The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
By: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Scholastic Inc., 2008
Genre: Dystopian fiction
Rating: A+
Recommended to: Girls and boys, ages 11+




      The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is an AMAZING book that most of you have already read. However, with this being one of my all-time favorites, I wanted to start off my blog with it's review.
      Far in the future, in present-day North America, a country called Panem is the home of main character Katniss Everdeen. She lives in the poorest district, District 12, with her mother and beloved sister Primrose (nicknamed Prim). Prim gets picked for the Hunger Games, and annual event in Panem. One boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are placed in an arena where they fight to the death on live television. Katniss desperately volunteers to take her sister's place. Not out of jealousy, false hopes of being crowned victor, or duty, as some did in the wealthier districts, but out of love for her sister. The District 12 boy that joins her is Peeta Mellark, whose troubling actions and a memory from the past lead Katniss to confusion, battling how she must act on camera versus what is real, and her true feelings. Katniss must fulfill her promise to Prim, and try to win the Hunger Games, but also save Peeta, as their status as star-crossed lovers permits nothing else. Will she be able to survive the Hunger Games?
      This book has an exciting plot, and I found myself turning pages mechanically. It was always exciting - it is perfectly paced and beautifully well written. Katniss has a realistic personality, and makes mistakes that she has to fix. The other characters are formed perfectly, and I found myself loving, hating, and wondering about them just like they were real people. It's cliff-hanger ending will make you need to read it's sequel, Catching Fire, and the third book in the bestseller trilogy, Mockingjay! I highly recommend this book.