OK, Girls, Let's Talk About "The Hunger Games"!!!!!

      
                                  Well, darlings, I read it.  The first thing I will say is the fact that I  got through all
374 pages indicates Suzanne Collins is a decent writer, because I could not even stomach two pages of that
Stephanie Myer.   The second is that it was fast paced, absorbing, and had a heroine you could root for.

                                     However, I found the violence and the premise of the whole thing extremely
disturbing.  Maybe that is the point; Collins is setting out to criticize this kind of society, pointing to resemblances to ours (like TV shows such as "Survivor") to keep us from becoming one.  Then there are literary influences; I bet when she was writing it, Collins was influenced by William Golding's "Lord Of The Flies."  But the two almost work in reverse;  Golding's book shows how society breaks down when there are no rules, while Collins maintains the breakdown is from too many.  Whatever, the idea of children hunting each other reminded me very much of Golding, which got me thinking who is the audience this book is for?????

                                       Young adults of a more sensitive bent, I think, would do best to avoid this book.
And I am not sure those who are enthralled with Harry Potter would be enthralled with this.  Since Young Adult literature has become so prevalent, and there is so much good stuff out there, it has come to serve a purpose, acting as a transition for those readers who want to move beyond children's literature, but, maybe because they do not read well enough, or have juvenile, rather than adult, interests, are not ready to make the leap from juvenile to adult fiction.  Some are, but many are not, and I think the current abundance of YA lit, and certainly "The Hunger Games" directs itself to this particular group.

                                          As one well outside this demographic, I was curious, due to the literary phenomenon the entire trilogy has become.  And, having read the first book, I intend to read the others.
But did I enjoy it???? Not really.  I admired it--for the writing, for its heroine, for what Collins was essentially setting out to do.  But unlike the Harry Potter books, there is no levity, wit or warmth in the entire book. Even the burgeoning romance is too imperilled by all the tensions hanging over it.  In the Harry Potter world, even when the characters are imperilled, the story is more warm and engaging, rather than disturbing.

                                           So these books are not for everyone.  If I had children, I would not allow anyone under the ages of 12 and 13 to read them.  And only if I talked to them and were fairly confident they could emotionally handle the darker aspects of the material.

                                             But, kids being kids, they will read what they want, whether  you want them to or not.  And I should know, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                In my day, it was "Valley Of The Dolls'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!