Ephemeris of the Mind (Book Review) The Hunger Games
Time to read: 2 min read
Book Cover
Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor.
Review
I’m generally apathetic towards YA novels but I distinctly remember The Hunger Games being added to my highschool English curriculum as a reading option. I figured a book with so much cultural impact is worth reading.
The story takes place in a dystopian North America where a new country named Panem was created from the ruins of a deadly civil war. The seat of power in Panem lies in the Capitol, a wealthy lavish city. Surrounding the Capitol are different districts, each specializing in the production of a certain resource. Each year, the Capitol demands two child tributes from each district to participate in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death in an arena as a reminder of the districts’ betrayal in the civil war. The story follows Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12, the poorest district, who volunteers in the place of her sister to participate in the Hunger Games.
The story is interesting, much like a Westernized version of Battle Royale except Collins builds an entire universe surrounding it. Her worldbuilding is very interesting and I found myself being intrigued by the different aspects of Panem, from what life is like inside the various districts to how Panem’s economy functions. Collins doesn’t just build the lore of Panem directly and instead drops tidbits indirectly throughout the book. I found this method of worldbuilding to be very engaging.
Collins' writing is very colloquial and since it’s from the perspective of a teenage girl, it focuses greatly on her experiences and how she’s feeling. I found the sentimental YA portions of the writing to be a tad boring while I really enjoyed Collins’ descriptions of food.
Conclusion
A surprisingly decent YA novel.