The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins is now #1 on my favorite books of all time (or at least tied with The Giver which has held the #1 spot since 8th grade). This book was everything you could ever ask for: intrigue, drama, determination, death/gore, love, family, survival..with a sci-fi-ish twist. The story takes place in a post-apocolytic nation called Panem, where "North America used to be". It is narrated by Katniss, a 16 year old living in District 12. 12 Districts make up Panem, each one specializing in a different trade. Katniss doesn't go into much detail about the past history of her nation - its a few pages at most - but we do know there used to be a District 13 who rebelled against the Capitol and was therefore eliminated...which brought upon The Hunger Games - it is the Capitol's way of showing..reminding..more like demanding and proving they are the ones in charge, the puppetmasters. What are the Hunger Games? It is a battle. Every kid aged 12-18 in each district is entered in a lottery. One boy and one girl from each district is picked and sent away to the Capitol where the 24 fight to the death. There is only one victor.
I don't want to get deep into the plot because I know some of you reading this are planning to read this fantastic book. One thing I loved though was the way the author goes into such detail about the beauty, yet ugliness, of the Capitol. District 12 is a very very poor place. The contrast is evident and the luxury of the Capitol is extravagant. But the people, the policies, the rules..abhorrent. I had a bunch of other parts that I just LOVEDD but I don't want to ruin the story!
This book was recommended to me by a few people and I knew it would good...but it way exceeded my expectations. There are two more books to follow that make up a trilogy - Catching Fire & Mockingjay - and I will be at the library next week putting those on hold. Although The Hunger Games doesn't really end in a major cliffhanger, it leaves it on a the perfect note to end that satisfied my need to know the outcome of the Games..but also leaves the audience asking - now what? And I think that will for sure be answered in the next 2 books.
5 out of 5 stars.
Have you read The Hunger Games? What would you rate it? What was your favorite part?
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