Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
This series is technically young adult, but I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to add it here. Imagine a game such as Survivor, but played with children and teens and the fighting is to the death. Add into that a corrupt government that manipulates the entire setting of the Games and has playbacks each evening on TV. Although the futuristic premise seems preposterous, the characters are so realistic, I felt I as if they had become my friends. Ms. Collins also make some thought provoking statements regarding war and its effects on those who live through years of fighting. These books are pretty intense, with some violence (although handled well) and mature subject matter. I would not recommend them for under 8th grade, but for everyone else, I highly recommend them! Plus there is a love trilogy that will keep you guessing right up until the last chapter. A movie is also in the works.
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Just read THE BOOK THIEF for our book club. It is listed as young adult fiction, too, but it's a very sophisticated read, and excellent. The novel is set in Munich during WWII, and DEATH is the narrator of the story, but the main characters are young poor German youth, and their parents. The book takes a look at war and poverty and the control of the population through words and then force-- the way the German population was manipulated by Hitler. The characters in the novel are vividly drawn and Liesl is very memorable. There are many twists in the novel when her adopted father, a German who is a reluctant member of the Nazi party, decides to hide a Jew. Tenderness and harshness are juxtaposed constantly, and I think this book will stay with me for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI have that in my media center, I will read it! thought it looked a little tough for middle school.
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