Are you too young for the Hunger Games?

I thought I'd open this one up to all of my students who have finished reading Mockingjay. Note: If you haven't finished reading the book yet, you may want to stop reading here. I can't guarantee we won't give away any important plot points!

I finished the book this weekend, and I've read a lot of comments online (from authors, literary agents, publishers) about the violence in this series. Some people think the book glorifies violence and desensitizes young people to how bad war really is. Others think that the violence in the book isn't any worse than what you see in movies, TV, and video games nowadays.

Some people say only older teens should be reading the Hunger Games, but I know many of you started reading the series back in fifth grade, maybe even fourth.

What do you think? What age is too young to read the Hunger Games? Does the book glorify war? Is it any worse than what you see in movies, TV shows, or video games? How did you feel at the end of the book--horrified, frightened, grateful you don't live in that society?

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