In the past 48 hours, I’ve read approximately 1,175 pages, less than half of which had anything to do with a class. On Monday, I found myself deep in the throws of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, the first novel in the trilogy now sweeping the nation.
Flashback to 2008. I’m a semi-awkward high school freshman. On the back of a black glossy book, it says something about “fighting to the death” in “what used to be North America.” At the time, I was already consumed by another phenomenon and was Team Edward’s biggest cheerleader. Besides, the whole post-apocalyptic-worldwide-episode-of-Survivor thing really rubbed me the wrong way. The book sat unopened on my shelf for the next four years. Until, that is, a simple sociology assignment drew it back out of the dust.
A mere five days ago, I didn’t know Peeta from Gale and thought a Career was just a job, and now, I’m an expert on all things Panemian! The Hunger Games has, of course, been compared to the other two sagas of our generation: Harry Potter and Twilight. Katniss Everdeen, Collins’ protagonist (Jennifer Lawrence in the film), suddenly finds herself in a tangled love triangle with her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mellark, and childhood best friend Gale Hawthorne (portrayed on screen by Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, respectively)—a situation unfortunately familiar to those of us who know Bella, Jacob, and Edward. Katniss Everdeen, though, is about as far from Bella Swan as humanly possible. She is strong, determined, confident, self-sufficient, resourceful, and clever. She is quick on her feet and unyielding in the Arena. Where Bella is wobbly and dependent, Katniss is solid and dependable. Katniss earns her love triangle in a way Bella could only dream of. It makes perfect sense that two great guys would fight for the Mockingjay who tackles the toughest tributes and puts herself in danger to protect her sister, Prim. Plus, on the scale from Hermione to Bella, Katniss is much, much closer to the wand-wielding genius.
The Hunger Games grabbed me right away, turning me from uninterested skeptic to obsessive, and, just after I closed the back cover, I was starving for more, and devoured (pun totally intended) the final two books in the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, in the next two days. If you, like me, resisted the hype, wait no longer. Pick up a copy and read, read, read. The books aren’t difficult, but they are well-written with plots that are carefully interwoven and engaging.
If you haven’t already, you’ll soon find yourself in the middle of the Games. As for me? I’ll be in Mt. Vernon seeing the movie.
Jennifer Lawrence blowin’ K.Stew out of the celebrity water at THG premiere.