Forget what you’ve heard, The Hunger Games is not the next Twilight! This is an actual story, it is very well written, and best of all, it has amazing characters! Katniss Everdeen is a very strong teenage girl just trying to provide for her mother and younger sister Prim. Although it is illegal, Katniss hunts in the forest outside her small town, although hunting is illegal, and the forest is forbidden. With her bow and arrow Katniss is able to provide food for her family, and many of her neighbors in town also. Gale is Katniss’ most important accessory of all while hunting. Gale is Katniss’ best friend, they’ve been hunting together for a very long time and their friendship borders on love.

            Every year, the Capitol chooses two kids, ages 12 to 18, from each district to go fight to the death in the Hunger Games. Katniss’ partner happens to be Peeta Mellark. Peeta and Katniss had met before when Peeta gave Katniss bread from his parent’s bakery, but other than that they did not really know each other. This story is based in the future when the United States was broken up by rebellion and was replaced by Panem. Panem is made up of 12 different districts and the people of that district are to remain in their district forever, it is against the law to leave. The Hunger Games is the Capitol’s way of showing the districts that they are strong and are not to be challenged.

            The central theme of this novel is survival. This theme is evident throughout the novel, not just when Katniss enters the Hunger Games. Even in the beginning, in District 12, survival is crucial and an everyday struggle. Food is not plentiful and the living conditions are terrible. District 12 is a very poverty stricken place; there is hardly any food, money, and no help from the Capitol. District 12 is a mining town, so everyone who lives there focuses on the mines, not farming or hunting, because hunting is illegal. Even if there were farmers in the District, the land would not be good for farming because everything is covered in coal dust. The huts in the District are falling apart and many people are living in one hut, and can barely fit in them. In some cases, people share beds. The people of District 12 are also very poor. Many goods are acquired through trade and bargaining. There are no grocery stores to go buy food from. In fact, Katniss’ little sister Prim owns a goat which produces milk that they make cheese out of, this is their only source of cheese and milk. There are no showers in the huts, Katniss and her family take baths by boiling water in a pot and using that. Even before the Hunger Games Katniss, her family, and essentially everyone who doesn’t live at the Capitol struggle every day to survive.

            When Katniss reaches the Hunger Games, survival has a whole new meaning. There, food is even scarcer, especially if you do not know how to hunt. The only way to get food at the Hunger Games is to fight and get it at the beginning of the games and risking your life, or hoping that you’re a good hunter or know which plants are poisonous and which ones are not. As if worrying about feeding yourself wasn’t bad enough, you also must make sure your life is not taken from you, whether it’s an animal or another person who takes it. The Capitol makes animals that are even more dangerous than natural animals and the players in the game are constantly on the hunt for their opponents. Even after winning the Hunger Games, the winner must watch out for the Capitol. The government of Panem is so corrupt that the winner must always fear for their life, even after going through the Hell of the Hunger Games.

            One literary element in the Hunger Games is the use of epiphany.  Before Katniss and Peeta enter the Hunger Games, Peeta tells Katniss that he doesn’t want the games to change him or to be “just a piece in their game”, and at first, Katniss does not understand what Peeta meant by this. When Katniss’ friend during the games, Rue, is killed, however, Katniss has an epiphany and finally understands. Rue, the only person that Katniss trusted in the games, was killed by another player. Katniss covered Rue’s body in flowers in hopes that she could get a respectful burial and to show the Capitol that their games are pointless and only taking innocent children’s lives. The Capitol did not air the piece where Katniss covered Rue in flowers. This moment makes Katniss realize just how corrupt her government is. They choose 24 children every year to go and kill each other, just for the entertainment value. From this moment on, Katniss fights the Capitol, and also realizes that Peeta wants to do the same thing, which connects them even more.

            Overall, I thought this was a great read! As soon as I finished the first book, I went out and bought the second and third books! Usually, I don’t like to follow reading fads *cough cough* Twilight, but this was totally different. This is actually a well-written book with great characters (and no vampires thankfully), I really couldn’t put it down. I really liked the fact that it was set in the future; it was interesting seeing what the author thought that America would be like many years from now. I loved that Collins used names that were unique; it definitely kept my attention because it’s a totally different world than ours. Essentially, I think I loved this book so much because it is something different than what I usually read. Katniss Everdeen is not your typical girl. She is strong willed, tough, and a great hunter. These days, the main characters in books are none of those, especially if they’re a girl! It’s nice to see a change in how girls are personified in literature. Although Collins changed up the view on girls, she still kept the good old love story, and I loved that! The love story was almost unexpected because the reader’s view on Katniss is so set in stone, you think that she doesn’t have time or even the want for love, but then it comes and it’s a nice break from all the killing and craziness. One thing I did not like about this novel was that it was sort of hard to grasp at first. I started reading this book not knowing anything about it so it took me a while to realize the setting and everything. I guess I just didn’t like the amount of time it took to come right out and say that it was in the future and things were totally different. But that was the only thing I didn’t like, and I got over it really fast.

            I would recommend this book to everyone I know! And I have already; my mom is reading it right now! It’s a well-written book that really makes the reader think about things. It almost makes you thankful for everything we have, because in comparison to Panem, we have a lot. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you never want to stop reading. As I said before, this book is like no other that I’ve ever read and that is what makes it so good. It’s a nice change from reality television and all of that other garbage. So, go out and read this amazing book! You won’t regret it.