The Hunger Games

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

Product Details Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 14, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0439023483 Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

This book is not to be missed. It grips you from the very first page and--like the ladder that lifts Katnis into the hovercraft--it holds you there. I read until I had a splitting headache, took a motrin and went back at it. Collins creates such remarkable characters and throws them into a vivid world where anything can happen and their every move is monitored by people who would rather see them die a gruesome death, than have a scrap of food. There were times I wanted to scream a warning at Katnis! And times I wanted to cry right along with her. This book has it all. A must read!

As most of you probably know, the cover for the third book in this series, Mockingjay, was just released. If you haven't seen it, here it is.

Notice from the first book, the bird is gold and enclosed in a circle. By book 2, the bird is more realistic, and here she's alive and broken free from the circle. Cool, right?

Feels like I am the last person to read this book, but better late than never!