# data[].attributes.headline
The Hunger Games review from people of different age groups.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Hunger Games review from people of different age groups.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Jump to navigation

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate

About these links

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

Our ratings are based on child development best practices. We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality and learning potential.
Learn how we rate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jump to navigation Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners. See how we rate Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Hunger Games reminds me of the Colosseum, because like The Hunger Games, the Colosseum was a source of entertainment with battles and combat, although, the Colosseum battles actually happened.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Hunger Games reminds me of the Colosseum, because like The Hunger Games, the Colosseum was a source of entertainment with battles and combat, although, the Colosseum battles actually happened.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian's son Titus opened the Colosseum-officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater-with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. After four centuries of active use, the magnificent arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18th century it was used as a source of building materials. Though two-thirds of the original Colosseum has been destroyed over time, the amphitheater remains a popular tourist destination, as well as an iconic symbol of Rome and its long, tumultuous history.

Origins of the Colosseum

Even after the decadent Roman emperor Nero took his own life in A.D. 68, his misrule and excesses fueled a series of civil wars. No fewer than four emperors took the throne in the tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian, would end up ruling for 10 years (A.D. 69-79). The Flavian emperors, as Vespasian and his sons Titus (79-81) and Domitian (81-96) were known, attempted to tone down the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. Around 70-72, Vespasian returned to the Roman people the lush land near the center of the city, where Nero had built an enormous palace for himself after a great fire ripped through Rome in A.D. 64. On the site of that Golden Palace, he decreed, would be built a new amphitheater where the public could enjoy gladiatorial combats and other forms of entertainment.

Did you know? Archaeologists believe that the Colosseum contained both drinking fountains and latrines.

After nearly a decade of construction-a relatively quick time period for a project of such a grand scale-Titus officially dedicated the Colosseum in A.D. 80 with a festival including 100 days of games. A well-loved ruler, Titus had earned his people's devotion with his handling of recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed the towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The final stages of construction of the Colosseum were completed under the reign of Titus' brother and successor, Domitian.

The Colosseum: A Grand Amphitheater

Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Unlike many earlier amphitheaters, which had been dug into hillsides to provide adequate support, the Colosseum was a freestanding structure made of stone and concrete. The distinctive exterior had three stories of arched entrances-a total of around 80-supported by semi-circular columns. Each story contained columns of a different order (or style): At the bottom were columns of the relatively simple Doric order, followed by Ionic and topped by the ornate Corinthian order. Located just near the main entrance to the Colosseum was the Arch of Constantine, built in A.D. 315 in honor of Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at Pons Milvius.

Inside, the Colosseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators, who may have been arranged according to social ranking but were most likely packed into the space like sardines in a can (judging by evidence from the seating at other Roman amphitheaters). Awnings were unfurled from the top story in order to protect the audience from the hot Roman sun as they watched gladiatorial combats, hunts, wild animal fights and larger combats such as mock naval engagements (for which the arena was flooded with water) put on at great expense. The vast majority of the combatants who fought in front of Colosseum audiences in Ancient Rome were men (though there were some female gladiators). Gladiators were generally slaves, condemned criminals or prisoners of war.

The Colosseum Over the Centuries

The Colosseum saw some four centuries of active use, until the struggles of the Western Roman Empire and the gradual change in public tastes put an end to gladiatorial combats and other large public entertainments by the 6th century A.D. Even by that time, the arena had suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes. In the centuries to come, the Colosseum was abandoned completely, and used as a quarry for numerous building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. Beginning in the 18th century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site, though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum, as has been speculated.

By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of the arena's marble seats and its decorative elements. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have proceeded over the years, as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists from all over the world.
Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. Start your free trial today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian's son Titus opened the Colosseum-officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater-with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights.

