Hungry for a New Read? Try The Hunger Games!

One of my favorite books of all time is The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I already posted breifly about it, but I decided that it's so good I'm going to post about it again!

You've probably heard of this book before, just because it is extremely popular with teens and adults. The movie came out in March, and I have to admit that I was impressed by it. They stuck to the story line and the plot wasn't totally screwed up like most of the film adaptations of novels we see nowadays. However, I enjoyed these books a lot more than the movie.

The novel is about Katniss, a sixteen year old girl living in Panem, the future America. Panem is twelve districts that surround a Capitol. Every year, to remind the districts that the Capitol is the ultimate power, they hold the Hunger Games; a competition where a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen from every district are placed in an arena to fight to the death on live telivision. The last one standing is the winner.

Katniss had always been prepared for the worst, had always steeled herself in case they drew her name. But what she didn't account for was her little sister's name being drawn. Before she knows it, Katniss is volunteering to take her sister's place in the Games.

I won't spoil the book any more for those of you who haven't read it. I will tell you though, that it contains a spectacular love triangle that anyone will enjoy, a main character you can't stop cheering for, and scenes that make you want to cry. This book is
AMAZING. Suzanne Collins is a truly gifted writer and she shows us that in this series. The other books in the series are Catching Fire and Mockingjay. These books are for YA readers. There is some violence that might be concerning for younger readers.

Also take note-Mockingjay is a very complicated book that can be kind of hard to understand. The first time I read it, I remember being totally confused as to why Katniss was doing what she was doing or why it ended the way it did. Then I reread it recently and had a lightbulb moment because it all sort of clicked inside my head and everything made sense. I was kind of frustrated towards the end by some of the characters who ended up dying... but I won't say any more about that.

I will say that I LOVED the way it ended! Though I know a lot of people who were disappointed and though that Katniss would choose differently, I was thrilled.

All in all, this is definetely a series worth reading. All of my reluctant reader friends who have picked this up have fallen in love with it and if you like to talk about books (like me) this one is known by pretty much everyone.