This spring break, I had some serious ambitions – books to read, artsy movies to watch, a diet plan to lose 12 pounds in 6 days (thanks, Woman’s World).
Unfortunately…almost none of those things happened. I was lazy, unmotivated and in need of a serious comfort read. So of course I chose The Hunger Games! How timely, since the movie hits theaters March 23. It had been a year since I’d read it all the way through, so I dove right in.
The first thing I noticed as I read was the amount of violence in the books – I forgot how graphic the scenes from the Games are. It’ll be really interesting to see how those scenes are translated in the film, considering its PG-13 rating. Underneath all that blood and gore, though, lies the seriously engrossing plot. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 2 years, here’s a short summary: told from the point of view of Katniss, a refreshingly strong teenage heroine, the story takes place in a future dystopian version of North America. In this world, the all-powerful “Capitol” controls 12 districts in a seriously malevolent dictatorship. One of the Capitol’s many ways of exercising their power is the annual Hunger Games; two young citizens from each district are selected to participate in a horrific competition in which only one can come out alive. Without giving away anything too major, Katniss’s narration puts you right in the middle of the struggles in District 12, the ridiculous cruelty of the Capitol, and the gruesomeness of the Games. So for those of you concerned that you won’t finish the book in time to catch the movie in theaters – you’ll probably find yourself unable to put it down.
P.S. Don’t waste your money on the pricey hardcover – chances are you have a friend begging you to read her copy anyway! As for scoring movie tickets – may the odds be ever in your favor.