May the odds be ever in your favor! I thought the odds were good that my book review of The Hunger Game would garner a lot of views, but I didn’t think it would end up as the third most popular post of the year. The book was all right, but I ended up liking the movie a lot more. The book had a lot of Katniss thinking about Gale and Peeta, while they movie thankfully left that inner monologue on the cutting room floor.
Less than a week ago I wrote a post about how I was going to read The Hunger Games because a large percentage of the students in our high school ministry have. Since publishing that post I’ve found the time necessary to work my way through Suzanne Collins’ novel. Overall I thought the book was all right. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read but not nearly the best, either. Below are some reflections I had while reading the book.
Katniss > Bella
The overwhelming majority of our students that have read The Hunger Games are girls. I can see why girls are drawn to the book. Katniss Everdeen is a strong, female character, far stronger than Bella Swan in Twilight. Bella’s main purpose in Twilight seems to be swooning and getting into trouble so Edward can rescue her. Through The Hunger Games Katniss does need some saving but she also plays the role of action hero/savior. Katniss does have her teenage girl moments of swooning and trying to decide how she really feels about the boy. There’s more to her character than those moments, though, and her inherent strengths manage to shine through those moments. I appreciate that Collins has crafted a character who is more of a role model for young girls than Stephanie Meyer did with Bella Swan.
Teenage Love
Without giving too much away, The Hunger Games not only revolves around 24 teenagers trying to kill each other, but it also revolves around a love story between Katniss and her fellow tribute from District 12, Peeta Mallark. I’m not a teenage girl so the romance plot and Katniss’ confusion over her relationship with Peeta didn’t interest me that much. The biggest problem I have with the love story in The Hunger Games, really any love story involving adolescents, is that they don’t really know what it means to love someone. I’ve spent over 12 years working with adolescents and I’ve heard them throw out the phrase “I love you” so much but rarely do they fully understand what it means. I know that they do love their family and friends wholeheartedly. But truly loving someone like Peeta loves Katniss or Bella loves Edward, is very rare to see in adolescents.
Substitutionary Atonement
As Adam insightfully pointed out in a comment on my last post about The Hunger Games, Katniss volunteering to take her sister’s place in the Hunger Games is a great image of substitutionary atonement. Katniss’ younger sister, Prim, was selected for the Hunger Games. Katniss, however, intervened on Prim’s behalf and took her place. Katniss’ sacrifice earns the respect of everyone in her district even though it could ultimately lead to her death. As an allegory for Christ’s redemptive work, we are all Prim and Jesus is Katniss, sacrificing himself on our behalf. Unlike Katniss, though, Jesus’ sacrifice leads to death and ultimately life for us.
The Hunger Games was a good enough read and kept me turning the pages while I read it on the elliptical. I am somewhat intrigued to find out what happens in the next book, Catching Fire, but it can wait. I can only take so much teenage girl drama and, working with students, I already get enough of that as it is.
What did you think about the book, The Hunger Games?
I enjoyed your post, and I loved the movie Hunger Games, maybe because I remember when they still had “reapings” in America, they called it the draft. I was in high school in the Vietnam war and worried i might get drafted, so this post and the movie seemed rather intense to me. For hundreds of years children have been going off to war. My dad joined the army when he was 17, he lied about his age and they didn’t care. In many countries male children much younger than 18 join the army, fight and die. Of course, men are worthless in our world, so as long as they are boys or men, it doesn’t matter if they die.
Hello there.
My name is Jhobell Kristyl, book review blogger of BOOK MAVEN’S PICKS. I am currently holding a special event in my blog called THE HUNGER GAMES 2-WEEK EXTRAVAGANZA where I post The Hunger Games-related stuff in my blog everyday for 2 weeks. For my GREAT POST TUESDAY meme, I’ve chosen to feature this post of yours. Feel free to check it out at http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/the-hunger-games-review-by-the-christian-nerd/
As I’m uncertain of your gender, I decided to refer to you as “she.” Feel free to let me know if you have any issues with my post. Thank you & take care!
Best,
Jhobell Kristyl
http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com/
That’s fine except I am most definitely a he. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
My apologies. 🙂 I’ve already changed all of the female pronouns to male. You’re most welcome! I’ve enjoyed reading this post of yours very much. Take care!
Best,
Jhobell Kristyl
http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com/