Friday, June 05, 2009

52. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

From the inside cover:
"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister regards 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 -- and 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 and life against love."

Well, all I can is Wow. I really loved this book. Even though I checked this out at the library, I am going to buy a copy for myself because I am sure to read it again. Katniss is such a fantastic character, so prickly and alone; but she discovers a caring side while competing against twenty-three other contestants. Collins descriptions are so in-depth and the action so compelling that I had a hard time putting the book down. Just when I thought things were winding down, she would throw in another twist. As I turned to the last page, still not sure how it would end, I was thrilled to see it wasn't ending. There's a sequel! I'm so glad to know this book lived up to the glowing reviews I have read. Add my recommendation to the list.

Rating: 5

13 comments:

  1. This one does seem to be getting a lot of positive reviews. I had previously thought I would not read it. But I'm comin' round a bit . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds interesting. I'll have to look it up. Thanks for your review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I bought this way back when I read the first rave review. I can see that it needs to be moved up in my priority list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. YAY! I'm so glad you loved it, too. The sequel is called Catching Fire and the ARC just came out, so reviews should be popping up soon. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hands down best book I read all year...so far.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was my favorite book of '08. It's amazing, ain't it?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I thought this was so good and it's definitely not my usual reading choice. I can hardly wait for the sequel. I just recommended it to yet another person this afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looking forward to reading this one! Glad you loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is really a great book - got an A from me recently and my daughter gave it top marks too. Looking forwards to the sequel :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I too enjoyed the Hunger Games (library book) and will probably purchase a copy once it's out in paperback.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I read my copy from the library, too, but I think I might end up buying it at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I checked it out of the library but they only let me keep it a week. I didn't want to not finish so I returned it with plans to get it again after my vacation. I don't think I've seen a bad review.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just finished reading this book and loved it! I hope you don't mind, but I'm making a link to your review in my post about it.

    ReplyDelete