Wow, I don't even know where to begin! I had heard a lot about The Hunger Games before reading them for class. Many of my students raved about the book, but to be honest I was a little turned off by the category of "science fictoin," and figured it was another Harry Potter wanna be. Even though I wasn't really intrigued quite yet, I knew I should probably read it because that is what my students were interested in, and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. I always conveniently ran out of time and didn't pick up the book until now. I should have known how good the book was based on how difficult it was to get it from the library. My mom works for Fairport Public Library and is usually able to get books pretty easily for me as she knows the ins and outs of borrowing from other libraries etc. She told me every single cope (probably around 10) was out of the Fairport Public Library and that there was a wait list for the other books floating around Monroe County. When I finally got the book, I couldn't wait to get started. Since there is a movie coming out, I do think a lot more people wanted to read the book as well....including me! I almost always like the book better than the movie, and try to read the book before seeing the movie, and so I began.For some reason the science fiction category has always seemed like a turn off for me. I guess I just clumped things like aliens and space travel into this category and thought it wasn't something that interested me, but this combination of science fiction/fantasy of The Hunger Games has left me wondering what other books I have missed out on for judging the cateogry too quickly. I just love how the story has so many different elements to it, and it is quite unique to any other books I have read. I do have to admit, the entire idea behind fighting to the death is pretty violent for middle school students, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear parents complain, but I think the book is so much more than that. I think it is about Katniss and her journey to grow as a young lady as she learns new things about herself, and about the people she is put into the Hunger Games with! I think Suzanne Collins did a great job of making the "districts" and that entire community seem strange to the reader while at the same time feeling very familiar to the "states" and things that we have in the United States. The book is different enough that you feel like it could never happen to you, but still real enough that you can experience the events right along with the characters.
The book in a lot of ways reminded me of The Trueman Show with Jim Carey in that his life was being filmed for everyone to see, the only difference between that movie and this book was that he didn't know he was being filmed, and the participants of the Hunger Games knew that they were being filmed. It would be interesting to compare the social responses of the characters in each situation when they knew they were being filmed and people were watching as well as when they didn't know people were watching. I wonder if their actions would have changed?
Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to everyone! I've already convinced my boyfriend (who hates reading) to read the book before we go see the movie! It even gets reluctant readers to pick up a book!
I agree with you about viewing science fiction as a genre that does absolutely nothing positive for me...until I read it. I always enjoy the science fiction books I read after the fact, but if someone asked me to chooses a genre to read from, this would not be first on my list.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I too can see the comaprsion to the Truman Show (I l;ove that movie!!!) Because they are being watched all the time, and have to be very careful even in society.
It is definietly a fast and easy read: it moves quick and keeps are attention and there is nothing to trip us up, so in that sense, i think this book is ideal for middle school students who may not enjoy reading long texts because of the difficulties encountered and their lack of motivation. This story like most science fiction allows us to imagine...what if we were there...this book can lead to great discussions of larger ideas as well as what would you do scenarios.
I also agree with both of you. I LOVED this book! It was so exciting. I was wondering which grade to use this for but I think that Middle School students would benefit most from reading it because of the style and length of the text. It's also a really fast read! I can just picture students immersed in the text. I also agree with you both in that while I was reading, I often wondered what I would do if I knew I was being watched during such an event. I wonder if some of the actions of the contestants would have been different (less violent) if they knew they were not being watched. Everything was about trying to get your sponsors, so the more you showed off, the better your chances of support.
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