come out alive. 

Mini Lesson-

Enjoyment- Readers around grade 5 and up will enjoy this book. It is a well-developed book with twist that you won’t expect!