Summary: Once a year, everyone must gather for the Reaping - a process by which one teenaged boy and one teenaged girl from each District are selected as Tributes to go to the Capitol and compete in the Hunger Games. The whole process is a reminder of the Capitol's power, and a punishment of the Districts for an ancient rebellion - for the Hunger Games are not some friendly competition, but rather a battle to the death. Twenty-four Tributes go into the specially designed arena, where they must face not only the perils of wilderness survival, but also traps placed by the gamemakers to increase the entertainment of the viewing audience - not to mention the deadly attacks of their fellow Tributes.

When Katniss hears her younger sister's name drawn at the Reaping, she panics. There's no way Prim can possibly survive - and so Katniss volunteers to go in her place. However, District 12 - mainly made up of poor coal miners - hasn't had a Hunger Games champion in years, and no one expects much out of Katniss or Peeta, a baker's son who is the male Tribute. Katniss does have a slight advantage - she's been illegally hunting to provide for her family for years - but in the kill-or-be-killed world of the Hunger Games, food may be the least of Katniss's worries.

Review: To give a brief flavor of my opinion of this book, I'm actually going to give you my friend's opinion first. I finished The Hunger Games, and immediately went raving about it to a friend who shares a similar taste in books. I managed to convince her to start it sooner rather than later, and a few hours after she started reading, the following IM conversation took place:

Her: "OMG THE HUNGER GAMES IS SO GOOD. It's caps-lock good."
Me: "Told you."

And it is. It really is caps-lock good. It's so good, I can't believe that no one told about it before. Okay, fine, people have been saying how good it is for at least the past year, but I can't believe no one has ever sat me down and said "No, really, you need to read this, and you need to read it now." Dystopian novels are typically very hit-or-miss for me, but this one was a hit. A big one.

I'll start with the positives. First, this book is insanely compelling. I listened to the bulk of it almost straight through, completely lost in the story and hating every interruption that made me take off my headphones. This book's got tension and suspense dripping off its pages, and there was just no way I was going to go to bed before finding out what happened to Katniss. This book didn't even have the normal problem of series books that try to create tension; normally I'm not terribly worried for the main characters' lives, since I know there's another book to come, but in this case, I was rarely 100% sure that Katniss was going to come out of the arena unscathed. The action is pretty much non-stop throughout the book, and even when there's nothing actually happening, Katniss is always thinking, always planning, and it was always completely riveting. She's a very well-developed and relatable character, and I found myself totally wrapped up with her fate (even if she could on occasion be a little bit thick-headed.)

Now, the negatives: ... I can't really find any. There's a pretty strong element of deus ex machina throughout the story, but that's sort of the point - the gamemakers can do whatever they like to the tributes in the arena. A lot of the technology isn't explained, but since Katniss is a poor girl from one of the outer districts, she'd have no idea how any of it worked anyways. A lot of questions are left unanswered, and topics left unexplored, but not so that it makes the book feel incomplete... just so that I immediately want to dive into the sequel. The only thing I can possibly think to ding it for is the present-tense writing, which normally annoys me... but in this case, even that works to the story's advantage, giving Katniss's predicament a real sense of immediacy.

So, yeah. Caps-lock good. 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Read it. If you have even the slightest inclination towards dystopian fiction, survival books, modern young adult literature, or really good stories in general, you should pick this one up sooner rather than later. ( )

I could not put this one down! The Hunger Games reminds me of The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King), a book I loved as a teen. The story is violent, often brutal; however, it is not pointless -there is a lesson in the horror. This is one of the few in this genre that will entertain both genders. Unlike others written for teen girls, The Hunger Games has an exceptionally strong female lead character. ( )

a very interesting book about realationships life or death situations and the witts that could help you get out of the life or death situations. recommended for both boys and girls. ( )

Even though this is a teen book, I really enjoyed it. Collins has such a vivid imagination and has created a future America (renamed Panem) that is bleak and brutal. I was rooting for Katniss the whole time during the hunger games. I could hardly put the book down. I can't wait to see what happens to her and Peter in the next book! ( )

‘The Hunger Games’ is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian novel where the government hosts an annual game. The annual game is a random lottery where twelve boys and twelve girls, one from each district are selected to participate in a life and death battle. The “Hunger Games” is a televised event used to remind the districts that the Capital exerts the control.

Katniss Everdeen is the narrator of the story. She volunteers to participate in the game when her younger sister Prim is randomly drawn. The two members for District twelve are Katniss and Peeta. Peeta reveals on-air his love for Katiniss which ultimately grabs the attention of the audience. The audience members are permitted to sponsor a child and send gifts throughout the game. Katniss realizes they must uphold the role of star-crossed lovers to maintain their sponsors. She believes this is essential to her survival. When a rule is changed in the game, Peeta and Katniss’ relationship becomes even more important.

I thought the plot was unique and interesting. I do enjoy dystopian novels, and I had to begin reading the second book right away. I highly recommend the trilogy, and I understand what all the rave was about. Go, and buy your copy right away, you will not be disappointed! ( )