The Panem Companion: An Unofficial Guide to Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games, From Mellark Bakery to Mockingjays
It is often the wont of fans of a work of fiction to reflect on and speculate upon the social, political, and practical ramifications of the creator’s world building, and this title takes such theoretical exploration to the heights of pop-culture academia. From providing one of the most well-researched maps of Panem ever to appear in Hunger Games fandom to making a strong case for why fans have mislabeled Finnick as a gigolo and instead should recognize him as a survivor of human trafficking, Arrow has effectively tied the world of the series to ours. She takes an in-depth look at the way reality television in our world is not so very far off from the sensationalist spectacle of Collins’ creation, as well as how race, welfare systems, and even beauty norms are conceived as a result of the original rebellion by the districts—and how eerily easy it would be for our society to evolve into Panem. Arrow concludes with a fascinating section on names used in the books as well as extensive endnotes. Grades 10-12. --Courtney Jones