The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 374 Pages 2008 4.5/5 I finished this book at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning! Seriously...it was unputdownable! Suzanne Collins is a new to me author, and I didn't think I was going to like this book for some reason. However, I should've known that I could trust all of you wonderful bloggers out there. It was amazing. The Hunger Games takes place in the future after most of North America has been destroyed. All that's left are 12 "districts", each with their own role in the remaining world, and the "capitol", the one place left where people live the life of luxury. Katniss lives far from the life of luxury. She lives in district 12 with her mother and little sister where every day is a fight for survival. Every year, the districts hold something called The Hunger Games. It's a reminder of what the rest of the continent has been through. For the Hunger Games, one boy and one girl are chosen from each district to be placed in a surprise environment and fight it out to the death with only one remaining survivor. Of the 24 who enter the arena, only one will survive and be declared the victor. That person is assured to live a life of comfort for the rest of their lives. The two who are picked to enter the games are chosen by a lottery. When Katniss' little sister is chosen to be the girl, Katniss chooses to go instead in her place. As you can tell from this summary, this is intense book! To add to the intensity, Collins pairs Katniss with a boy named Peeta who once saved her life as a child and the two form feelings for each other. But they both know that only one will live through the Games. This book had everything in it. It was heart-breaking, pulse throbbing, and excrutiating at times, but it never ceased to have me hooked. I cannot WAIT for the second book to come out. Which leaves me with the only thing I didn't like about it and the reason why it lost half a point in it's rating. The ending! My God, the ending! How can you do that to us??? I'm glad I read this relatively close to the release date of the second book. I couldn't believe it ended where it did. Seriously, 50 more pages and I would've been more than happy to give this a full 5 stars. But I guess Ms. Collins has her plans :/ Seriously people, if you haven't read this yet, go get it now! Other Views and Opinions: The Reading Zone Dear Author Bookshelves of Doom Au Courant The Sleepy Reader The Book Muncher YA Fabulous My Friend Amy Becky's Book Reviews As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves Maw Books Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin? Bart's Bookshelf OK, My fingers are getting tired :p You can go to the Google book blog search to find more (many many more) wonderful reviews of this book!