Hunger Games

I have just finished the book Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. What a great book. I had a student ask me yesterday what I was reading so I gave himself a brief synopsis. I told him I would be finished with the book by the next day. He stood by my desk today as I read the last four pages so he could be sure to be the next one to check it out from me and read it.

Imagine the U.S. as we know it is gone, and our nation has been divided into twelve districts. Some much poorer than others. The government has a sick way of entertaining the nation. Once a year they hold the "Hunger Games". Children between the ages of twelve and eighteen have their name put into a bowl each year. A boy and girl "tribute" are chosen to play these games. They are wisked away to the Capitol in Colorado where they are treated like royalty, trained and then sent into the arena to fight to the death. The whole thing is televised for the districts to see. Those who are rich make bets on their favorite player based on how well they do in the arena and how popular they become. Each district can purchase gifts for their tributes to help them. This can be food, medicine or anything else they think they need or deserve.

I was apalled to think that the government would think that this was good entertainment. They thought so little of their people that they were willing to sacrifice 23 of them every year in the name of entertainment. If the killing was not moving along fast enough then the gamekeepers would do something to escalate it. I loved all of the characters. The main character Katniss was one that at times seemed clueless and at other times seemed like she was on top of the game. Peeta, the male tribute from her district has been in love with Katniss for years. She on the other hand has a very close male friend back home that she doesn't exactly consider a boyfriend, but thinks of as more than just a good friend. You can tell she is fond of Peeta. At times she seems like she may be falling in love with him and then she pulls away emotionally. The angle of the two of them as star-crossed lovers makes them the popular choice in the games. In the end you don't know if she has feelings for Peeta or not. It leaves enough loose ends to set things up for the second book. I don't know when it will be out, but I will wait with anticipation for its release. I would recommend this book to all of my friends and my students.

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

I will keep this brief as it has been a long day. My students did sustained silent reading today in class. It gave me the opportunity to start a new book. I am currently reading Hunger Games. It is set in the U.S. after a terrible war that destroyed most of America. The United States is now divided into 12 districts. Each child from the age of 12 - 18 has their name put in to be drawn for the Hunger Games. One boy and one girl represent each district. The idea is, they will be dropped somewhere and must kill each other off. The last person alive is the winner. Most of the people are starving, not allowed to hunt for food, banned from the woods, etc. If you are starving enough you can have your name put in an extra time for each family member and collect oil and grain to sustain you through the year. The main character has her name in twenty times and her younger sister has her name in once. When her younger sister's name is drawn to play the game she volunteers to take her place. I can't wait to finish the book this weekend. From what I have read so far my students are going to love this book.

Journey of discovery

Today was a day away from school. Things have been hectic since returning from Christmas break. As our school prepares for a visit to certify us as an IB (International Baccalaureate School), tension at work has risen. We are trying to prepare for the visit at the end of February. Starting in February and going into March we have those lovely state tests. All of this is on my plate as I prepare for a fourth eye surgery in the middle of February and a house move at the end of February. It seems the only sane constant in my life right now is my writing. I wish I had more time just for it. So today I made a major decision.

Today I began my journey of discovery on the Berlin Wall. I am not actually headed to Germany in the physical sense. I started my intense, in depth research of the Berlin Wall. I have checked out a few resources in the past for a lesson that I had taught. I wanted to know the reasons the wall was built. That one wasn't too difficult. My main interest in this journey is to discover how and why people escaped. I also want to explore the lifestyles of the people who lived on each side of the wall. I want to compare and contrast them so that my main character Hannah, will be very believable. I am exploring issues of trust. My main character has major trust issues. Her parents seem to always let her down so she doesn't really trust them to keep their promises to her. Friends no longer hang out at her house because of her parent's constant arguing, so she feels they have let her down, and can't be trusted to be there for her. Her parent's solution is to send her off to camp while they try to work on their marriage. Hannah through an accident finds herself thrown back through time into East Berlin. She must help two other teens escape to the West. This should be an interesting journey for me. Follow me as I take my journey.