Book 17: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

With a recent hit movie adaptation and its appearance as a mega-seller in the post-Harry Potter void, it's hard to miss The Hunger Games. I admit I approached the book with the degree of skepticism I often reserve for the extremely popular, but I needn't have worried: these books are popular for a reason, and damned addictive besides. Heroine Katniss proves an efficient, if not entirely likable or observant, narrator, and the choice of first-person present not only adds a hint of urgency to this battle for survival, but also underscores the constant threat of death (and doom) that looms over the book. This is especially appropriate as Collins thankfully pulls very few punches, and manages to weave those she does seamlessly into the narrative, using them as crucial plot points that will shape the remainder of the trilogy. That this is a young adult book does not doom it to back out of its startlingly brutal, violent premise. Indeed, the author's willingness to stick to the battle royale rules she initially established is fully appreciated, and gives the book far more emotional power than a love-fest might have possessed. Collins ensures that readers knows just how high the stakes are, and though the progression of events is somewhat predictable, it always fits the story, with enough original elements and compelling world-building to ensure that it stands apart. In fact, one of my biggest complaints about the book is the fact that Katniss is so stunningly blind, and occasionally inconsistently so, planting ideas about the dystopian Capitol's inherent flaws but then seeming to forget them at the author's convenience. Katniss is refreshingly competent and blunt, but though her teenage romantic fickleness is portrayed to precision, she is sometimes just a tad too thick for the story she's telling, at once aware of her place in the grand scheme of things and entirely ignorant of anything outside of herself. This is somewhat forgivable given her murder-or-be-murdered circumstances, but it occasionally yanks readers out of the otherwise engrossing book. Along with its effective characters and compelling, if unoriginal, plot, Collins has serious author's chops, seamlessly weaving expository passages into the story and effectively utilizing metaphor without pandering either to an exalted or dumbed-down audience. Add in a thrill-a-minute pace, and The Hunger Games is absolutely deserving of its accolades and success, a worthy and surprisingly well-written opener to the rampaging bestsellers.

Grade: A