The Hunger Games

 I recently read The Hunger Games for independent reading in my ELA class. It was an amazing book that I highly recommend to people no matter their reading interests because it's so well written.  It's also an easy read for younger kids. The book is about the Hunger Games and it's a competition where 24 kids, 12 boys and 12 girls, compete against each other until only one remains.  The book takes place in the ruins of North America in the country of Panem which is made up of 12 districts and one capital. They choose one boy and one girl from each district to participate in the games but nobody wants to be picked because only one survives.

  The book's main characters are Katniss and Peeta.  Katniss was not the original pick from District 12. Her little sister was originally picked but Katniss stepped up because she didn’t want anything to happen to her. She then partnered up with Peeta and began the games. The story is empowering because Katniss, an underdog at the beginning, uses strategy and thinking skills to win the games. Peeta is her male partner who comes from poverty just like the rest of the district and he works in a bakery making bread for a living with his dad.  He doesn't know Katniss that well at the beginning but throughout their time together they get closer.

The Reaping is how the contestants are picked. Anyone over the age of 12 is entered, and if you are 12, you only have one slip. If you are 13 or older, you have an additional slip for each year after 12, increasing your chances of being selected. Prim, Katniss's little sister, is only 12 years old and has the lowest chance of being picked. She was picked anyway, so Katniss volunteered to take her spot. Katniss was one of the first people to volunteer from her district in many, many years. The community was very shocked when they heard Katniss volunteer. 

The book has a theme of teamwork throughout. Katniss performs best when she is teamed up with other players to make them stronger together. Teaming up was important because one person could be on watch at all times and the other person could be sleeping, cooking, hunting, etc. Without teamwork, it was a lot harder to survive for long and it was easy for people to gang up against you. Before Katniss teamed up with others she had problems with others going up against her and she learned the importance of working with others.

I would highly recommend reading this book because it's a good book and highlights important elements.