The Hunger Games (aka You Have Got to be F*cking Kidding Me)

My friend, Mer: "I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy. Amazing! I can't put it down! Katniss is bad-@ss!"

Me: "I've never heard of it." (which is very strange considering it is Harry Potter-big, including the movie out next month)

Mer: "Really?! Its like Survivor, a reality show on TV but they battle to the death. And it's kids - 12 to 18 year-olds."

Me: "You have got to be fucking kidding me, that's awful."

And trust me, it only gets more awful-er.

Don't get me wrong, Mer was right - it is definitely a book you'll find difficult to put down. If I didn't have a toddler I most likely would have finished it in a weekend. And if not for the hold-your-breath-while-on-the-edge-of-your-seat, non-stop action, you might be able to spare a moment or two to contemplate just how horrific and awful this story is. P.S. Mer later told me it was categorized as a Young Adult novel. You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Maybe I am too aware of current events. Maybe this is one instance where my degree in Political Science is not a good thing, for I foresee the government depicted in The Hunger Games to be scarily right around the corner. Especially if a Republican is elected President instead of Obama or - I'll settle for - a Green Party candidate.

As all good stories do, this took place in post-apocalyptic America; or what used to be known as North America, but now is some creepy, freaky place that just makes me thing of dull silver medal. There is the Capitol, which is the equivalent of the Pharaoh's of Egypt - glimmering in wealth; whereas the outlining areas - in this case, Districts 1 through 12 - are poorer than poor. So under-fed and under-paid are they, Katniss and her friend, Gale, are forced to hunt beyond their fenced District to ensure their families survival.

But there was a point in time the Districts didn't feel so helpless, and it's because of their collective efforts that the Games even exist. SPOILER ALERT: the Games are their punishment; watching their children kill each other in cold blood is what they get as retribution. But you don't think of that because you're too busy concentrating and hoping Katniss survives. She's not very outspoken, is smaller than the other contestants, and comes from the poorest of the Districts; 12. She's not favored to win but rapidly becomes the favorite. The Hunger Games is truly an underdog story at it's best.

Suddenly, she just might have a chance at winning and, as the reader, you're constantly praising her cleverness, and her ability to manipulate a situation to her favor while I would just be sitting in the corner of the arena - an artificial environment created by the government - rocking back and forth blowing a whistle. In short, I probably would have been one of the first ones killed.

I was naive. As I read, I foolishly hoped that each of the contenders - 1 boy and 1 girl from each District - would collectively decide that this was a horrible practice and band together to defeat the government. Nope. In some Districts, children are training for the Games from the moment they can walk in the off-chance their name would be picked from the lottery system.

At it's core, The Hunger Games is a tale of survival; and knowing that belief in oneself is the only way said survival is going to happen. It's a bit dramatic for every-day life, but thank God it's not every-day life. Yet.

I was constantly surprised as I continued to read, but that didn't stop me from trying to predict where Suzanne Collins was going to take me next. I was shocked by the ending, and it left me wondering what on earth could happen in the next 2 books; a lot, apparently.

The general premise of the story confuses me. In our protest-happy nation (I was one of the few liberals adamantly against the Occupy movement), I didn't understand how the parents could stand by and just let this happen; just watch as their children died violent deaths hundreds of miles from their home. I had to keep telling myself it was fantasy. All of the characters' names are weird, so it has to be fantasy.

Only my friend, Mer, brought up an interesting point: things like this aren't new. Gladiators would fight to the death, and I'm pretty sure some people participate in ultimate cage fighting in some part of the world. We subject animals to it for our entertainment so this "fantasy" idea isn't that far of a stretch.

I wouldn't say I disliked it, but I wouldn't say I loved it, either. It was a story, it was interesting, it kept me entertained, guessing, and - most importantly - wanting more. Now that Katniss has surpassed even her own expectations, what could possibly be around the corner?

We'll find out in