The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Every year, the twelve districts of Panem send a boy and a girl from the ages of twelve and eighteen to the Capitol. And every year twenty-three children are killed and one is named the victor. This is the Hunger Games, where twenty-four teens must fight to the death in the wilderness, all while being filmed for everyone to see. And every year at the reaping, where each district chooses its tributes, Katniss Everdeen has held her breath, praying that she will not be chosen. But when her younger sister Prim is called to be one of the tributes, Katniss volunteers and takes her place. Now one of the contestants in the Hunger Games, Katniss must use her cunning and survival skills to endure the deadliest reality show ever.

I just finished this book and don't know what to say. It's too amazing for words. I first saw The Hunger Games on Stephenie Meyer's website, where she said it was awesome. Then other bloggers have been reviewing it, so I decided to read it. And I'm so glad I did. I love the whole futuristic dystopia type books, like the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, so I had a feeling that I would like this book, too. The whole premise of the Hunger Games, though pretty sick, was so interesting to read about. I thought it was weird that this society would send children to compete to the death, when most societies try to protect their young, but it made for a good story. The characters, especially Katniss and Peeta, were compelling, and their romance made the book even better (what can I say, the romance gets me every time) This is one of those books that you can not put down because it's so action-packed, and then you end up reading it in one day (which is what happened to me).

The only parts I didn't like were that there should have been more explanation as to how this new society actually came about. And there were some oddly worded sentences (mostly in the beginning) that made me feel like this book could have gone through another round of editing. It was no big deal, though, and the overall plot makes up for any minor mistakes.


9 out of 10.