The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For the most part, everyone enjoyed The Hunger Games, and several of us have already started the next book in the series.  Some of the topics we discussed:

• The similarity between The Hunger Games and current reality TV shows.  Are we, in fact, that far off from seeing real televised death?
• The parallels between The Hunger Games and high school.  You’re playing a game, trying to win, and then there’s prom…
• Putting flowers on Rue was Katniss’s way of flipping the bird to the Capitol.
• Peeta joined a group in the beginning of the games much in the same way people make alliances on Survivor.
• The Games were a way to control the population, and forcing the people to watch and “enjoy” them was especially cruel.
• Maybe a little cheesy that Peeta had always been in love with Katniss, and she was so oblivious?
• They could never be themselves, because they were always on camera – they had to feed into the “characters” that were created for them.