Did I really just do that?...So, I have never in my life stayed up all night to read a book...until last night. I was reading Catching Fire and knew there was no way I could put it down, so I read the entire thing. And didn't go to bed until 3 am. And you know what? I'm glad I did! It was soooooo good. I have yet to read a bad book by Suzanne Collins. Needless to say I've only read two of her books, but they were both so good! There is no way you could possibly understand until you read the books.
I read the first book, Hunger Games, a bit slow at first because the beginning seemed to drag. And I'll admit, so did the beginning of this one. But keep going because I promise it gets so much better! I'm finding through these books that I'm starting to love adventure novels a lot more than I used to. The setting of these books reminds me of the setting in The Uglies series. Woody, with forbidden borders-then big and futuristic. That may not make too much sense but it does in my mind.
Okay, so the main character, Katniss Everdeen, is now 15 and has survived the 74th Hunger Games. What are the Hunger Games you ask? Well, the U.S. has fallen to pieces and is now divided up into 12...or so, districts and a capitol. Each year, there is a ceremony called the Reaping where two names, the names of a boy and a girl in the adolescent stage, are drawn. The two names drawn represent the people that will have to go to the capitol to fight in a bloodbath called The Hunger Games. Each year, they are taken to an arena with an endless variety of atmospheres (ex. forests) to compete against not only the children from the other districts, but against their own teammates from their districts. Fight actually isn't the correct word...I believe kill is the word. Murder. Destroy. Literally. And the last one in wins and gets food and money for the rest of their lives. That's the thing about these districts in the nation of Panem...they have little to no food. The kids in the games are literally fighting to save their lives and the lives of their families. Hence the name HUNGER Games.
Anyway, in the first book, Katniss volunteered to take the place of her sister, Prim, who was originally chosen. Because this is a trilogy, obviously Katniss won. Sorry to ruin any surprises. So let's venture to the next book. Katniss has returned and lives in a fancy area with her family called The Victor's Village, where all of the previous winners of the games from her district live. Besides the winner(s) of the last Hunger Games, Haymitch is her only neighbor. Life seems to go on as usual, until after her victory tour through all of the districts. People of the districts finally begin fighting back against the Capitol for their freedom. Problem is, the Capitol often comes back showing its strength in these types of situations. So to turn a twist on the next year's Hunger Games, President Snow shows his power and turns away all ideas of hope and of a fight to get rid of the Capitol by bending some rules a bit. Every 25 years, the Hunger Games have what is called a Quarter Quell. During this time, the president can add a twist to the games. This year, he adds a little surprise that just might kill Katniss. Will she end up having to fight in the games again?...Dun dun dunnnnn.
This book had me turning the pages for hours on end to get to the next part of the story. It became like a roller coaster. Every time I thought things were back to normal for Katniss, there was another spin. I could not put it down and I highly suggest it for those looking for a great summer read!
0 comments:
Post a Comment