The Hunger Games

Book:  The Hunger Games

Author:  Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once knwon as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts.  The Capitol is harsh & crush & keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy & one girl between the ages of 12-18 to participate in the annual "HUNGER GAMES" - a fight to the death on live TV.

16 yr old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother & younger sister, regard it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games.  But Katniss has been close to dead before - & 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 & life against love.
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First Line: 
When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.

I heard all about this series & thought, "What's the big deal" so when this last book (Mockingjay) came out, I figured I would get the whole series...

And then I read what it was about?  How can a book about teens playing a death match game be ANY good?  Isnt that sort of weird - & morbid?  I couldnt imagine how it could be entertaining at all.

I was wrong... I was wrapped up in the story within the first few chapters.

I went to where Katniss was living - to a time set in the future - to where "Districts" are so neglected by "The Capitol" - to a time where people have to come together & trade for their needs, which still doesnt do anything but let them live in poverty.

You get to know Katniss as this amazing young lady - who takes care of her family & wont let her young sister enter the "Hunger Games" when her name is drawn.  You get to know the friendship she has with Gale.  You feel her strength as she enters into this nightmarish game - you see her strengths in hunting & with the bow & arrow.  You see the relationship that she forms with her District Team Mate Peeta.  You see what she is willing to sacrifice for him - & other team mates... You also see she's not a weak person in any sense...

This book was violent - but not as bad as I thought it would be... But I mean, when you talk about young kids getting killed for a game, its sort of disturbing. 

I literally couldnt put the book down though.  Each chapter would end & I was hanging on the last words & had to head right into the next chapter.

The idea that a world is OK with watching a game like this on TV shakes me, but even more because I wonder if its something that could come in the future.... remember that movie with Arnold S - "The Running Man" - that's what it reminds me of... people betting on who dies...

Luckily, I have all the series & as soon as I finished the last chapter, I have picked up the next book & am already into Chapter 3... I cant imagine if I had to wait a year for the next book... See, there is a benefit in waiting to buy the books :)

My rating:  5 skeins

Last Line:
I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, & dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.