Sofa Spotlight - The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

So it’s been a while since this came out and also since I’ve read it, but rumour has it that Suzanne Collins is writing a prequel. Therefore I decided it was about time to reread the series in preparation for the new book. If you’ve never read this series then I’m not sure where you’ve been or how you’ve managed to miss it. (Unless, of course, YA is not your think, in which case all is forgiven.)

My first read of these was in 2011/2012 and I devoured them very quickly. The film got me into them but I actually didn’t enjoy the film the first time round. The book was much much better and when I rewatched the film I enjoyed it all the more.

The story is set in a dystopian future where America has been split into 14 regions - 13 districts and then the city of Panem. Each year each district (apart from 13 which has been destroyed after a rebellion) has to give two children between the ages of 12 and 18 to serve as tributes and fight to the death in the Hunger Games. The winner is then crowned as victor and gets to live a nicer life than their fellow struggling peeps in their district.

Fairly brutal!

The focus is on District 12 and Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Malark. Katniss draws attention to herself the moment she steps forward to volunteer as tribute for her sister Prim. And as Peeta is also selected as tribute the two find themselves thrown together and their relationship is complicated further by him announcing that he has feeling for Katniss. But Katniss clearly hasn’t given him a second thought. And then you have to throw into the mix that as readers the book has started by giving us the impression that Gale has a thing for Katniss. Awkward. Especially as Gale gets to watch the blossoming romance on TV.

So there’s a fair bit of drama going on there.

There’s a lot of dystopian novels out there but for me The Hunger Games has to be one of the best. It might be nostalgia, because it was one of the first that I read but I really do think that the level of tension and amount of twists it’s done almost to perfection.

If you’ve not yet read it, get on and read it.