Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
I picked up a copy of Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines when I was at Book Expo America in New York City earlier in the summer. I must admit that I was intrigued with the book but I was afraid it was a copycat of The Hunger Games, so I didn’t feel compelled to start reading it right away. It’s easy to see why and I can’t help but quickly talk about the connection first. Right there in big bold letters on the back cover “It’s a fight to the death – on live TV – when a modern-day gladiator’s daughter steps into the arena.” A fight to death on live TV? Sound familiar? And then the summary finishes up with “For fans of The Hunger Games and Fight Club, Lise Haines’s debut novel is a mesmerizing look at a world addicted to violence – a modern world that’s disturbingly easy to imagine.” So certainly they are banking on The Hunger Games fans on picking up Girl in the Arena, but this novel can stand completely on its own. I found it to be completely original and kind of feel sad that it’s being marketed with the tag line “fight to death on live TV.”
Girl in the Arena comes out today and I’d love to see people picking it up to read because I think it makes for some great discussion. The more that I think about the book, the more I like it. It has some fascinating insight into a culture that has gone mad for violence and touches on some deep issues.
Girl in the Arena is a dystopian novel but man, it felt like the culture was not such a far fetched idea. There are a lot of references to current culture – Skyping, Wikipedia, watching Crouching Tiger and Stranger than Fiction but wrapped up in all of this is the Gladiator sport. And it’s actually more than a sport, it’s an entire culture that began first underground at about the time of the Vietnam War. Gladiators now fight in front of large crowds and a TV audience and can fight anything from animals to other Gladiators to the death. It’s a blood sport more popular than football or soccer.
Lyn was born into the Gladiator lifestyle and living the rules and bylaws of the association is second nature to her family. Her mother is a high profile Glad wife who has been married and widowed by seven Gladiators. Lyn is known as the daughter who had seven fathers. They are celebrities. Tommy, her current father has been matched up with Uber, a new gifted young fighter and if there’s a bylaw that Lyn knows all to well it’s – Never leave the stadium when your father is dying. Uber wins Lyn’s dowry which means that she must marry him. But after watching her mother lose seven husbands, the last thing that Lyn wants to do is become a Glad wife. But the Association is intent on her celebrity wedding. To win her freedom, she challenges Uber to a fight in the arena. It’s a first for the association and they’ll do anything for publicity. The only problem is – she might actually like the guy. And while she considers herself a fighter, she actually doesn’t like violence.
I loved Lyn’s little brother Thad. Although, it’s not stated specifically, I imagine that he is Autistic. Everything that Lyn does, she does for Thad. I loved their relationship. Lyn’s relationship with her mother was odd in the sense that she seemed to be taking care of her instead of the other way around. Plus, I always find it odd when children call their parents by their first name.
Stylistically, I found that the choice to not include quotation marks in dialogue to be very interesting. It took me more than half of the book to be able to see past it. It was really hard to read this way at first and took me out of the story. I honestly don’t know why the dialogue was this way. I was okay with it the second half of the book after I got in the rhythm of the book. You can get a slight idea of what I’m talking about in the following passage where Lyn recounts the first time she went to her first Glad fight at the age of five.
– Kitten, we’re going to see some funny things today. Men being a . . . . little silly.
She rubbed my knuckles with her thumbs as she spoke.
– If we see anything that makes us a little sad or upset, we just have to make a game of it.
I said I wanted to play a game. And she started over.
– The men are going to look like they’re having a big fight. Your father is a famous fighter, so this is something to be proud of.
– He’s a gladiator, I said.
– Yes, exactly, and we know that gladiators hav weapons. Like . . . axes and knives and . . .
– And clubs.
[. . . . ]
– Yes, clubs too. Good girl. So nothing to be concerned about. And I brought your coloring book and crayons. And look, she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out my favorite stuffed animal. — I brought your dog and her pajamas if she gets tired.
This is also one of those covers that isn’t truly representative of the book’s character. I personally like the cover but Lyn is actually bald for the entirety of the book. She’s got a nice set of hair in that cover.
Girl in the Arena explores a world of violence and how the lines between reality and games are blurred. It’s a story that I won’t forget simply because it is SO disturbing. How does a culture move from being normal to one where killing each other for sport is celebrated? I don’t think this book will be for everybody. It is bloody. So be warned. But it’s worth picking up. A fascinating premise and story line.
And although I think it stands completely on it’s own, yes, its true, for fans of The Hunger Games . . . .
