The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Series #1), by Suzanne Collins

• Pub. Date: July 2010
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Pages: 384

• Series: Hunger Games Series , #1

Rating: 5/5 

 

Synopsis

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

Review

This book set on my shelf for a full week before I began reading it because the cover looked really Tom Clancy-ish and I wasn't really in the mood for that much action - but let me tell you, it provided plenty of action, and many other plot twists and gut-wrenching moments that I had no preparation for. I really enjoyed the book! I have a high appreciation for science-fiction/futuristic novelists because they have to invent all their groundwork, and that is so much more risky, hoping that readers will understand and catch interest and play along.

Katniss, the main character (I was unsure the first couple of pages if she was a boy or girl....let's face it, gender cannot be assumed with only names in this book...although I do like most of them), is a strong leading role, especially for a young girl that has had a rough upbringing. Following her through the story is a real treat, as well as other main characters. Collins does a great job of keeping the reader interested and guessing too - who's going to die next? Katniss can't die....right??? Thrilling. On top of that, the end of the Hunger Games is not the end of the book. It keeps going!!

Although I have just started the genre this year, I have found that I like YA fiction, particularly distopian in nature. So, you might be seeing a pattern, but I'll mix it up as best I can.