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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Review of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM GOODREADS

"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, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Acclaimed writer Suzanne Collins, author of the New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles, delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present."

Where do I begin on my review for this book? Hmmmmmmm... Let me start off by saying there is a LOT of hype surrounding this series of books so, although I was really interested in reading these as they came available, I held off to see if it lasted. Well, the verdict is in and this first book of the Hunger Games blew my freakin' socks off! It was really hard resisting the urge to devour this book all in one sitting and I am glad that I stretched it out and savored it like a good steak diner. I wanted this story to last as long as possible. The life of Katness Everdeen has been a difficult one at best and realizing this early on in her character development helped pull for her throughout the entire novel. One of the best qualities and what made her such a great lead in the story for me was the simple fact that even faced with extreme adversity, Katniss Everdeen did not whine one single bit. In fact, I cannot think of anything that threw her except some kind of romantic awkwardness that went on. But hey, who wasn't awkward at 16. Even after a couple days that I have finished this book it is difficult to hold back my enthusiasm for it. Even knowing before hand that this book has spent over 100 weeks as a NYT bestseller, I could not have been prepared for how brilliant the plot and the fast paced action was going to be. And I was sure to stay away from any reviews prior to reading so that my thoughts would not be tainted. There is a definite kill or be killed necessity to this book that leads to moments that I was actually holding my breath till I new how that particular scene played out. By the time Katniss and Peeta were chosen for the 74th annual hunger games and were on their way to the Capital I was literally almost sick with anticipation and nervousness for her. Just as if it was me going through the whole thing. It is a great testament to the author to say that their writing can bring out those kind of emotions. As with most good books like this, there is a lot of talk around the hinternet about a movie being made sometime in the future. I hope they do because I would like to see it brought to life on the screen. I also hope they don't screw it up. I am eagerly waiting for a little bit before I start Catching Fire (the next book in the trilogy). It is sitting in my Kindle "to be read" cue whispering things to me as I am reading an interim book. I will probably wait till I can order Mockingjay before I start it. Stay tuned for reviews on the next two in this already great series. As always, Thank-you Ms. Collins for a great story. Fans and readers should be talking about this one for a very long time.

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