Reading “The Hunger Games” on the airplane, I was sucked into the story and found myself crying discretely into my sleeve as it ended. The good news was that I loved the book. The bad news was that I now had four more hours to wait until we landed and I could buy the next two books.
The story centers around an event called “The Hunger Games” where, as a punishment for past rebellions, children from 12 districts are forced to compete to the death in an annual televised survival game. The story focuses on 16-year-old Katniss, a self-sufficient girl, and much of the book details her struggle to stay alive. The book is very focused, detailing the strategies the contestants use, recording the inevitable deaths and highlighting how the media’s coverage and manipulations differ from reality.
Three words that describe this book: strategic, bleak, action-packed
You might want to pick this book up if: Comparisons that come to mind are “Ender’s Game” [by Orson Scott Card] for the focus on strategic elements of a deadly “game,” and “1984” [by George Orwell] for a dreary existence under a dictatorship. “Hunger Games” is a fast read with interesting characters, emotionally-wrenching scenes and a brisk pace–a solid addition to this genre, and not just a “kid’s book.”
A word of caution, however, because this book ends on a cliff-hanger–carve out time to read the entire series.
-Ashley
