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| The Hunger Games Lexile Level 810 |
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| Catching Fire Lexile Level 820 |
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| Mockingjay Lexile Level 800 |
I recently read The Hunger Games trilogy. As an avid reader, I found myself drawn into this series and just could not stop myself from reading all of the books in one weekend! I was very impressed with the descriptive writing that Suzanne Collins was able to incorporate into these books. It was easy to be drawn into the story of Katniss Everdeen and her trials in the Hunger Games.
Teaching 8th grade Language Arts opened me up to these books originally. I will be teaching the original book this spring and decided that it would not hurt to start reading the series now. My 8th grade students will be reading The Hunger Games this spring, and I think that they will love the book. It is almost guaranteed that this will have already seen the movie, but I believe that reading the book will open their eyes to how much a movie differs from a book.
Though most may choose Katniss as their favorite character, I found that the character of Haymitch was mine. He comes off as a terrible human being, void of feeling, when you read the first book. However, as the books progress, you find that the character of Haymitch grows exponentially. Through the series we find that he was a tribute during the second Quarter Quell. During a Quarter Quell, the tributes are exposed to a Hunger Games that is much different from a average game. Haymitch's Quarter Quell required that there be double the amount of tributes. This means that Haymitch was required to compete against 48 tributes instead of the normal 24. The fact that he won speaks volumes about his resiliency and intelligence. He was able to outsmart the game makers by using the arena against the other tributes.
Katniss, though she would not admit it, is very much like Haymitch. As the series continues, she even starts to admit to herself that they are similar in some ways. The Hunger Games take a tool on any tribute that survives, but because she is able to form a close love/hate relationship with Haymitch, I believe that it helped her to be successful. Haymitch pushed her to survive. I enjoyed the relationships that developed between the characters, but Haymitch and Katniss were my favorites!
The Hunger Games - Movie Trailer
