The Hunger Games

Sometimes, I have no self control and I stay up really late reading books. This used to occur a lot over the summer with some sort of romance novel (usually Nora Roberts). Last night (a 'work' night) it happened with a young adult book, The Hunger Games. It's your average story line where boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl has no idea, and boy and girl get chosen to participate in a government organized fight to the death match with 22 other kids. Whoa! Seriously?

I got into bed at 11 thinking I would read a couple of chapters (for book club A) and go to sleep. Four and a half hours later, I'm finishing the book and wishing it were September 1st so I could buy the sequel, Catching Fire. The Hunger Games was a sweet surprise of a book (and is so popular, they are already in movie talks despite the fact that the second book has not been released yet). At first, I thought the writing style was somewhat juvenile, but I made myself get over that and fell into the plot. It moves surprisingly fast and you easily get caught up in the excitement of the games.

Katniss and her younger sister Primrose live in the 12th district of a futuristic America. There are 13 districts, each with a special product or talent. District 12 is a coal mining district. The thirteenth district was destroyed by the capital for organizing an uprising. Since then, the Hunger Games have occurred. Starting at age 12, every boy and girl puts their name in a drawing, increasing in amount each year till the age of 18 when the name goes in 7 times. The lottery is cumulative so the name is actually in there 28 times. A boy and a girl from each district are chosen to participate in a fight to the death to earn glory and prizes for his or her district. Similar to reality tv gone bad, the games are broadcast for every citizen to watch. The story begins with Prim's first lottery. Her name is chosen, but Katniss steps in for her and heads to the games with a boy named Peeta. The games that ensue are violent, scary, and surreal. Not to ruin the plot, but with two books following this one, it is obvious that our heroine Katniss lives through the games.

I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who needs a fast, easy, and fun read. Just be careful, it'll leave you begging for more!