Facing off in the ‘Hunger Games’

• Hunger Games

During the library’s “Hunger Games” event, participants practiced a little archery with homemade bows and arrows.

Talk about it

Woodbury’s Tributes faced off in this year’s Hunger Games last week.

The R.H. Stafford Branch Library hosted a “Hunger Games” release party on March 16 in honor of the upcoming movie release.

The Hunger Games is a science fiction novel about a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem, where North America once stood. The powerful government, working in a central city called the Capitol, holds absolute power over the 12 districts of Panem, which is demonstrated by the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games involve Tributes – one boy and one girl, ages 12 to 18 – who are taken from each of the 12 districts to fight to the death.

In addition to the youths facing off against each other, the Tributes must also face other dangers such as starvation, dehydration, disease, injury and the wilderness.

The book revolves around District Twelve’s Katniss Everdeen and her partner Peeta Melark as they try to survive the Hunger Games.

“The story is so compelling,” said Julia Carlis, a librarian with the R.H. Stafford Branch Library. “It’s just close enough to reality, but it’s also just separated enough from reality that people can really get into it.

“Plus, Katniss is such a good female role model; even though she has those fears that every person has, she is able to find the strength in herself.”

The movie version of the “Hunger Games” will be released Friday.

Carlis said the Washington County library system decided to host its own version of the “Hunger Games” at several branches because it would help encourage excitement about the movie.

“The ‘Hunger Games’ has been phenomenally popular among both teens and adults,” she said. “I think everyone, myself included, is really excited for the movie to come out, so we thought it would be fun to replicate some of the things that occur in the book.”

During Friday’s “Hunger Games” five middle school students participated in several book-related games including: the Cornucopia Challenge, where participants had to race to collect the items they thought would be most beneficial in the Hunger Games; identifying edible and poisonous plants based on images; a knot tying race; and archery.

“This book party idea is kind of a new trend for us,” Carlis said. “We’re still tying it into books and literacy, but making it a little more fun and active.”

Tags: news, updates, entertainment, woodbury