Wizarding Times

Great minds think alike, so it was no surprise when I saw that Serenity Thomas had written a review of the sequel to Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, in this month's issue of Paw Print. So, if you read The Hunger Games first, and enjoy it, then be sure to get Catching Fire.

And enjoy it you will, although you may be left thinking about its situations long after you finish! In a previous issue, I wrote about a book in which the quality of people's lives depended on how well their make-believe characters lived and fought in computer games (Epic, by Conor Kostick). In The Hunger Games, however, combat is "for real" — the lives of the main characters depend on how well they can kill others and how clever they can be at avoiding death. The fact that the combatants are no older than 18 and can be quite young only enhances the tension. And, it raises all sort of questions about the duty of a central government to be as neutral as possible and to meet the basic needs of its citizens — whether or not they are friendly to that government.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are selected to represent their region in the the Hunger Games — the annual rite of punishment and tribute paid to their central government as a response to their region's and others' attempt to rebel many years earlier. Two children are selected from twelve regions and sent to the government's locale — initially, they are treated royally and then they are abandoned in an artificial landscape (an arena) to fight it out. One winner only. The bloodshed is broadcast all over the country, and observers may place bets and may sponsor contestants. Katniss has known Peeta for many years (they are 16), but she has never considered him a close friend even though he once saved her life in a roundabout way. For his part, however, she is the one he loves — or so he says. She is an accomplished hunter; he doesn't seem to have any skills. Shall she believe Peeta and ally herself with him to defeat the others? And, then, should there only be the two of them left, what should she do? What will he do?

Their answers to those questions are both clever and desperate. There are very sad moments in this book — what these characters seem forced to do vies with every instinct not to do. I could hardly put the book down — and I look forward to reading the sequel! This is for adolescent and older readers because of the violence.

Happy Reading!
Prof. Opal