# data[].attributes.headline
Suzanne Collins is the author of The Hunger Games, here is her website.

# data[].attributes.subject
Suzanne Collins is the author of The Hunger Games, here is her website.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
#1 USA TODAY BESTSELLER

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

#1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER

A BARNES & NOBLE BEST YA SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK OF 2020

AN AMAZON BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK OF 2020

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE

2020 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FINAL ROUND--YA FANTASY

WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2020: SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

COSMOPOLITAN'S 20 BEST YA BOOKS OF 2020

TODAY'S BEST YA BOOKS OF 2020

2021 KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS FINALIST

BEST FANTASY WORLD BUILDER

SUZANNE COLLINS/THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES

A HUNGER GAMES NOVEL

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1 USA TODAY BESTSELLER #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER #1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER A BARNES & NOBLE BEST YA SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK OF 2020 AN AMAZON BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY BOOK OF 2020 A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE 2020 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FINAL ROUND--YA FANTASY WATERSTONES BEST BOOKS OF 2020: SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY COSMOPOLITAN'S 20 BEST YA BOOKS OF 2020 TODAY'S BEST YA BOOKS OF 2020 2021 KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS FINALIST BEST FANTASY WORLD BUILDER SUZANNE COLLINS/THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES A HUNGER GAMES NOVEL

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Hunger Games begins on the day of the reaping in District 12. Katniss Everdeen, the story’s 16-year-old narrator, sets out to meet her friend Gale so t

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In The Hunger Games creator Suzanne Collins has made a captivating tragic world. Because of the story's obscurity, it is most appropriate for high pup...

# data[].attributes.headline
An article about two books, The Hunger Games' article starts at paragraph six.

# data[].attributes.subject
An article about two books, The Hunger Games' article starts at paragraph six.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The past year has seen the publication of more than a dozen post-apocalyptic young adult novels that explore what the future could look like once our unsustainable lifestyles cease to be sustained. (Spoiler alert: It's gonna be bad.)

Amid this rising sea of dystopias, two books stand apart: "The Dead and the Gone," by Susan Beth Pfeffer, and "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. While some young adult novels are content to read the way bad sci-fi movies look, both these books transcend their premises with terrifyingly well-imagined futures and superb characterization.

Unlike most of the recent dark visionary fictions, "The Dead and the Gone," a companion to Pfeffer's acclaimed "Life as We Knew It," explores an apocalyptic event not of our making: in the near future an asteroid hits the moon, changing tides and weather patterns so profoundly that human life in New York City becomes nearly impossible. Seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his family, because his mother doesn't return home from her hospital job in Queens and his father is missing in Puerto Rico. Alex and his sisters attend Catholic school, and they all struggle with the complexity of faith in the wake of an unbearable (and for most, unsurvivable) act of God. What makes "The Dead and the Gone" so riveting is its steadfast resistance to traditional ideas of hope in children's books - which is to say this is a dark and scary novel.

But it is not without hope. Alex and his sisters receive some assistance from the government: there are weekly, if meager, bags of food for those who stand in line for hours. Most of their help and hope, though, comes from the church, and the tension between faith and disaster keeps the story taut. Pfeffer subtly explores the complexity of believing in an omnipotent God in the wake of an event that, if it could have been prevented, surely would have been.

Some of the plot seems more symbolically resonant than realistic - Alex, for instance, takes coats and shoes from dead people to trade for food, and it's hard to imagine a shoe shortage in a mostly depopulated Manhattan. But the story's climax and resolution feel achingly right. Pfeffer subverts all our expectations of how redemption works in teenage fiction, as Alex learns to live, and have faith, in a world where radical unfairness is the norm.

Suzanne Collins's brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced new novel, "The Hunger Games," is set much farther in the future but grapples with many of the same questions. Collins, the author of "The Underland Chronicles," a well-regarded fantasy series, has now written a futuristic novel every bit as good and as allegorically rich as Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" books.

"The Hunger Games" begins long after the human population has been decimated by climate change and the wars that followed. Now North America is the nation of Panem, a country with 12 fenced-in districts that all work to feed the enormously wealthy and technologically advanced capital. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest of them all. Her father died mining in the Seam years ago, and now her family survives thanks to her mother's knowledge of herbal medicine and Katniss's own illegal hunting and gathering outside the district's fence.

The words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights make up the hopeful message of WE ARE ALL BORN FREE (Frances Lincoln/Amnesty International; $19.95; all ages). The 30 articles are all visually represented; Article 13, the right "to go where we want," is illustrated here by Alan Lee.

The archetype of the girl survivalist is familiar - she's tough and resourceful, but kind and sentimental. We are put on notice that Katniss is something different in Chapter 1, when she describes a lynx who followed her around while she hunted. In many books, that lynx would be Katniss's best friend. But not this one: "I finally had to kill the lynx because he scared off game. I almost regretted it because he wasn't bad company. But I got a decent price for his pelt."

