Hooray, for saving the best books for last! From Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to Hunger Games, the books have increasingly become more interesting and intriguing. I can only hope for this trend to continue with The Magicians. I have always been a total fan of the science fiction – fantasy genre and Hunger Games did not let me down. The book was a very fast read and kept my attention all the way through (I read it all in one sitting instead of studying and attending some classes).
Even though the book is labeled as children’s fiction or young adult, I found it surprising that the novel contained such a mature subject matter: post-apocalyptic setting, sacrifice, death, government control, and “big brother”. The one element to the story that may cheapen the plot or make it more juvenile would be the presence of the love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. Some of the members of our class feel as if the romance angle has no purpose in the story, but I tend to disagree.
We have to take notice of this book’s genre and target audience. Not a class of college aged students but teenagers between the ages of 12-17 are catered to in this book. This novel contains such dark subject matter that it would seem comparable to a Stephen King book. The book would be more appropriate for adults without the young love element.
Some argue that the romance subplot was only included to market the book to the young female reading base. But when this book is compared to other books that use this tactic like Twilight or Vampire Diaries you can tell that this was not the author’s intention. The book clearly focuses more on the “action” or the anti-big brother theme than the romance theme. I believe the young love plot was included just to keep the book appropriate for young adults. The romance scenes are always positioned after a very graphic and unsettling event to distract the young reader from the adult-like themes.
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