{Review:} The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA Fiction
Publisher: Scholastic Press (Sept 2008)
Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN: 9780439023481
Source: Library
Available on: Amazon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description on GoodReads:

"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."

Review:

You probably have seen this book in every bookstore and heard many people speak wonders of it. I myself did, yet for some reason, I was hesitant on reading it. It might have been the strange name or the dark mystery looking cover. It might also have been because the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. For whatever reason, I am happy I finally decided to read it.

I am not going to summarize it because I really believe that you should read this one and experience on your own. What i am going to do is tell you what I loved about it.

I loved the setting. The story takes place in the post-apocalyptic North American continent (they never say the year) that is named Panem. The continent is divided into 12 districts and is controlled by a government that resides in the center city called the Capitol. The 12 districts are exploited to sustain the main city. To remind the 12 districts of who is in power and suppress any attempts of rebellion, they created The Hunger Games.

The games consist of 2 children(12-18), boy and girl, are selected randomly from each district to enter an arena where they will fight to survive their environment and one another until only one survives. If this was not bad enough, the whole thing is televised for all of Panem to see.

This grasped my attention from the beginning and I was unable to put the book down.

The story is told from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen. She volunteers as a tribute from district 12 when her younger sister is chosen. She is a strong female character, a surviver. She enters the games and is determined to keep the promise of surviving she made to her sister. Things begin to get blurry when she is asked to (act) as team with Peeta Mellark (the other tribute of district 12).

She is very confused about her relationship with Peeta. On the one hand, she is grateful, because he once saved her life by giving her food when she needed it the most. On the other, when the games begin he will be her enemy. Things get even more confusing for her when, Peeta confesses to have an unrequited love for her during his interview portion. She believes that it is a strategy to gain supporters to help them by sending gifts during the games. She decides to play along but how much is she acting and how much is she starting to feel for Peeta? Is Peeta's love real or a survival strategy? How is she to trust someone who's survival means her own death?

I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best I have read in a while. If you are looking for a love story is has it. I can't wait to read the next instalment in the trilogy.

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