Long ago in Panem, there was a District 13. The district revolted, and the Capital demolished it and killed all its inhabitants. To commemorate the event - and to remind the districts of its power - the Capital organizes the annual hunger games. First comes the reaping: one boy and one girl are chosen from each district to attend the games. Then the games themselves: a fight to the death among 24 teenage competitors in a sprawling environment controlled by sadistic game masters.The event is watched by the whole nation on live TV.

The winner - and there can be only one - returns to his or her home district triumphant and rich.

When the reaping comes to District 12, Katniss isn't chosen - but her little sister is. In a harrowing moment, Katniss sacrifices herself to the games instead. She's certain this is a death sentence - no one from the underfinanced and undernourished District 12 has won in decades. But as the games begin, Katniss's intelligence and accumulated knowledge about edible plants and hunting become an advantage over the better-fed, stronger kids with wealthy patrons who can send them medicine or weapons.

As the contest progresses, Katniss develops a relationship with the boy from her district. But not even she seems to know whether her feelings are real or faked for the omnipresent cameras.

The concept of the book isn't particularly original - a nearly identical premise is explored in "Battle Royale," a wondrously gruesome Japanese novel that has been spun off into a popular manga series.

Nor is there anything spectacular about the writing - the words describe the action and little else. But the considerable strength of the novel comes in Collins's convincingly detailed world-building and her memorably complex and fascinating heroine. In fact, by not calling attention to itself, the text disappears in the way a good font does: nothing stands between Katniss and the reader, between Panem and America.

This makes for an exhilarating narrative and a future we can fear and believe in, but it also allows us to see the similarities between Katniss's world and ours. American luxury, after all, depends on someone else's poverty. Most people in Panem live at subsistence levels, working to feed the cavernous hungers of the Capital's citizens. Collins sometimes fails to exploit the rich allegorical potential here in favor of crisp plotting, but it's hard to fault a novel for being too engrossing.

Both Collins and Pfeffer plan sequels to their books - here's hoping civilization can hang around long enough to publish them.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The past year has seen the publication of more than a dozen post-apocalyptic young adult novels that explore what the future could look like once our unsustainable lifestyles cease to be sustained. (Spoiler alert: It's gonna be bad.)

# data[].attributes.headline
The Hunger Games book description and comments about it.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Hunger Games book description and comments about it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Hunger Games has 5,302,957 ratings and 158,628 reviews. Kiki said: I have got to stop poking fun at this series with memes. Someone take them away ...

# data[].attributes.headline
The Hunger Games Movie Soundtrack, as it is popular among fans.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Hunger Games Movie Soundtrack, as it is popular among fans.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Best of The Hunger Games Soundtrack - Most Beautiful Music from THG, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Soundtrack compilation featuring some of the most beautiful and powerful themes from The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay (Part 1 & 2). Enjoy! Tracklist: 01. 00:00 - The Hunger Games 02. 01:08 - The Train 03. 02:32 - Preparing the Chariots 04. 03:37 - Horn of Plenty 05.

# data[].attributes.headline
Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, talks about her books

# data[].attributes.subject
Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, talks about her books

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Suzanne Collins Answers Questions about The Hunger Games Trilogy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Hunger Games (2012 Movie) - Official Theatrical Trailer - Jennifer Lawrence & Liam Hemsworth

# data[].attributes.headline
Katniss Everdeen's primary weapon in battle is the bow and arrow.

# data[].attributes.subject
Katniss Everdeen's primary weapon in battle is the bow and arrow.

# data[].attributes.headline
Katniss gets most of her food by hunting, mostly bunnies.

# data[].attributes.subject
Katniss gets most of her food by hunting, mostly bunnies.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Cornucopia is the center of The Hunger Games' arena, where all of the equipment/weapons are, and usually the most violence.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Cornucopia is the center of The Hunger Games' arena, where all of the equipment/weapons are, and usually the most violence.

# data[].attributes.headline
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark both come from District 12, which is known for its coal.

# data[].attributes.subject
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark both come from District 12, which is known for its coal.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Mocking Jay is known as the main symbol of The Hunger Games.

# data[].attributes.subject
The Mocking Jay is known as the main symbol of The Hunger Games.