The Hunger Games

Huh. Is it just me, or do The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Graceling by Kristin Cashore have a bit too many parallels? Here are a few I noticed.

• As mentioned in the Graceling post, the main character's names start with "Kat"
• The main male character's name starts with "P"
• Both books involve a girl who is very good at killing/wounding/mauling/mutilating people
• Both books involve a girl with a gift for survival in the wilderness
• The plots are set in a kingdom or nation which is (mostly) built around a central district
• The relationship between the two main characters in each book both start out bitter and becomes a ton more romantic/complicated
• Near the end of the books, the main male characters both get permanently wounded in some way

Yeah, well. I could go on for ages. But that doesn't mean The Hunger Games is a bad book or anything. It had just the right amount of adventure (between "Then she did this. Then she did that. Then she got nailed by a club." and "ZOMFG!!!!! She tooo-tally SKOOLED the girl!!! She threw her knife and OMGOMGOMG the girl's guts were, like, all over the place!!!!! OMG!!!!"). The part that stood out the most for me was that practically the whole book seemed to be alive with survival skills, but in reality, it was based around money and fame, giving the book a kind of "behind-the-scenes" feel.

Summary: Katniss Everdeen was living on the edge of starvation. But on the day when the contestants for the Hunger Games are picked, she volunteers to go instead of her little sister. Why? Because the Hunger Games is a twenty-four kid fight to the death. Literally. Now she's headed to the Capital with her partner (and fake boyfriend), Peeta to train. Will she make it through to win the hearts of the twelve districts, the President, and most importantly, her worried sick family?

Related links:
• Author's website
• Official series website
• Official UK site
• Fan forum