The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Published: October 2008
Pages: 374
Age Group: Young Adult (But I think everyone 13+ should read it)
Publisher: Scholastic

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.

WOW! If you are behind the times like I am, you need to drop everything you are doing (yes that means stop reading right now!!) and head to either a library or bookstore and get your paws on this novel!

Giving this book a 5/5 is an insult. Every element fits together unlike anything else I have ever read. I officially promote The Hunger Games into an elite category of its own where no other book will never come close to.

From the beginning, the writing style -slightly casual with its short, to the point sentences yet bold and full of power- entwined itself into me, completely pulling me into Katniss's character. This creates a lock, leaving me transfixed and quickly addicted.

As the sypnosis explains, The Hunger Games is based in a dystopia filled with poverty, starvation and brutality. Though none of those ideas have ever seemed to intrigue me The Hunger Games presents them in an intriguing light, creating a curiosity I was never aware of inside me. Though the Hunger Games are indeed a fight to the death, the novel is never overly gruesome or unnecissarily graphic. The ability to base a novel around such inhumane brutality and still stay censored enough to touch readers of all ages and genres is ingenious.

Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year old heroin full of memories and feelings far different from your average main character. Growing up in poverty, taking care of her mother and sister since she was 11 and living off of the hunt are a few of the reasons behind the rarity of a smile across Katniss' face. The responsibilities resting on her shoulders also leave Katniss without the usual emotional rollercoaster teens encounter. Instead of experiencing the feelings that follow teenage relationships and activities, Katniss only knows hardship and pain, leaving her without the ability to read other people's emotions. This creates a layer of romance that readers crave yet Katniss is unaware of.

My stereotypical picture of a great novel is a bit of action and pain that are fixed with a corny romance. Yes, I am aware that its pretty lame the characters I connect most to are the ones with cheesy love stories. Thanks. The Hunger Games has absolutely none of these qualities yet I still found myself completely connected to the book and able to relate to every emotion of the main character more than usual.

I'm trying my best to give no spoilers because this is a book that you absolutely DO NOT want to be ruined for you. I'm end my review by saying the twist at the end of the book was so unexpected and openended that I will probably dream about what comes next every night until I read the sequel.

I give this book a 5+++++++++++++++/5. Hell, I give it a 6/5.