It’s ten
P.M. My favorite Thursday night drama
is over. I replace the broad
illumination of my television with the more personal glow of my iPad. I settle in for a few stolen, late-night
hours of reading. I open the Kindle app
on my iPad and “turn” to the first page of my newly downloaded copy of The
Hunger Games.
I am immediately
introduced to the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss describes her family and their life
in District 12. District 12 is the
section of Panem (formerly the U.S.) where the main occupation is coal
mining. General poverty and mass hunger
plague nearly all of the districts that make up the nation. The Capital is the exception to this
rule. This is the governing sector of
the country where all of the political heads and famous people live an
extravagant life with no concern for the problems of the “lesser”
districts. On this morning that I meet
Katniss and her family, the life that she has always known will be
obliterated. This is the morning of The
Reaping. Two young adults from each of
the districts (one boy and one girl), including District 12, will be selected
at random to participate in the Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games
are an annual event in which the selected “tributes” from each district are
forced into an “arena”. The Games are
not over until only one tribute remains alive to be declared the Victor. The Capitol claims the purpose of the Games
to be a celebration of the end of the civil war that essentially changed the
U.S. into Panem. Truly, the Games are a
terrible reminder of the unjust power that the Capitol wields over the
nation. The Reaping is, understandably,
a dreaded and feared event each year.
As the first
chapter unfolds, I am delighted to meet Prim, Katniss’ younger sister. Prim is a quiet, gentle, sweet, innocent
girl. At only 12 years old, she has only
had to enter her name into the drawing for the Hunger Games once. Katniss usually enters her own name each year
in exchange for oil and grain to feed her family. This horrible form of sickening control is
only one of the ways the Capitol manipulates the people of the nation. Starve the masses, and then force them to
“volunteer” for the annual Games in exchange for food that they could not
survive without.
Neither Katniss
or Prim have their names in the drawing enough times to cause true
concern. Some people have been trading
their names each year for food for ages.
Even still, the day of the Reaping is frightening. Everyone knows that someone’s name will be
called. Someone they know. There will be two people unwillingly taken
from their families to fight for their lives as the nation is forced to watch
it all on television as if it were American Idol. Schools are closed, businesses shut down for
the “celebration day”. Katniss and her
family join the rest of District 12 in the square for the Reaping.
As I approach
the end of Chapter One, I find myself already becoming fond of Katniss and her
family. I am sharing in her fear and
anticipation of hearing the tributes names called. My heartbeat quickens as I know we are
approaching that moment.
The square is
crowded. Everyone is required to be
there for the Reaping. The energy shifts
into a tense vibration as Master of Ceremonies draws the slip of paper from the
tumbler of girl names. Katniss
calculates how many times her own name has been entered. She hopes and hopes that it’s not her name
that is called. Numb with fear, unable
to hear anything but the static from the microphone that sits waiting to
broadcast the verdict, she can barely breathe.
I am holding my breath with her. The
name is read. It’s not Katniss! I let out a puff of relieved air from my own
lungs as I read those words, “It’s not me.”
But my joy lasts only a second. The
name that is called out is Primrose Everdeen.
If you’re like
me, and prefer to read the book before you watch the movie, I highly recommend The
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
This book kept me glued to iPad from the edge of my seat for days! I found myself arriving to my appointments
early on purpose just so I could whip out my iPad and read more. The movie made from this book will hit
theaters March 23, 2012. For a preview,
click on this link: www.thehungergamesmovie.com.
Downloading this
book would be a great way to get familiar with your new eReader! If you are interested, don’t hesitate to
drop by Haltom City Public Library to get help with downloading, or to check
out a print copy of this book. I would
love to see you!! Don’t forget that you
can always call to get help over the phone with your downloads.
****NOTE: You guys know how I love books in a
series!! More great news about this book
is that it is first in a trilogy. The
second (Catching Fire) and third (Mockingjay) books have already
been published, so when the end of The Hunger Games leaves you wanting
more, you can immediately quench that desire!
I also recommend that you visit Suzanne Collins’ website for more
information on the novels. www.suzannecollinsbooks.com.
Until Next Time,
Your LibraryBlogMaven
No comments:
Post a Comment