I love winter break. It’s six weeks where I can do what I want, watch what I want and read what I want. I don’t have to stress over homework and deadlines; I can just kick back on a couch, not a sunken in futon, and relax. With Ohio University’s switch to semesters fast approaching, I had to wave goodbye this year to my six-week retreat from school. I wanted to make my last long break count for something.
So, I did the normal come home from college routine. I got a job working retail, watched exorbitant amounts of Netflix and hung out with my family. That was all well and good, but when I decided to dive into Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” I really did not expect to find my new favorite book series.
In case you haven’t heard of “The Hunger Games,” and you should since the movie hits theaters March 23, here’s a spark notes version. The world as we know it no longer exists. Wars and rebellion have turned the continent formerly known as North America into Panem, a country divided into 12 districts run by the Capitol. Every year, as a reminder of the rebellion that destroyed the world, two teenagers are chosen from each district to compete in the Hunger Games. The objective: to kill or be killed.
Enter Katniss Everdeen (right), my new personal hero. She volunteers in her sister’s place to go into the Games, leaving behind everything she knows and loves for certain death. I’ve never related this much with a fictional character before. Katniss is strong willed, defiant, smart, brave, naïve, and, most of all, human. For all the exceptional things Katniss does, like being a master archer and fighter, she’s got her faults. That’s the great thing about this character; her world isn’t shiny fiction that an author has tailored to come out perfectly in the end. It’s messy. Katniss is probably the most human like fictional character I’ve ever come across.
But this isn’t just a story about a political struggle in a futuristic world. Yes, there is a love story. And in true fiction fashion, it’s a love triangle. Now, before you start thinking of the old Edward-Bella-Jake triangle, let me assure you this love story is so intricately woven and thought out that it’s actually believable. And you think Bella had it hard? Without ruining too much, Katniss is in a mental struggle, choosing between her friend Gale and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark. Just keep in mind through all of this, Katniss is 16 and her character is not the type to settle down so young.
When you finally close the book and look at the clock, you realize with joy and horror that it’s 4 a.m. and you’ve been reading since 8 p.m. I’m jealous of Collins’ word-weaving abilities. You start out wanting one outcome, thinking you are doomed to another, then you board the rollercoaster ride of the Games. I shunned my family for several days because I was emotionally unable to put the book down.
I didn’t expect to love “The Hunger Games” this much. After “Harry Potter” wrapped up last summer, I felt like a huge chapter in my life had ended and that I had to say goodbye to characters that had become my best friends. Little did I know, Katniss Everdeen would become my fictional sister, alongside Hermione Granger.
With 49 days left until the movie premiere, I’m telling all of my friends to check out the books. So, consider this a personal invitation to you all: read “The Hunger Games”! The trip into the arena is so much better than midterms.
Watch the NEW trailer here. And may the odds be ever in your favor.
Photos courtesy of Google.