Earlier this year, Stephenie Meyer posted a message on her website, stepheniemeyer.com, praising the newly-released young adult fiction novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Suddenly, the book was flying off of bookshelves at Borders across the nation. Outstanding reviews from notable authors Steven King and John Green enhanced the book’s success. It was not long before Lionsgate Production Company picked up the distribution rights for the movie adaptation that will see a worldwide release in 2011.
The popularity has now trickled all the way down to Neuqua Valley. The Hunger Games was selected as this year’s “One Book, One School”. Several copies of it will be distributed amongst the staff, and will then be passed along to students and faculty members.
This year’s selection is different from others in that the novel is geared more towards young adults. The genre also has shifted from the realistic fiction of past years to more of a fantasy/science-fiction category.
The story follows a fifteen-year-old girl name Katniss, who lives in a land divided into twelve districts. Every year, two children, one boy and one girl, are randomly chosen from each district to participate in the “Hunger Games.” The twenty-four kids are put into a controlled, isolated environment, and forced to kill off one another until only one is left, gaining pride and riches for their district. The government endorses and televises the entire event. When her younger, weaker sister is chosen to compete, Katniss decides to go in her place.
Since the writing is more middle-school level, it is sometimes hard to fully accept some of the plot’s unrealistic assertions. This aside, The Hunger Games possesses political themes reminiscent of Lois Lowry, in addition to fast-paced action sequences of Katniss literally fighting for her life, and thus achieves the gripping excitement for which every young-adult author vies.
Gwen Kestler, Editor in Chief
