Vol. 1 Issue #229]

Monday went south fast. New story sections and formats didn’t come together the way we would have liked, and an executive decision was made. Instead a story about the new Suzanne Collins prequel The Hunger Games, which grew into the benefits of YA Fiction (Young-Adult) and our new heroes that fight for justice with courage and wit vs. superpowers.

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Kid [dys]Topia

With the tremendous success of The Hunger Games books and movies, writer Suzanne Collins returned to Panem and wrote the origin story of Coriolanus Snow (played by Donald Sutherland). The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes start with the Snow family coming to grips with running out of resources and having to cover it up to avoid the appearance of lack in the Capital. Having just completed his education, Snow is set to mentor one of the district tributes. If you are familiar with the series President Snow is a tyrant who trusts no one, and expects complete loyalty, even from the people he intends to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games. The origin story starts as Scarlett I Gone With the Wind but ends with a TV-friendly fascist.

Stay Hungry

The book has been out for a few years, published in 2020, and now the movie is set to be released. Directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed most of the previous Hunger Games movies. Collins is the top author and tells a great story, even if the themes are starting to lack the impact of the original book; you can only introduce a dystopian world that forces children to fight to the death once; after that, the story and the characters have to take you to other unexpected places.

For additional movie info and a sneak peek at the trailer for the movie, check Alternative Press.

Reluctant Heroes

At the same time, the first Hunger Games movie came out, my house was bursting the seams with new readers. My three boys were in high school, middle school, and grade school, respectively, and were reading some form of adults will ruin your world, but never fear; Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Beatrice Prior (Divergent) or Thomas (The Maze Runner). In each of the stories, a young person is put into multiple situations most adults wouldn't be able to face, yet these heroes did what they could to fight for what they felt was a just cause. Instead of running into the burning building to save other people, the buildings came to them, and the war was forced upon them. In the Divergent and The Maze Runner series, the heroes weren't even sure if what they saw was real. Unlike Marvel or DC Superheroes, our young heroes had to depend on quick wits and relationships to make it to another tomorrow. In those scenes and written experiences, so many of us fell in love with those stories. It is easier to see yourself in a gritty post-apocalyptic world where you must figure out how to go all Mad Max to save the people around you with whatever MacGyver weapons you can find.

From Arena to Characters

With the arena or environment setup and the good vs. evil story taking off, the characters and relationships dig into your mind and keep you flipping pages. In the case of the original movie, The Hunger Games, released in 2012, which I saw with my kids and then went back and read the books, the characters on the screen were part of the narrative. Divergent and The Maze Runner were read first, and the movies came second. When your mind creates characters from the books and the stories told, the film will always need more depth. That's why we read, and when we burn our planet to the ground, I'm glad I'll be wondering when the young heroes will save us!