Other bloggers on the Kidz Book Buzz tour: Abby the Librarian, A Patchwork of Books, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Book Buzz, KidzBookBuzz.com, Maw Books Blog, My Own Little Corner of the World, Reading is My Superpower, Through a Child’s Eyes.
Links of interest: Lise Haines website and on twitter.
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury. October 13, 2009.
Hardcover, 336 pages. ISBN 1599903725
Girl in the Arena is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.
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Category: Book Reviews, Fiction, Young Adult
Tags: autism, blog tour, E-H Author, E-H Title, female author, Fiction, Kidz Book Buzz, published 2009, review copy
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Great review, Natasha. I agree with your assessment. The quote thing didn’t bother me much, but I did think it was a bit of a distraction. I also thought the same about the cover, the marketing, the story, and the brother. I’ll be posting my review tonight, I think.
on October 13th, 2009 at 12:06 pmThis is a great look into this book. I have yet to read Hunger Games (I know… I am like the only one in the world who hasn’t read this…. LOL) but I want to really bad!
The more I read about this one the more I want to read it as well.
on October 13th, 2009 at 12:20 pmI have not read the Hunger Games yet (I have this whole thing about not reading series until they’re finished), so I can’t make any comparisons. It sounds good though!
on October 13th, 2009 at 12:40 pmInteresting. I loved The Hunger Games but I have to admit that the cover and description of this book turn me off a little. But with your recommendation I’d be willing to give it a try. (By the way, sorry I’ve been out of the loop for a while and that I missed the summer social. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay on top of things from now on.)
on October 13th, 2009 at 12:53 pmI actually had the opportunity to read this, but passed. That will show me! I just detest wannabe’s and there are so many around that are trying desperately to hop on to whatever bandwagon is selling best, whether it be The Hunger Games or Harry Potter or whatever. Thanks for setting me straight on this one!
on October 13th, 2009 at 2:04 pmWhat a thoughtful review! I already had this one marked to read, but I now am more intrigued by the rest of the story, not just the “fight to the death on live TV” aspect.
on October 13th, 2009 at 2:07 pmThe book sounds interesting, but boy do I have trouble getting past the lack of quotation marks in a book.
on October 13th, 2009 at 2:35 pmI picked up this one too! I must admit that you have tempted me to pick it up sooner rather than later.
on October 13th, 2009 at 3:41 pmOoh love the cover art. I’m not usually into dystopian books, but I may need to check this out.
on October 13th, 2009 at 6:21 pmThe cover looks stunning- but how much bolder it would be if her head was bald! Too bad it couldn’t match the text closer. It might be too bloody for me to handle- I don’t know if I’d read this one.
on October 13th, 2009 at 11:20 pmLOL @ the dialogue problem.
I know just what you mean
In my native language all books are written like this one (with little horizontal lines — called dialogue lines — each time someone speaks, and no quotation marks). I grew up with this style and as such it is very familiar to me (however this is the very first time I see it in a book written in English).
As you can imagine when I first started reading books in English I too have been flabbergasted by the difference, especially because I kept looking for the little lines in the beginning, and found quotation marks to be somewhat burdensome, as they were everywhere
These days (after many years of reading mostly in English) I am used to both styles, and yet even I was surprised at the approach they chose (and I very much wonder why). It’s been like meeting a long lost friend though, and I am glad that you mentioned it 
on October 14th, 2009 at 12:20 amI’ve heard bits and pieces about this book here and there over the past couple of months. Specifically the comparison to The Hunger Games which I love. So I picked it up this week at the book store to read (when I get the chance which is hopefully soon). I’m pleased you found it so interesting since the reviews are quite mixed thus far.
on October 14th, 2009 at 4:26 amGreat review! It sounds like a very interesting read.
The dialogues thing is interesting to me! It doesn’t strike me as something that different, because in French (or at least in French Canada, I’m not so sure about France), that’s how dialogues are usually put in books! When I started reading in English, the quantity of quotation marks was what was hard to get used to for me!
on October 14th, 2009 at 3:55 pmI picked this one up at BEA too. I thought I’d like it — now I’m convinced of it!
on October 15th, 2009 at 10:02 amI’m glad you did a review on this. I would have passed it up because of the cover! It looks like a mental p0rn! LOL.
on October 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm[...] Girl in the Arena by Lise Haine [...]
on December 30th, 2009 at 9:28 pm