2. Imperfect World - Hunger Games

Before reading this book I already knew what it was about. I had seen the movie a year ago, and I loved it! I was very curious what the book would be like, because books are always better than the movie based on it, and yes, of course this was the same case. After reading the Hunger Games I was surprised by the important parts which didn’t show up in the movie. The book is also way more exciting and because I didn’t know about everything I wanted to keep reading until I finished it.

I absolutely loved the way relationships were described in the book. Especially between Katniss and Cinna and Katniss and Peeta. While reading you really see what Katniss things and how she feels. In this way you really get to know her and understand her. It was nice to read about Katniss, also because she isn’t perfect at all. In that way I could easily identify, because I am not perfect too. The only thing Katniss wants is to survive the hunger games and get back to her mother, sister and Gale.

In class we had a discussion about the theme the book has. We couldn’t really find one particular theme. Most classmates thought the theme was ‘Rebellion’, but I think that’s absolutely not the point. It is about love and hope. Katniss is not thinking about being a rebellion in this book, however I know in the next 2 books she is. She only wants to be freed from the hunger games.

This book would be suitably, in my opinion, for 13 to 15 year old children. It could be read by younger children but I don’t think it is good for them. The book is pretty hard in describing how people kill each other and how hard the game is. The Hunger Games on itself is also pretty scary for children aged under 13. The fact that it is another kind of world makes it for 13 year olds less scarier I think. Katniss is also not a very kind person in the book, which makes it hard for children to identify, because they want their main character to be kind and perfect.

I could definitely use this book in my classes. It is about surviving and her age is the same as my students. It will be interesting for them to read and that makes it more fun to read English. I really want my students to not notice the English anymore, but just let them feel like they are reading a book.

I found some information about the book on the internet about how the game works. Apparently the hunger games used a lot of mathematics to determine who will be picked to enter the game. There is a man who described how well thought the game is. Another woman described how the book refers to our daily lives. This was a very interesting theory about the game, and how human beings choose between one another.

I’ve learned from this lesson about the Hunger Games that everyone has another sight at things. This book has a lot of different themes, such as hope, love and rebellion. My classmates all had another idea of what the book is supposed to say to the reader. This was very interesting.