Hungry for More

When it comes to reading books, I follow trends. I rarely find myself reading a book by a new author that hasn't been recommended by a number of people. I completely fall or the bestseller title, even though I realise that practically every book on the market is labelled as a bestseller. But more than anything, I listen to public opinion and follow that. When I hear about a trend, I tend to want to jump on the bandwagon. It was the case with the Twilight series, and now it is the case with the Hunger Games.

It is hard not to compare the two series, really. Both written by women, featuring female protagonists of around the same age, both can be placed firmly in the realm of fiction, both are aimed at the same reader demographic and both have gotten to be incredibly popular. To me that is really where the similarities end.

I read the Twilight series in my fourth year of University. At the time, I was obviously older than the main demographic, the books being aimed at teenagers more than twenty-somethings. Nevertheless, I was not the only one in my classes reading the books and I felt that there was nothing to be ashamed about. I sped through the books, and I found them to be enjoyable. They were not anything incredible, they were not breathtaking or amazing. But they weren't utter drivel either. And I always feel that anything that can get teenagers interested in reading is great. If I had been reading these as a twelve year old girl, I would have thought that they were the best thing since Harry Potter! As it was, they were entertaining and nothing more. I will still watch the movies for the same reason. I like getting caught up in the fanaticism of it. When I was in Korea and went to watch Eclipse, I made my own t-shirt with my friends, I chose a team, and I had a fun night out. And that was that. Not award winning stuff, but fun. Predictable, but fun.

I was very late on the Hunger Games craze, only really getting into it just before the movie came out. I had heard so much about the movie and decided that I wanted to read the first book before seeing it, since it seemed like a kind of movie that I would want to see. And so I got a copy on my Kindle and I sat down to read it one night. And I was hooked in. It took me all of four days to finish it, which is incredibly quick considering that I tend to read in the evenings when I am already exhausted.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins revolving around the world of Panem. Panem is divided into twelve districts (each with their own sector of industry) and a Capitol which is the seat of the government. Seventy-four years before the events of the first book takes place, there was a revolution where the people revolted against the government and lost. As a result, the Hunger Games are started as a yearly ritual to remind the masses of the revolt and of their failure, and of the power that the Capitol has. The Hunger Games themselves are a televised tournament (along the lines of Big Brother) where two children, one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18 are randomly selected to be placed in an arena where they will have to fight to the death. The books revolve around one particular participant, Katniss Everdeen, who has grown up in the poorest of the districts (District 12) and who volunteers to participate in the games to save her sister's life.

Part of the reason why I got hooked into the Twilight series was because of the mindlessness of reading it. I could read a chapter in a minute and know exactly what happened without having to concentrate too hard. It was good to take my mind of the studying that I had to do with most of my time. It was entertaining, but it wasn't award winning stuff. I found The Hunger Games to be different. The writing was simple, but not mind-numbingly so. It is easy to read, but it is also enticing and thought-provoking. Obviously not to the extent that, say, Shakespeare is thought-provoking in that you have to reread every sentence to understand what is being said. But I found that the writing flows well and keeps the reader attentive rather than mindlessly paging through the book.

The characters in the Hunger Games are also, well not relatable... it's kind of difficult to relate to a character who is forced to deal with killing others to stay alive, and Bella is certainly more like your typical mopey teenager. But the characters that Collins creates have more depth to them. They are all independent by necessity and they are all in conflict in more than one way. The main female character in particular is certainly more the kind of protagonist that you want your girls to read about and relate to - a girl (or woman) who does not rely on anyone, who stands up for those that she loves and is steadfast in her decisions. And better than that, the protagonist is a girl (or woman) who does not want to be in love, who does not want to be tied down and does not want to be reliant on anyone for anything. Certainly a better role model than Bella, even if she does tend to run around hunting illegally and ends up having to kill competitors to stay alive.

Overall, I would give the first book of the Hunger Games series an 8/10. I found it to be a great read and I would recommend that anyone who likes these kinds of series give it a try.

Watch this space for my review of the first movie.