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Teens compete in ‘The Hunger Games’ at Poland library
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .In the novel and movie version of "The Hunger Games," protagonist Katniss Everdeen gives a three finger salute as a sign of respect to a fallen friend during the games. Hunger Games fans, from left, Haley Allen (front), Zoe Novak, and Katrina Ropison (back) gave the salute during the Poland library's March 15 event celebrating the books and movies.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The Poland library’s March 15 "Hunger Games" event followed the plot of Suzanne Collins' namesake young adult novel, where young "tributes" are taken to the capital and asked tomake a fashionable first impression. A group of students who participated in the Hunger Games fashion show, where they had to create outfits from supplies like tissue paper, feathers, and paper plates, smiled as they showed off their outfits.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .In the novel "The Hunger Games," protagonist Katniss Everdeen is a master archer. In an activity area at the Poland library's March 15 celebration of the book and upcoming movie, Samantha Bertin (center) channeled Katniss while wielding a bow and arrow.
By SARAH FOOR
Local teens held their own Hunger Games on March 15 thanks to the Poland library and the Teen Advisory Board.
The event was a pre-celebration for the March 23 movie release of “The Hunger Games,” based on the young-adult fiction series by Suzanne Collins. The book trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen, a teenager in a future post-apocalyptic North America, who pledges herself to compete in the brutal, last-man-standing Hunger Games to save her young sister.
Cindy Beach, teen services co-coordinator for Mahoning County libraries, said the book seems to be popular among teens because it creates a fictional world with nonetheless familiar elements.
“Collins creates a very dark, dystopian world, which is subject matter that continues to be really popular at this age. In the book, everyone watches the Hunger Games in a way that smacks of today’s reality TV. It’s fiction that takes them far away, but still keeps them grounded by critiquing a part of our own society,” Beach said.
During the event, guests played their own version of the Games, albeit a far less terrifying version.
Following the plot of the book, the teens were divided into 12 state-like “districts” and one tribute was chosen to represent each area. The tributes were introduced to the world with a fashion show, where guests had to cobble together an attention-getting outfit from tissue paper, cotton balls, feathers and paper plates.
A pre-Games feast followed where teens were free to share their love for the series.
“The book is so cool because every detail is important somewhere down the line — it’s like the author already had the whole trilogy in mind as she wrote it. I like that Katniss is the main character. She’s a girl who is self-reliant and a total survivor,” said Zoe Novak, who attends South Range.
Guests closed out the night by playing a board-game version of the Hunger Games, where they were challenged to fun “Minute to Win It” games to move forward on the board.
South Range student Haley Allen said the activities only fanned the flames of her excitement for the movie’s release.
“I can’t wait to see how all the book’s characters were translated into the movie,” she said.