The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

THE HUNGER GAMES
Book One of Three
Author: Suzanne Collins
Source: Purchased

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (September 14, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439023483
ISBN-13: 978-0439023481

SUMMARY:


Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

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 will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

MY THOUGHTS:

If you are a regular reader of books, you know about The Hunger Games Trilogy. I knew about the books, knew everyone was raving about them, but I just couldn't bring myself to read them.  At first, the book didn't seem to appeal to me.  The summary seemed to TV Survivor for me and the hype that was going around with the books made me cringe that they wouldn't live up to my expectations.  Yet, I created a poll letting you--my blog readers--decide if I should read it as my first series of the year to review.  I admit that I complained to my family that The Hunger Games was in the lead.  I just knew that if this series was the winner of the poll, I would have to suffer through 3 books of reading that I would despise.  After the poll closed, and The Hunger Games was the clear winner, I dug out my copies of the books and started to read.  


Can I just say one thing? What the heck was I thinking???


I can't believe I waited and dragged my feet about reading this book! By the end of the first chapter, I was so engrossed in this story that I could not put it down.  I barely set it down long enough to go on Twitter and tell everyone I was so stupid for not reading it!  The adventure, the suspense, the writing--all of it was amazing!  Each chapter seemed to end with a bigger climatic finish than the last.  I cried, cheered and my heart broke into a million pieces several times over in this book.  I absolutely fell in love with Peeta from the moment his eyes teared up on the train.  I loved Katniss from the moment she opened her mouth in the first chapter.  When it comes to Rue, my heart broke for her and I wanted to pick flowers for her as well.  


What more can I say about this book to convince you that you have to read it?  I was once a reader who kept saying that I would never read this series. If this is you, then I will tell you to read it! I was one of those people who didn't believe it would live up to the hype and thought it sounded boring.  Now I am a fellow hard core fan of this series and I still have two more books to go.  It is still early on in the series, but I will say that I am Team Peeta!  What team are you on?


MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS