Kids & Family

Have You Been Swept Away by The Hunger Games Craze?

Local Editor picks up the first book in the series and joins the local book club for a discussion.

I'm an avid reader. It was a pastime my mother instilled on me when I was a child. In fact, it was not just an idle hobby. My mother taught me that 'books are our friends.'

Throughout my life, they sometimes have been. You can escape into a good book and the rest of the world melts away as you become totally absorbed in someone else's story. You care for the well-written characters. You cheer for the heroes and boo for the villains. Sometimes, you do the opposite. And a good book sucks you in so much that you chant the mantra, "one more page," even when you should get dinner on the stove.

That is the kind of book I found myself absorbed in when I picked up "The Hunger Games." And, considering the way this story is gaining in popularity and that there is a movie being released on March 23, I am not alone.

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It was a welcome escape. I had been searching for a book to read and had started three or four of them in the past couple weeks. None of them caught my attention. I was into "The Hunger Games" after the first sentence.

I picked up the book because after being at the last weekend for the kids' bingo event, I noticed it was slated for discussion March 7. After the librarian told me it was an easy read, I thought I would jump right in.

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I will not give the plot line away. So no spoiler alert is necessary. But the gist of the book is this: In a post-apocalyptic world, in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed, a yearly event called the hunger games takes place. Two people from each district or town in the country are chosen to fight in a game where there is only one survivor. There are 12 districts, so each year, 11 people die.

The main characters in the book are Katniss and Peeta, although other characters are highlighted along the way. By the end of the book, I was in love with Peeta as a character and wanted him to get everything he wanted. I will not go into detail as to what that is, as to not spoil the book.

I was 175 pages into this book on the first night. By the time I finished it two days later, I wanted to get the next in the series immedietely. Unfortunately, I find myself on a waiting list for the next book, "Catching Fire."

At the Three Rivers Book Club, which meets the first Wednesday of every month, some of the attendees had already read all three books in the series. But, they were kind enough to not spoil the plot for those of us who came late to "The Hunger Games" party. Good thing. I can't wait to open the next book.

Want to join one of our local book clubs? The Three Rivers Book Club is reading "In the Garden of Beasts" for its April meeting. They meet at at 7 p.m. The Bookies Book Club, which meets in Minooka on the second Saturday of the month, is discussing Memoirs of a Geisha at 10 a.m., March 10 at the


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