Book Review: Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

What if you were selected to participate in a game of survival, a battle to the death with 23 other teenagers? What if your younger sister was selected for this "honor"? This is the situation Katniss Everdeen was faced with.

Hundreds of years in the future, the American continent is under the rule of the tyrannical Panem. The Capitol has organized the country into twelve impoverished districts. No one may leave their district. Every district must supply two teenagers, a boy and a girl, to participate in the annual Hunger Games. Only one comes out alive. When Katniss hears the name of her younger sister, Prim, read as the next contestant in these cruel games, she doesn't have to think twice about volunteering to take her place. But the Hunger Games turn out to be much bigger and much deadlier than she ever expected.

These books (Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay) are filled with action, drama, and a little romance, but my favorite part about them is the deep themes Suzanne touches upon. Suzanne explores the power of kindness, the psychological effects of war, and the effect of a symbol. This is the story of a rebellion against oppression and a stand for justice and love. It is the story of a girl who doesn't quite understand the effect she has on people--the power of one small act to change everything.

Once you start these books, you won't be able to stop as the draw you in every step of the way. The characters felt real, the plot was intriguing, and the themes in this book make for excellent discussion. I felt the ending was slightly lacking, but overall, I would recommend these books.

"I think...you still have no idea. The effect you have on people....None of those people we lost were idiots. They knew what they were doing. They followed you because they believed." -- Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Survival

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 -- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith, hope, and love--these are the three most important ingredients to survival, to life.

Faith--Trust. A sense of truth. A foundation. Without some kind of trust, some kind of truth, we are tossed about like a ship in a storm, alone with no one to anchor us down. Faith is our anchor. It keeps us steady and provides a foundation, a lens through which to view everything else. Where is your trust? What do you know to be true?

Hope--A reason to go on. A hopeless man has no chance at survival because he has no reason to survive. Sure, he may go on from day to dragging day, but without hope the spirit quickly dies. Without a promise of something better--of rest and peace and joy and the restoration of all things, what is there? Life becomes the vain emptiness that the writer of Ecclesiastes talks about. Hope is that light at the end of the tunnel, the rainbow at the end of a rain storm. It is the promise of something better. What is your hope?

Love--Kindness. Compassion. Love is at the very heart of our life. It is what binds us together as one in this present moment. It is what gives life to the little things. Without it we turn selfishly inward and cut ourselves off from everyone else. Outside that flow of love, we stagnate and die. We need both to love and to be loved for life to flow through us. Who do you love? Who loves you?

Faith is our past, Hope is our future, and Love is our present. Without these three things, no man can truly live. With them, one can conquer almost anything.

The Little Things

In my latest reading adventures I have been noticing a lot about what makes good writing. One of those things is paying attention to the little things. The polka dots on a tie. A broken fan blade with cobwebs hanging from it. A flock of birds silently passing overhead. Little things that seem totally insignificant and from a logical point of view add nothing to the story. Yet, remove these little things and the story ceases to have life. Why? Because a story must do much more than take you from point A to point B. It must paint a picture.

I believe life is the same way. Sometimes we are guilty of missing the forest for the trees, but sometimes we focus too much on the big picture. Day to day life fades away as the little things are eclipsed by the phantom "big things." But think about it--if all that matters in life is the big things, then most of our lives are filled with nothingness. And if you remove the little things, what really do you have left? Life is in the little things. A silent walk with a friend. Watching the storm clouds roll in. Holding the door open for a stranger. Dancing in the rain and jumping through puddles. Letting your little sister put you in time out just because she says you need one. Life is not simply about getting from point A to point B. It's about the picture you paint with each and every moment you live.

Challenge: Take a week and each night write down one of the little things of that day and what it means to you. Learn to appreciate the little things and you will learn to make every moment count.

People

I've been thinking about people recently. How we look at different people. How we need people. And the simple fact that people are people.

There are so many cloaks that sometimes blind us from seeing people for who they really are. Outward beauty and charm (or lack thereof). Dress. Beliefs and doctrines. Race or nationality. Sometimes we uphold people as idols because we see their fame. Other times we look down on people because we see their struggles and sin. But often times what we see is nothing more than a mask. Can you really judge a person unless he opens his heart honestly before you? And I would guess that in our hearts we are all a lot more similar than we think. Broken, struggling, looking for hope and love and purpose. Wanting to know that we matter, that we are beautiful inside. Seeking something, but we know not what.

