"We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss" (Collins 386).
~Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
Whenever I purchase a book that is a part of a series, I am always a little hesitant because I feel like after awhile the characters become convoluted, and predictable... so I bought The Hunger Games solo, in spite of the fact that I knew it had siblings, in an effort to save money that way if I didn't like it, I would only be out eight bucks, as opposed to thirty. Don't ask me how, but on Thanksgiving Eve, I fractured my foot, and was laid up for several weeks, and with only so many re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond one human being could possibly stand, I scraped the dust off the ole Hunger Games, and gave it a go. Within the first couple of pages, I was glued to this book, and regardless if it is considered YA, I enjoyed these characters with the same reverence, as I had the ones from The Twilight Saga. I will even go as far to say that Suzanne Collins is a far more superior writer! (Sorry Steph) There was never a moment that I didn't feel a part of this story--I was Katniss; my heart broke, as hers did when she had to leave her mother, sister, and Gale... and my heart broke even more when we lost Rue. I could see the firey fashion pieces Cinna created, and I even thought that Peeta would not survive. Whenever I would read a sentence out loud, I would do it an English accent because that's how I hear Katniss in my head. Throughout the whole book, I never once had a moment where I saw something coming, and so I wondered if lightning could strike twice with Catching Fire, and attributing the conclusion to the reason I couldn't sleep last night, I'd say, yes! This is our generations 1984 without a doubt, and I would put it against Orwell any day.
For all the slackers out there who have no clue what I'm talking about, The Hunger Games takes place in the distant future, in Panem, which is what remains of what we know as North America. Originally consisting of thirteen districts, the government destroyed the last, due to rebellious uprisings, and now only twelve remain. In order to keep the good people of Panem in check, the government created the Hunger Games--two tributes, a boy, and a girl, ages twelve to eighteen are picked in a lottery from each district to be trained, and compete in a televised, battle to the death, with only one victor allowed to remain. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen's younger sister, Prim, is selected, Katniss takes her place. As Katniss prepares for the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games, she reveals herself to us... from her best friend, Gale, to her mother, who has not been the same since their father passed. The most unlikely relationship we see blossom is the one between her, and Peeta Mellark, who was the male specimen chosen from Katniss' District Twelve. In order to survive the games, the two create this star-crossed lover theme that the viewers devour; thus, creating a problem for the Capitol, and President Snow, especially when Katniss openly defies them, and forces them to allow two victors to live.
Catching Fire is the aftermath of that Hunger Games, and we find Katniss and Peeta's sub-par living conditions greatly upgraded. Poverty and starvation will not be the death of them, their families, or friends, and they even go as far as they can to stretch the wealth amongst the other less fortunates that inhabit the district. I love how Collins crafts the web of relationships, for example, Katniss and her mother are now on better terms, but estrangement has set in between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta, and what I like is its not your typical love triangle. Nothing about this book feels typical, besides its totalitarian-1984ness. Listening to Katniss be grateful for bread, and other delicacies that are so accessible to me just puts a cold in my soul--then, when she and Peeta are in the Capitol during the tour, and the prep team tells them to drink a liquid that would induce vomiting, and allowing them to continue to engorge themselves just killed me. The greedy, consumerist of the Capitol live the high life, whilst the good denizens stretched throughout the districts die of starvation... does this sound like our grand United States? People do go hungry in our country, and we have an over abundance of food. Ridiculous. My favorite scene is the locket Peeta gives Katniss at the end, and I was near tears when Cinna got attacked. The action in the games was even more amazing--I loved the island, and spinning clock motif. I actually walked away liking Finnick.
This book, and its predecessor is simply amazing... pick it up, check it out--I wish they made the kids in school read them.
2/100
2/100
No comments:
Post a Comment