Literacy Professor Compares “The Hunger Games” to “Twilight” and “Harry Potter”

Move over Harry Potter and Twilight, The Hunger Games series is increasing its already massive global following as people race to finish the first book and scramble for tickets to the March 23, 2012 movie premiere. College of Charleston Teacher Education Associate Professor Emily Skinner notes there are many similarities to the other series mentioned, including sparking an interest in reading and prompting discussions between parents, or educators, and adolescents.

“Similar to Twilight and Harry Potter, once you’ve read the first book, there’s no stopping until the series is complete,” Skinner, an expert in adolescent and adult literacy, noted. “The Hunger Games started as adolescent fiction written for middle and high school-aged readers, but was quickly picked up by the same moms, adult book clubs and college-aged students who read the Twilight series. Now it is even read by late elementary-aged students and adult males.”

Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games as the first in a trilogy with Catching Fire, the second book, published in 2009 and Mockingjay released in 2010. The Hunger Games has spent more than three consecutive years-to-date on The New York Times bestseller list since its publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

The story focuses on Katniss, a teenage girl in the fictional Capitol of the nation Panem. She is forced to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight one another until one survivor remains. Katniss takes the place of her younger sister andshe is unprepared to fight the other highly-trained Tributes. She relies on her sharp instincts to make impossible choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

“The Hunger Games is an innovative example of dystopian fiction, the creation of a nightmare world to explore social and political structures,” Skinner says. “This genre is very popular with adolescents and offers the opportunity for parents and educators to engage in discussions with their children and ideally prompt social action regarding critical world issues of hunger, child labor, and forcing children to become soldiers.”

For more information, contact Emily Skinner at skinnere@cofc.edu or 843.953.0831.