We need people. When left on our own, we are easily broken. We need family. Ecclesiastes 4 talks about this. We need people to encourage us. We need people to challenge us. We need people to love us and for us to love.

People need us too. They need us to look past the their appearance, to look past their accomplishments and failings, to look past their race and religion and see them for who the really are. They need to be loved and encouraged and challenged. But most of all, they need a friend.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  -- Hebrews 10:24-25

Just One Step

The desert before you stretches for miles.

You already feel like you are drowning in sand.

Exhausted, suffocating, you struggle for air.

Panic sets in as you sink into the depths below.

"Help!" you cry. "Save me!"

A hand reaches out and takes yours.

A grip so firm, yet so gentle.

"My child, you drown in fear--it's your own imagination.

Don't worry about getting across.

Just take one step."

When I was 14

This is a picture of the sunrise from Matamoros, Mexico. Sorry for the poor quality--it was taken with a disposable camera. I am standing beside our bunk--a small building with six beds and no air conditioning. Behind me are the showers which require a not-so-reliable generator to work. When the generator isn't cooperating, there are buckets. In the meeting hall (separating the guys side from the girls side), we got to eat authentic Mexican food. The owner of the camp, though he may not have had the "best" of resources available to him, was very hospitable and our whole group was very grateful for him.

Dancing at the worksite. It is such a joy to serve. The shack in the background--that is a home. That was the home of the family that we are building a new house for. A new house that is still less than your average American would settle for.

This is just one of the families that we met as we walked through Matamoros. Before we came they didn't have a Bible. Now they have one and have begun reading it.

There  are so many stories--sadly, I don’t remember them all. But I wrote little tidbits down before leaving Mexico, and I want to share some of that with you:

Never forget the train that never moves, the girl threatened by her neighbor, the lady who was scared by Satan from going to church, the girl with unspoken family problems, the man without job or food, the man eager to read the Word, the family who shared their photos, the lady with the miracle baby...the lady who gave us water, the fifteen-year old single mom with a week-old baby, and all the wonderful playful children. Never forget the man who followed the bus to ask for prayer, and never forget the joy despite poverty of the children…
 

This area is in the dumps. It's where this boy lives and plays.

A lot of our work was simply playing with the children.

It's been a long way since 14. But this is a year I will never forget.

Book Review: The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters
C. S. Lewis

So, for the last two weeks I've been reading a series of letters from Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood about how to best tempt his human. Screwtape covers a wide range of topics including: misdirecting prayer, sowing seeds of dischord in a courtship, keeping the human involved with bad company, and making him overly spiritual. Oh...Screwtape and Wormwood are, uh, demons. I know, I know, what good could possibly come from reading correspondence between demons? A lot, actually, when it's written by Christian author C. S. Lewis.

C. S. Lewis has got to be one of my favorite authors. He has a knack for packing his books full of spiritual wisdom and he certainly does not fail here. He shows through Screwtape's letters many of the ways in which we humans can be deceived--and some of the ways to overcoming that deception. One of the biggest lessons I learned (or was reminded of) in this book is the importance of living day by day, hour by hour. Screwtape writes about how the future is a great way to distract humans simply because it is so uncertain. It is so easy to tie ourselves into a know about something that may not even affect us when we get there. Rather we must trust God for our daily bread.

The Screwtape Letters is not simply a dull book of proverbs either. C. S. Lewis creatively describes the workings of the enemy, full of cruelty and bureaucracy. They even have an "intelligence" department in charge of figuring out the supposed secret behind God's love for man. Apparently, they've been at it a few thousand years with still no results.

Before closing this review out, I must give a note of caution: Not all of the issues dealt in this book are appropriate for young children. That being said, I would definitely put this book high on my list of recommended books. Oh, and this book is very quotable (as my Facebook friends can attest to).

Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys. -- The Screwtape Letters (C. S. Lewis)