November 4, 2009 • reading •

Book Talk times two: “The Hunger Games/Catching Fire,” by Suzanne Collins

Disclosures: I purchased these books for my personal library. *The purchasing link at the end of the review goes through my Amazon Affiliates account.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Scholastic Press (2008), Hardcover (ISBN 0439023483 / 9780439023481)
Fiction (fantasy/sci-fi/YA), 384 pages

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


Catching Fire

Scholastic Press (2009), Hardcover (ISBN 0439023491 / 9780439023498)
Fiction (fantasy/sci-fi/YA), 384 pages

Opening lines:
“When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.”
– The Hunger Games

“I clasp the flask between my hands even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the frozen air. My muscles are clenched tight against the cold. If a pack of wild dogs were to appear at this moment, the odds of scaling a tree before they attacked are not in my favor.”
– Catching Fire

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts.  The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play.  The winner brings riches and favor to his or her district.  But that is nothing compared to what the Capital wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rules.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister,  regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games.  But Katniss has been close to dead before – and survival, for her, is second nature.  Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.  But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Catching Fire
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty.
But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.
Comments: I resisted the Hunger Games juggernaut for quite awhile, in the face of near-universal acclaim among my book-blogging cohorts. But I caved in shortly after the second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire, was published, although it wasn’t without anxiety – were they really that good? Even so, based on what I’d heard about the series, it sounded like they’d be ideal reading material for October’s 24-Hour Readathon (whether I ended up liking them or not), so I decided to read them back-to-back then. For that reason, it makes sense to me to discuss them both in a single review.
They’re not perfect books, but they were perfect for the Readathon – and while it’s possible that hundreds of book bloggers could indeed be wrong, in this case they’re not. Suzanne Collins has created a world that intrigues, a plot that immediately grabs your attention and keeps you on the edge of your seat, and an appealing protagonist who propels the whole thing forward.

In a dystopian setting in an indeterminate time, North America has become the country of Panem, where twelve Districts are ruled from a prosperous, decadent central Capitol. Each District is organized around a primary industry (fishing, agriculture, mining, etc.), and its citizens don’t know much about the inhabitants of other districts. Life is difficult and tightly controlled.

Over seventy years ago, the Capitol crushed a civil war, and continues to assert its domination over the Districts with its Peacekeeping force and control of the food supply. Food is part of the grand prize in the annual Hunger Games, in which each District sends two youth to the Capitol as “tributes” to compete in survival trials. The winner secures prosperity for his or her family and generous rations for the home District until the next year’s Games, and needs  strategy, cleverness, and a true killer instinct.

The premise of the Hunger Games themselves fascinated me. It’s the ultimate high-stakes reality-TV show, literally. They’re broadcast around the clock throughout the country, and the tributes become overnight celebrities who gain sponsors and renown as their numbers dwindle. The contestants may form alliances or mark each other as immediate targets. Some of them are playing out a storyline that may or may not have been fully revealed to them, and they’re all being manipulated and orchestrated by the Gamemakers who oversee everything. It’s Survivor + Big Brother with some Lord of the Flies – and, in Catching Fire, a touch of Lost – mixed in, and I couldn’t pull myself away from it.

Katniss Everdeen, the sixteen-year-old primary caretaker of her family since her father’s death in a mining accident five years earlier, volunteers to go to the 74th annual Games as a replacement for the original girl selected as District 12’s tribute – her little sister Prim. She’s a resourceful girl with a talent for hunting and skill with a bow and arrow, and despite the fact her District hasn’t fared well in previous Games, she’s determined to make it through and provide for her mother and sister, whom she leaves under the protection of her best friend and hunting partner Gale Hawthorne. She isn’t thrilled about her fellow District tribute, baker’s son Peeta Mellark – and is even less so when she learns that there are plans to present the two of them to the country as star-crossed young lovers. However, as the Games progress, she realizes that if she can’t win them herself, having Peeta win would be almost as good for her family and their District, and seeing that he remains alive gives her additional motivation.

(Since there is a second book – and a third one on the way – I’m not treating Katniss’ victory in the Hunger Games as a spoiler; reading about how she gets there offers plenty of suspense and excitement.)

Just a year later, Katniss returns to the Games again in the Quarter Quell, an “all-star” edition held every 25 years and played by previous winners; other than that, the rules aren’t any different. But the stakes are a bit higher this time. Katniss’ actions in the first Games have made her famous and inspiring to the citizens of Panem – and potentially dangerous to the Capitol. Her motivations are a little different this time as well – she’s still focused on protecting her family, but she’s also trying to sort out her feelings for Peeta and Gale, each of whom has a lot in his favor.

Both books are told from Katniss’ point of view, and I found her a very engaging and convincing character – strong, driven, complicated, emotional, confused and not always fully aware of her situation at times, yet impressively clever at other times. I just had to root for her all the way through, even when I didn’t necessarily agree with what she was doing. Even though the books are more plot- than character-driven, some of that drive is weakened if the characters don’t resonate – and in this series, they certainly do.

I’ve passed both of these books on to my 15-year-old stepdaughter* to read next – Katniss Everdeen is a character she needs to know. But I want her father to read them too; the story is just that good. It’s one I’ll read again, and I’m now part of the crowd eagerly awaiting Book Three. *UPDATE: Katie tore through the first book and stayed up late last night starting on the second – she’s loving it, and I’m so glad!

Rating (for both books): 4.25/5

Reading Challenges Qualified: Books #17 and #18 for the RYOB 2009 Challenge; Clear Off Your Shelves Challenge

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12 comments

  3. Jeanne – Yes, you do :-). Hope you get the chance to read it soon!

    Kathy (Bermudaonion) – They're not going anywhere. Wait till next year and you can read all three of them at once!

  4. I have already read Hunger Games and loved it but am yet to read Catching Fire. All the good stuff and Gale and Peeta teams in the blogosphere are making it increasingly necessary for me to read it soon.

  5. Thanks for a great and in depth review of Hunger Games I + II. I loved them too, and happy to hear your stepdaughter also loved them.

  6. Shona – I'm not sure which team I'm on, to be honest. I'm keeping my options open till the third book :-).

    Louise – I wasn't sure how "in-depth" to get, but since so many people have already read them, I figured some detail was safe.

  8. Eric – Thanks for sharing that rumor about the title of Book 3; I hadn't heard that before.

    I'm trying not to pick a team, so I can try to stay on good terms with everyone :-).

  9. If you enjoyed them then it is likely I will too. I will probably wait until all three books are out though before I do.

    The premise reminds me a bit of some other YA books I read growing up. One in particular whose name I am completely blanking on. It wasn't done in a reality tv setting, but rather a survival camp type, if I remember right.

  10. Wendy (Literary Feline) – At this point, I'd say waiting to read all three isn't a bad plan. I'd try to read them all back-to-back – they go fast, so it's not that big a project :-).

  11. I absolutley LOVED the first book Hunger Games and actually at the moment I am reading Catching Fire 😀 im getting reallybinto it and cant wait to see if both peeta and katniss make it

    oh by the way TEAM PEETA!!!!!:D<3 i love you peetaaaaa

  12. ShalomGD – Well, I won't tell you how it turns out, but you'll be dying for the third book once you finish! Unfortunately, we all have to wait till summer for that :-(.