If your family is like mine, everyone has read the Hunger Games trilogy and is anticipating the film release next week. Perhaps you have even re-read the first book more recently to refresh your memory (though you also likely skipped the last book to leave the memory of THAT rushed mess out of your mind), but were you aware that the Harvard Lampoon had just released a parody book?
Released just a few weeks ago, my son got it for his birthday and both my boys have already torn through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have checked out the Nightlight parody of the Twilight series, you will know just what to expect. Here is the book description:
WINNING MEANS WEALTH, FAME, AND A LIFE OF THERAPY LOSING MEANS DEATH, BUT ALSO FAME! THIS IS THE HUNGER PAINS
When Kantkiss Neverclean replaces her sister as a contestant on the Hunger Games—the second-highest-rated reality TV show in Peaceland, behind Extreme Home Makeover—she has no idea what to expect. Having lived her entire life in the telemarketing district’s worst neighborhood, the Crack, Kantkiss feels unprepared to fight to the death while simultaneously winking and looking adorable for the cameras. But when her survival rests on choosing between the dreamy hunk from home, Carol Handsomestein, or the doughy klutz, Pita Malarkey, Kantkiss discovers that the toughest conflicts may not be found on the battlefield but in her own heart . . . which is unfortunately on a battlefield.
The folks at Simon and Schuster have produced a ‘book trailer’ which allows you to “Follow the adventures of Kantkiss Neverclean as she bungles her way through the second highest-rated reality show in Peaceland.” Here are the credits:
From the Harvard Lampoon, authors of the New York Times bestseller NIGHTLIGHT, comes the must-have book parody of the year!
Starring Rachel Bloom (Kantkiss Neverclean), Katie Amanda Keane (Effu Poorpeople), Thomas Lennon (Buttitch Totalapathy), Robert Ben Garant (as Seneca Crane’s beard), Mindy Sterling (Kantkiss’s Mom), Cedric Yarbrough (Cinnabon), Todd Fasen (Pita Malarkey), and Alex Berg (Smash).
Directed by David Lincoln.
The interesting thing after watching is that my kids pointed out how many things in the trailer were not faithful to the actual Hunger Pains book! I haven’t read it yet, but after watching the trailer I am hoping to get the time to check it out before we see the movie in theaters next week.
For more info head to Simon and Schuster, or check out the pages at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble where you can get the book in paperback or price-fixed ebook format for about $10!