Suzanne Collins changes the meaning of the word “game”

Games are supposed to be fun. Games are something kids will want to participate in, something they will want to win but will not suffer dire consequences from. Consequences such as death.

Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12. She supports her mother and little sister with her hunting and bartering. She has a difficult life, but nothing unmanageable. There is nothing that separates her from the rest of the citizens in District 12.

That is until the Hunger Games come around for the reaping. The reaping is the drawing of one boy and one girl, no younger than 12 and no older than 18 years old. As soon as a child turns 12, their name is entered into the drawing. From then on, each year, until they are 18, his/her name is entered. In short, the older the adolescent is the better chance they have of being chosen.

Another factor for the reaping is the tesserae. Any child that meets the age requirements can sign up for these tesseraes. Once they sign up for the tesserae their family receives a ration of grain, but in return the child’s name is entered an extra time into the reaping.

Katniss is entered into the reaping a total of 20 times, so she knows the odds are against her. She is shocked when her little sister, Prim, who only has her name entered once, is drawn. Katniss volunteers herself in place of her sister.

Katniss and the boy from District 12, Peeta Mellark, are quickly transported to the Capitol. At the Capitol they are lavished with food and other luxuries until the beginning of the games. This is where the bloodshed begins.

The sole purpose of the games is for the Capitol to prove to its twelve districts that they have complete control over them. They pick one girl and one boy from each district and toss them into an enclosed arena. Once in the arena they have no one but themselves. The kids are forced to become one with nature and survive this “game.”

The big catch is the process of winning the game. No matter what it takes, the last child standing wins. The Capitol forces the children to fight to the death, and to make things more interesting they broadcast a mandatory showing to all the districts.

Katniss at first sees Peeta as a distraction. He is too nice for his own good. The sooner she kills him the better. Until she learns of his undying love for her. They soon become the star-crossed lovers that the public learns to love.

They agree that either they both will win or neither of them will win. Even if it means taking their own lives.

This is where the first novel, The Hunger Games, ends and the second novel, Catching Fire, begins.

In the second novel, Katniss starts out with a life of luxury. The life of a winner of the Hunger Games. Until she learns about the next hunger games.

Once a person wins the hunger games, they are removed from the reaping forever. The game after Katniss wins is referred to as the Quell. The Quell occurs every twenty-five years, and it is supposed to reinforce the image of power the Capitol portrays for the districts. It is Hunger Games to the extreme. New rules are put into play and no player seems to have any chance of victory.

Katniss participates in the third Quell, which is unlike any other game played in the community. In the third Quell the past victors of the games are put into a reaping and drawn to participate in the Quell. In District 12 the only female victor is Katniss, so she is forced to play the game once more. Peeta is also drawn once more. The team is back for the games once more.

Katniss and Peeta immediately become aware that the rules chosen for the Quell are to be used to show that no one is above the Capitol. The pair is put back into the game in order to quiet the rebellions taking place in the districts. The Capitol believes that if the faces of the rebellion are destroyed, the rebellions will cease.

The biggest difference in the game is that Peeta and Katniss are the only young ones. They are playing against past victors who are either elderly or in their physical prime. They also have much more experience with the games, as many of them were mentors in past events.

The books in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins are quick reads. As a reader, I quickly learned about this fictional setting and was immediately immersed in the world Collins created. Collins also does a great job of moving the plot by incorporating lots of action and twists in the adventure.

At first I was reluctant to read these two novels. I saw them only as another series, another set of books to add to my generation’s enjoyment of sequels. But from early on, I was cheering on Katniss and Peeta as they stumbled through their adventure.

I also was impressed by the way Collins set up the plot line. If there was ever a moment where I began to lose interest, by the next page I was once again caught up in the action.

This is a must read for any reader that reads the Pendragon, Harry Potter, or Alchemyst series. If you have no interest in getting caught up in yet another series, then definitely try to avoid reading any of these novels because you will not be able to put them down.