On March 23, the American teenager will have forgotten about the allure of the vampires in Twilight, the magic wonderland of Hogwarts, and will be waiting at midnight to go on an adventure in Panem with 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen.
Katniss is the protagonist of the Hunger Games, a trilogy that is set in the post-apocalyptic country of Panem somewhere in the Rocky Mountains where America once existed. Since their release in 2006, the books have been translated into 26 languages and have been sold in 38 different countries, and they have captured the imagination of many VHS students.
The trilogy was written by Suzanne Collins, an American born writer of novels and television. After spending time writing children’s stories and TV series, she created her masterpiece geared toward teenagers.
In the futuristic country of Panem, the Hunger Games are a way for the evil “Capitol” to assert its control over the citizens of Panem. The main characters, Katniss and Peeta, ages 16 and 17 respectively, are randomly selected to represent their District in “The 74th Annual Hunger Games.” In the “games,” two children from each of the twelve districts of Panem are chosen by a lottery to be put in an arena where they will fight to the death against their 23 opponents. Katniss and Peeta are trained and taught new techniques in order to kill and survive. Telling whether Katniss and Peeta live or die would give away the ending of The Hunger Games but, think of it this way – there were two sequels.
Collins is not the first author to see success with a fantasy young adult series. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series saw success not only with her books, but movie sales. Numerous teens stayed up until midnight, dressing in extravagant outfits to watch the premieres of all eight Harry Potter movies. Almost as many awaited the release of the Twilight films, a series of books also turned movies.
The Hunger Games features young and relatively unheard of stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Lionsgate, the producers of The Hunger Games, anticipate a lucrative turnout, and are planning the film release of Collins’ second part of the trilogy, Catching Fire, for 2013.
Why do teens have a burning desire to travel with Collins’ characters Katniss and Peeta to Panem’s District 12? VHS junior Christine Farawell, who cannot get enough of the novels, said it’s because the books are so hard to put down.
“The Hunger Games are so popular because the stories and especially the characters are so unique,” Christine explained. “It is very easy to get attached to the characters and hooked into the story.”
Some say the fantasy aspect is another common theme between The Hunger Games and previous teen favorites Twilight and Harry Potter. But Collins takes the fantasy land too far proclaims VHS senior Rebecca Parra. “I thought the Hunger Games were stupid,” she boldly stated.
VHS junior Haley Tole disagrees. “The books are different from any book I’ve read before,” she explained. “I just couldn’t put them down.” Haley plans on seeing The Hunger Games premier at midnight with friends. But she enjoyed the books so much, she doesn’t anticipate the movie being better.
The Hunger Games is the title of the first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. The series also features novels Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The Hunger Games and Catching Fire were New York Times Best Sellers, and Mockingjay (2010) went to the top of virtually all U.S. bestseller lists immediately upon its release.
The books have now sold over three million copies in print worldwide, and many more in e-book format. The trilogy has also has put Suzanne Collins in the “Kindle Million Club,” for authors that have sold over one million books on the Amazon Kindle. Collins is only the sixth author to do this.