"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Let the Games begin...

The novel "The Hunger Games" was written by the American author Suzanne Collins and published in 2009. It’s the first part of an amazing trilogy, which is named “Hunger Games Trilogy”.

The main character is Katniss Everdeen, who lives with her little sister Primrose and her Mother in a country in North America. The country is divided into 12 districts and every year all the districts have to send one girl and boy aged between 12 and 18 to the Hunger Games which is a fight to the death on live TV and it takes place  in a huge area, which looks like a big jungle. Katniss volunteers to take the place of her little sister, whom she loves, and the boy tribute (Tributes are the chosen people) is Peeta Mallark. Those two will be sent to this “Killing – competition” and after they have learned how to make a fire, the Hunger Games start. But there can be only one winner, who can survive....

The 384-page book contains much violence and strong emotions so younger people may find it rather disturbing. But you should not underestimate the message of the book and it will take you a time to understand it. It says that you will live only once, and you should use your chances and never give up.

The language used is rather difficult but you will understand them for sure once you get into the story. It also has many very good recommendations from well-known writers such as Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight Saga, who commented “I was so obsessed with this book (...)”.

On the one hand I think the book is very brutal and includes much violence, but on the other hand I think the English sounds great and the novel will teach you something for your life.

“The Hunger Games” is a “Must-read” and I definitely recommend it to you! You won’t regret it and after you have read it, you can watch the film, which is also very exciting!

Catarina  (14)

A fight for survival - kill or die! The novel ''The Hunger Games'' by Suzanne Collins was published in the US in 2009. The plot is set in the future. It takes place in a country once known as North America and now known as the nation Panem, including twelve poor districts and the wealthy Capitol. Every year a boy and a girl aged between 12 and 18 from every district are chosen randomly to participate in the Hunger Games, a live event that is aired all over the country. In this game all the children have to kill each other until one is left. That is because years ago all the districts started a rebellion against the Capitol. But in the end the Capitol won and as punishment the cruel games were created by them. The protagonist Katniss Everdeen, a brave girl aged sixteen from District 12, volunteers for the Hunger Games to take the place of her little sister Prim, who had actually been called to enter the deadly competition. Katniss does not believe she will come out alive, but she is not going down without a fight! The book uses language, so people without huge knowledge of English are able to also understand everything. The book was written in the present tense, so while reading it, the story will seem very realistic. Furthermore, the plot has amazing and unique characters. The message of the book might be that you should not let people push you down, but that you should always defend yourself and not give up. This is the second time I read the book. And since reading it the first time, I knew that ''The Hunger Games'' is the best book I have ever read. I could easily get into the story, even the second time of reading. I recommend the book to young people between 14 and 16 and hope they will love the book just like I do!

Ke Katharina (14)