The Hunger Games

Young Adult Literature is a very special beast. It has to be a very specific blend of wholesome and exciting. It needs to be a quick read to keep teens hooked and it needs to be both simple enough to not frustrate a kid and also sophisticated enough that it makes the kid feel smart. There are very few authors who perfect this mixture and those who do, sell millions. As much as adults like to yell about how kids these days are distracted and no one reads books anymore! This just isn't even remotely close to reality. If teens find a book or a series of books they are passionate about they will scream about it to every single one of their friends, relatives, teachers, bus mates and random people in the grocery store. They will ridicule their friends for not reading the books and generally make life hell until they do. Teens have passion and talking about books that speak to them is far more important than adults seem to remember.

I grew up in a group of severe Potterheads. The only excuse for having not read any of the books was if someone's parents wouldn't allow them to and this was a fate to be whispered about in hushed tones. We would eventually accept that some people could read a couple of the books and just not get into them. We were pretty sure they were secretly actual wizards and just didn't want anyone to suspect. Having a book fandom like Harry Potter was so important to my youth. Instead of being out late at parties in high school, I'd be in costume at the opening night of the newest Potter movie or at the bookstore for the midnight release party for the latest book. My friends and I would call each other to tease spoilers for goodness sake! There is nothing worse than realizing that you were the one person in the group who decided to sleep after getting your new copy instead of staying up all night to read. This stuff is important to kids.

This is why I am thankful for "The Hunger Games." After Pottermania died down, there was a lot of anticipation about what the next thing would be. There were the dark days of "Twilight," which I will not even speak of and then "The Hunger Games" peaked over the horizon. These books are intellectually stimulating, packed with adventure, insight some feelings of rebellion and really make the reader think about their priorities and how they view the world around them. This is a very solid trilogy with an unambiguous beginning, middle and end. I think it is important for teens to have to think about a post-apocalyptic world. Who knows what the future may bring? They are the only ones who can make the world they'll live in. The have to be able to see consequences. I think this should be on every 15-year-old's reading list.

All of this being said, I have to admit something. I HATE Katniss Everdeen. She is a cold, whiny, brooding little twit. She doesn't deserve all the help and positive attention she gets and she should never have had the chance to choose between Gale and Peeta. She's an awful person and she doesn't deserve either of their love. Someone should have just let her die. I think Peeta would have been better off that way. The only person she shows any unabashed love for is Prim and Prim is the only person who even begins to make Katniss an almost likeable person. It's really a shame that Katniss was the narrator. I would have loved for her to be killed off in the middle of one of her little pity parties about how the government is using her.

So if you have a young adult in your life or if you need a quick and exciting read, you should definitely check out "The Hunger Games." The problem you will soon have is then trying to read any book after. Reading a book about modern, simple cooking in your Hunger Games Voice gets a little bit weird. No one has ever been that violent toward broccoli before, I'm sure.