The hunger games, for older children?

[Littlemoocow]

Now I should start by saying I haven't read these books, or seen the films. I was just browsing through a book catalogue which came through my door, and found the hunger games series, described as the perfect series for older children. I've googled the stories in the past and the content honestly horrifies me. I wouldn't want to watch these as an adult and would be appalled for a child to see those films. I guess as I've not seen the films or read the books, maybe it shouldn't judge them, but the theme is 2 children being selected to fight until one of them dies. Is there any way these are suitable for older children? AIBU and a massive old fashioned person or are they actually awful books and films for kids with quite a sinister theme? I will await your opinions!

I think they would be great books to encourage some reluctant 10 plus children to read

I think you are judging a book you haven't read and films you haven't seen which is odd.
Do you suppose the very large number of people thinking they are appropriate somehow lack your moral compass?
The books are very good. My DD read them with us aged 11.

My son has read the series several times. In year 6 one of them was his guided reading book & when Ofsted came he read a passage from the book for them. Admittedly I haven't read them but as long as the child knows it's fiction they can't be that bad. I think he's read worse. My older son thought they were boring!

You sound like an uninformed reactionary, tbh.

Ok thanks. Maybe I'm just having trouble remembering what I read as a child. It's just that children killing each other sounds odd to me for children's books, but maybe I'm in the minority and need to read them myself to really see.

They were written for young adults.

YABU

Ds loved them and we talked about the books and films for ages after. They are aimed at kids 11+ which is fine imo. I'm was very cautious about what ds watched and I had no problem with him seeing the films although he read the books first.

Personally I thought they were beyond dull a sort of watered down 1984, but kids love them.

I was reading Jilly Cooper, Agatha Christie, the Joy of Sex and The Happy Hooker and Stephen King at 13-Dad's book shelf was very errr... interesting

i bought these for dd aged 16 at her request. i dont know what age you are thinking about but they are a good read.

My DD has read them. Along with the GONE series.

I read the Hunger Games, I loved it. It's more than mindless killing, it touches in some detail various moral and ethical dilemmas and we enjoyed discussing them.
My DD is quite mature for her years

Ok thanks. Can anyone tell me how the scary bits come across? Is it fairly well disguised?

I love these books and have read them several times but I think they are actually quite violent. I don't think id let my DS read them till he was maybe 14. How the films are a 12+ I don't know, and the last one is the most violent, I think as a 12 yr old id have been quite scared and wouldn't have understood the full story either.

watered down 1984 is a good example and like dame.. was reading all sorts as a teen

Why don't you read the first book yourself OP and then you can decide?

They are not long. Why don't you just read one? You know your child.

the films disguise the violence very well imo

My DD read them in about Y7. She loved the first one so I read them all too. Yes the subject matter is horrific but the heroine is trying to fight and subvert the system. I would agree it is for older children, deff not under 10 imo. But it's a great intro to a noble tradition of dystopian novels such as 1984, The Handmaid's Tale etc.

I get where you're coming from, but having read the books and seen the films, I would say they contain some v important messages that older children will be able to filter and understand. It's not gratuitous violence IYSWIM? It all serves to show what can happen in a future dystopia if a small section of v wealthy powerful society are allowed to rule over the majority. There are lots of other key themes, that children will identify with; friendship, loyalty, using your mental faculties instead of brute force etc etc...
I understand your initial shock, but there is some value in them. Of course, completely up to you at what point you think your children are old enough to read them.
FWIW, I think the films are possibly more suited to a slightly older audience as they are quite dark (although again not gratuitously violent IMO) maybe 15+'

We'll I've read all 3, they are excellent books, dd1 (10) has read the first 2 and is desperate to see the film, she can probably see the film in the next year or so.

The books are about a central area, government and section of society, keeping the workers in the other districts in their place. This is done by holding an event each year where 1 boy and 1 girl is chosen from each district to play in the hunger games. Yes they are forced to kill each other in order to survive as there can only be one winner, but the books are about far more than that.

How is it any different to lord of the flies, a so called worthy read, it is essentially about children turning on each other but that's seen as a classic.

Have you read any of the Phillip Pullman books from which the golden compass is adapted? Children being separated from the daemon which is essentially torture and ends up killing them?

You can write of a book or film if you haven't read it.

If you're thinking of it for your child, you'll need to read/watch it and judge for yourself (since you're worried). I'm not sure whether any of us can tell you if the bits are 'too scary' for your liking.

I didn't find it scary. Neither did DS1. DS2 would, but he's 5.

There's lots to talk about, especially regarding reality tv and how it turns suffering into entertainment (because it totally distances the audience from the fact that the faces on the screen are people).

The author herself wrote the stories after hearing about child soldiers

Can't write off! It's too early in the morning for me!

Personally I was a bit disappointed they weren't scarier tbh,I think some people are a bit out of touch with what's out there for kids these days,I was expecting something properly terrifying

I think the most shocking thing is a very likeable character dies fairly early on which tugs at the heart strings but even ds who loved the first film says they've strung them out too much.

They are excellent and dd read them when she was 10.
We discussed them afterwards and she just didn't 'see' the violence from the same perspective as me, I saw it from an adults point of view and was worried and upset for the children who were killed. She saw it from a survival point of view and seemed to miss the horror IYSWIM.

Honestly, read it and see what you think, yes the premise is pretty horrific but I bet you read it in a couple of sittings (buy the trilogy!!)

I wouldn't like my children to read them until they were 13 or 14. I really enjoyed them and they are very thought provoking, however they contain a lot of quite horrific violence. It's not described in depth so I suppose it depends on how vivid your imagination is.

Thanks everyone. Some helpful replies there rather than just calling me an uninformed reactionary! ;-) My kids aren't even at school yet so I'm not thinking of it for my children at the moment, I was just thinking about it after seeing it in the catalogue. I suppose I was thinking of older children as 11-14 kind of age, and that kids older than that would be described as teenagers, not older children. Interesting thoughts, and I'm glad to see some people agree that the theme is horrific, (how couldn't it not be!?) but I'll read them myself to see what they're all about.