(book review)

“You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.”
― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

‘The Hunger Games,’ both books and movies, hold a special place in my heart. I absolutely love this story. Now it is especially suited to the current events in Ukraine. Because of the war on the territory of my country, the plot hits harder.

‘The Hunger Games’ universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, children from the first 12 districts are selected via a lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle looking like a royal death match called ‘The Hunger Games’ (to a real slaughterhouse). ‘The Hunger Games’ is a survival game where only one can win. But what to do if two lovers go there from the same district?

The districts live in poverty, earn their food somehow, and many simply die of hunger… And only the winner of the ‘Hunger Games’ is encouraged by the authorities with untold wealth. He will not need anything for the rest of his or her life. This is the only chance for the main character to save her mother and sister from hunger, which she can not miss!

The book tells a lot more than the movie, and explains a lot of what the movie leaves as a feeling of understatement. I can also say with confidence that I liked Peeta Mellark in the books much more than in the movies. Here he is more self-confident.

The narration comes from the perspective of the main character Katniss Everdeen. The book is read in one breath. My only regret is that I didn’t read it before the movies came out. I’m sure it would be even more interesting!

10/10