Book Review: ‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins
Decades ago, North America was nearly destroyed by war. The new country of Panem rose from the ashes. But Panem had its own problems, and a civil war broke out between the thirteen districts and the ruling Capitol. After completely destroying District 13, the rest of the districts were brought to heal, crushed under a mountain of punishments to ensure that they didn’t rebel again. By far the worst of these punishments is the Hunger Games. Each year, 24 children are thrown into an arena with only one directive: kill everyone else. The last one standing wins. This is Suzanne Collins’ world of Panem, this is The Hunger Games.
[Warning: My review of The Hunger Games contains some spoilers!]
One girl’s love will take down an entire system in The Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen has been taking care of her family for years. At only 16 years old, she’s been the provider ever since her father died five years ago and her mother sank into a deep depression. Katniss is a little gruff, but that’s only on the outside; inside, she has a big heart and a deep sense of justice. So when her sister’s name gets called at the Reaping as the female tribute for District 12, Katniss volunteers to take her place without even thinking. She’s been protecting her sister for years; she’s not about to stop now.
Things get more complicated when Peeta Mellark is called as the male tribute. They’re not friends, but Katniss feels a deep debt to Peeta. She can’t kill him. But if she doesn’t, she’ll be the one dead. Of course, someone else might kill him, but she doesn’t want to let that happen either.
As Peeta and Katniss prepare for the Games, they become closer. Katniss grows more conflicted about the coming fight. She promised her sister she’d come back, but that means 23 others won’t, and Katniss doesn’t know if she can live with that. When she gets in the arena, it gets even more complicated. Katniss partners with a young girl from another district, torn because, of course, they can’t both win. As more tributes are eliminated, Katniss is overcome by the injustice of the situation. The Capitol treats children’s lives like garbage, something that can be used for fun and then thrown away. It makes her sick, but how can she fight back? In the end, it’s her heart (that she would never even admit to having) that will upend everything. But these Hunger Games are just the beginning. Turns out the arena might not be the most dangerous place in the Capitol, and Katniss is right in the middle of all the danger.
The oppressed will rise up against the oppressor
I once heard that all dictators fear their citizens. The reason is that they know that one day someone will rise up from those they oppress and take them down. Dictators try to smooth that fear by crushing their citizens even harder, but that only ends up galvanizing the one who will eventually defeat them.
This is exactly what happens in The Hunger Games. Katniss is aware of how very unfair life in the districts is. But she wants to protect her family, so she keeps her thoughts to herself while continuing to toil through life. But then she gets pushed down harder. First, her sister is almost taken, then she has to fight. And in that fight, she comes face to face with the cruelty of the Capitol, some of it so ingrained in the citizens that they don’t even recognize it as cruel. And when the final straw breaks her back, she rises up and finds a way to fight back against the real enemy. It’s not really anger that propels her, though, even though that’s what Katniss thinks. It’s actually love. Her love for her sister, her love for Peeta, her love for Rue, her love for an idea of how humans should actually be treated. Katniss transmutes her love into anger because she’s afraid that if she’s seen as vulnerable, she will be vulnerable. Anger is easy and powerful, so she chooses anger to hide behind. But make no mistakes, it is love that launches her private rebellion against the Capitol, and love that draws her into a bigger rebellion later on. Katniss is not an angry woman seeking revenge; she is a loving woman seeking peace. Finding that peace, for her loved ones and herself, is what drives her every choice. So many people only see the anger, but when I look at Katniss, I see love.
Suzanne Collins’ novel is a modern classic
It’s hard to believe that The Hunger Games is nearly twenty years old. There’s no set age at which a book becomes a “classic,” but some of the criteria to be called a classic include endurance, timeless themes, and cultural impact. I’d say that The Hunger Games meets that criteria. Having reread it several times in my life now, I find that the story continues to hold up, the characters remain engaging, and the exploration of oppression, rebellion, and love (romantic and otherwise) feels topical. I have a feeling that The Hunger Games will one day be taught in schools, much like 1984, as a commentary on power, control, and corruption.
I am always glad when I reread books from my past and find that they’ve held up over the years. Collins takes some really difficult subjects and makes them accessible to a younger crowd with The Hunger Games. Teenagers are her obvious target audience. But the incredible thing is that Teenagers aren’t her only audience. Because her writing is so well done, I can relate to the characters just as well as a middle-aged adult as I did when I was a young adult. The only thing that changed is that I cried a lot more! Sometimes it was because I knew what was coming, so I’d be set off. Other times, it was because I had a different view of what was happening. Don’t get me wrong, children being forced to fight to the death was a terrible idea when I was 20, but now that I have children, it’s even more horrifying. If you somehow haven’t read The Hunger Games in the last 20 years, go find a copy. And if you read it when you were younger, pull your copy out and read it again; there are lessons in there that should not be forgotten.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is available now for purchase! When was the last time you visited this modern classic? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to continue the conversation!
Book Review: The Complex by Karan Mahajan
