Hunger Games: anti-family or bonding tool?

"For instance, there was complaining about the choice of actors for the film," Jones says. "You had people saying someone was dark-skinned in the book, but not in the film, or dark-skinned in the film and not in the book. In general, a lot more people were aware of the books and that led to more kinds of complaints."

Collins declined comment through spokeswoman Tracy van Straaten of publisher Scholastic Inc. Van Straaten said Scholastic also would have no comment.

On the other hand, tales of parent-child bonding over the books also abound.

Karin Westman is an English professor at Kansas State University who has taught both “The Hunger Games” and its crossover hit cousin, “Harry Potter.” Ms. Westman told The Monitor’s Gloria Goodale in March that, “What is amazing is the power of literature to reach beyond the boundaries that marketing sets up.” Due in part to a broader access to information, and conversation starters, “we are finally reaching a point where it is typical for a book to cross boundaries, rather than for it to be seen as an anomaly.”

With its primal themes of familial loyalty and survival, the trilogy has also proven a powerful story that family members of several generations can relate to together, Ms. Westmin said.

Boston-area mother and marketing executive Lisa Rinkus told The Monitor that she picked up the book to see what her daughter was so excited about. Ms. Rinkus plans to go see the movie with her daughter. Although concerned by the violence depicted in the story, Rinkus said she values the opportunity to talk about important world issues through Collins’ plotlines.

In a text message, Rinkus’ daughter Elizabeth answered her mother’s question about what reading the books together meant. “I think it’s a great thing that you and other parents are reading ‘The Hunger Games’ and are able to see what kinds of things us younger kids are so fascinated and intrigued by,” she texts.

Rinkus noted this was the longest text she’d ever received from her daughter.

So far it seems, many parents may be voting with their wallets. Over the April 6-8 weekend, “The Hunger Games” movie – rated PG-13 – cleaned up at the box office, fending off challengers from romantic comedies and raunchier comedies to maintain its top spot. The first installment of the popular young adult series has now surpassed the $300 million mark in total ticket sales, ranking No. 2, just behind “Avatar,” in the all-time list of non-sequels to reach the impressive benchmark, in the shortest amount of time.

– Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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