When I came up with the idea for a series called Late to the Party I never would have guessed my first article would be about books. I assumed it would be about some TV series I just started watching, or even a video game that I missed out on as a kid.
I’m not the most prolific reader; I usually go through phases where I rapidly consume five or six books and then don’t read anything for a few months. Luckily my love of gadgets trumped my inconsistent reading habit when I picked up one of the new Kindle Touches a month or so ago. Since then I’ve been reading a lot more, but for a while before I got my Kindle I knew what I had to start with: The Hunger Games.
The Set-Up
I’d been aware of The Hunger Games for six months or so, when I first heard about the planned movie adaptation. It came on my radar a lot from reading movie blogs where grown adults were confessing their love for the YA book series. It went on my mental to-read list next to titles like Ender’s Game, A Game of Thrones, and A Princess of Mars, but I was constantly putting off reading until I could own a Kindle, because why spend money on paper books when those dollars could go towards a fancy gadget?
In the meantime it seemed like everyone I knew was reading the books, from friends to family members, and they were hooked. My Mom, who reads constantly, could barely contain herself when talking about the books. Next, my sister, sister-in-law, and finally my wife all read the trilogy and I was put into spoiler-aversion mode almost full-time. I pre-ordered the Kindle Touch when it was announced and counted down the days until it would arrive on my door, almost a month later. When it did, I was reading The Hunger Games that night.
The Books
Now, I haven’t read many YA novels, even as a YA, so I expected the books to be filled with plot holes, shoddy dialogue, and unnecessary love triangles. Luckily I was only partially right. In High School when I would regularly shirk off my actual homework and read books that seemed more interesting to me I read a lot of post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. 1984 and Brave New World were a couple of my favorites at that time.
I like how The Hunger Games blends those two genres and presents them in a way that young (or non-geek) readers can still enjoy. My biggest gripe with the first book was a silly one, but I felt it was important. It seemed like Katniss never killed on her own initiative. For the first book it seemed like every kill she scored was for mercy or revenge. I wanted to read that Katniss walked out into a field, saw a random tribute, and put an arrow through their head, just because that’s the nature of the game. I felt like the author took every step she could in the first book to avoid situations like that.
That makes it sound like I just wanted a really violent book but that’s not the case. I just wanted the story to be realistic, and didn’t want the hero to be too pure. Luckily, the second and third books upped the ante significantly. After reading the first book, I never would have guessed that later Katniss would be running down the streets of the Capitol mowing random people down with a gun. Normally that would have seemed like too much, but it really added to the chaos of the war and showed the consequences on the people and Katniss’ mind.
Another beef I had was that the romance seemed a little gratuitous and forced, with the constant Should I kiss him or not? type thoughts from the hero occurring a little too often. But, it was bearable and didn’t ruin the series for me. Overall I really enjoyed the story and most of the characters, and the ending was ballsy enough if a tad predictable.
The Movie
When you read a book specifically because you’ve heard people talking about the planned movie adaptation, it tends to make you curious as to how it is going to pan out. I’m usually the guy that sees the movie first and then reads the book (except for LOTR and this series), but I’m glad I read The Hunger Games first. I know the filmmakers are going to have to trim a lot out of the story and also tone down the violence quite a few levels to get the rating they want, and with something that’s about kids being force to brutally murder each other that is an important element.
I hear a lot of complaining about the casting, but I think they’re all great choices. I was a fan of Winter’s Bone and think Jennifer Lawrence will do a great job as Katniss. Most of the other choices are very interesting and I can’t wait to see how they end up on the big screen.
Sorry I’m late…
I feel like I’m part of a not-so-secret club now that I’ve read The Hunger Games and don’t have to duck out of the room when my friends and family start talking Panem. I don’t know what it is about the series, but I hadn’t felt that much peer pressure to read a book ever before. Nobody complained that I hadn’t read any Harry Potter books even though I was a nut about the movies, but it seemed like everyone from my plumber to my dentist was talking about these and I just had to see what the fuss was about. Ok, so maybe I don’t have a plumber, but if I did, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d read The Hunger Games too.
Late to the Party is a new series on the site and you should expect to see a lot more entries. I tend to get into things a little late. I’m looking at you Adventure Time, Settlers of Catan, and Community.
Check out The Hunger Games on Amazon if you haven’t already.
