Sunday, April 1, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: To Kill A Mockingjay

(Published 2008, paperback editon 374 pages)

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard about "The Hunger Games" and its two sequels. At the time of my writing this review, a little over 5,800 people have also posted on Amazon's site their take on the book. Overwhelmingly, adults and teens rate this baby within the four-and-five star category. It's pretty likely you'll enjoy the story. The movie is also into its second week of release and is justifiably doing gangbusters at the box office. I also just saw the film. It was well acted and keeps pretty close to the book with a few necessary embellishments for clarification and to keep the two-hour film moving along.

Ms. Collins' "The Hunger Games" is written in the first-person narrative. The main protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, conveys the right amount of fear, distrust, determination, confusion, anger et al on how a self-sufficent sixteen year old might react to being placed in such a horrible, bloody situation. Because you are witnessing the story through her eyes, you are just as lost and confused as Katniss is about certain events. The author has written a fast-paced, exciting story about survival and how people in power or oppressive governments can not only rationalize doing horrible things to weaker people but be entertained by such doings. This is not too far a stretch from our current, need-to-be-entertained, superficial society who love such reality shows as Survivor, Big Brother, or Fear Factor.

Look, "The Hunger Games" is a fun read. Its unlikely the book will be given out by a college professor as a reading assignment and that's okay. It's a well-written adventure that certainly left me hanging at the end and wanting to see how the relationships and danger evolves. Enjoy.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #293)

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