I am a big fan of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. There's a lot of hype surrounding the big movie adaptation coming out in a couple months, and judging from the trailers, it's going to be great. But Collins's dystopian novel is filled with action and enough teen angst and love triangles to keep adults and teens turning the pages.And of course, as with anything that's immensely popular, leave it to The Harvard Lampoon to make fun of it. Really, you haven't made it big until your work is made into a parody. First, they took on Twilight with their own version, Nightlight. And then there was Bored Of The Rings, a funny take of Lord Of The Rings. And their latest comedic creation, The Hunger Pains (Simon & Schuster), is sure to make all you Hunger Games fans crack up.
Before I even cracked the book, I was already laughing at The Hunger Pains' caricature of all the characters from the original.
The Hunger Games: Katniss Everdeen
The Hunger Pains: Kantkiss Neverclean
The Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark
The Hunger Pains: Pita Malarkey
The Hunger Games: Gale Hawthorne
The Hunger Pains: Carol Handsomestein
The Hunger Pains follows the same basic story of the original, with the country divided into districts and ruled by the authoritarian government known as The Capital. They hold the Hunger Games, an event that involves throwing a bunch of kids into an arena in order to kill each other until only one remains.
Katkiss and Pita come from District 12, which is the telemarketing district. Fans of The Hunger Games will easily recognize many of the events, people, and places the Harvard Lampoon is poking fun of. But it's obvious this book is targeting all that teen melodrama prevalent in Young Adult Literature these days.
For example, my favorite quote from this book: "In the back of my mind, I wonder who my heart will belong to in the end. Will it be Carol, with his perfect body and unparalleled hunting skills? Or Pita, with his giant head and flabby stomach? It's a tough call."
Obviously, Kantkiss isn't very smart. When she sees Badge Underwear wearing a pin that says, "THE CAPITAL SUCKS," she wonders if it means anything.
If you loved The Hunger Games, you will certainly have a lot of fun with The Hunger Pains. You can grab your own copy February 7th.
