Hungry for Hunger Games

Today I got a visit from Mrs Lewis. She had just finished reading Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and wanted to get her hands on the second book in the series, Catching Fire. The only copy I had to offer her was our e-book. (Note: If you are interested in our e-books, please see me to get signed up.)

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Suzanne Collins grew up in an urban area. After reading Alice in Wonderland, she was intrigued by what might be discovered if you fell down a manhole in New York City. This inspired her first series, Gregor the Overlander. Suzanne says she is similar to Gregor, "I think I’m like Gregor because we both want to do the right thing but sometimes have trouble figuring out what it is. Also, neither of us likes to ride roller coasters and we’ve both changed a lot of diapers. But Gregor is much braver than I am…if I even see a regular sized rat in New York City I immediately cross the street."

Her idea for the Hunger Games series occured one night as she was watching television. As she was flipping through the channels, she began watching a reality show and another program on the Iraq war. It was also inspired by her interest in Greek mythology. Specifically, the minotaur and Theseus. Her father also was a member of the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Through his experience, she felt she understood poverty, starvation, death, and the impacts of war on the world. Collins explained more in detail in an interview with School Library Journal. "My father was career Air Force. He was in the Air Force for 30-some years. He was also a Vietnam veteran. He was there the year I was six. Beyond that, though, he was a doctor of political science, a military specialist, and a historian; he was a very intelligent man. And he felt that it was part of his responsibility to teach us, his children, about history and war. When I think back, at the center of all this is the question of what makes a necessary war—at what point is it justifiable or unavoidable?"

It makes for a good discussion about the novels. At what point is war justifiable or unavoidable?