The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Current Mitunes: Kristen Chenoweth's A Lovely Way to Spend a Holiday

(I'm playing around with a title for my current musical tastes. Mitunes is the top contender.)

It seems everyone is reading The Hunger Games these days and who can blame them? There is so much buzz around the books and now even more with the upcoming movie that it seems we have the next Twilight Saga to amp up for. Though let's be honest The Hunger Games is way cooler than Twilight. (My opinion of course!)

Anyway, I decided that with all of this buzz I would make my first book review be on The Hunger Games.

Jacket Synopsis:

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 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 weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I can't start this review any other way. And let me just say I know I am not the only one who loved it, considering that it has sold rights in almost 50 countries.

I must admit, I was concerned on the subject matter at first ( I couldn't shake the idea that our heroin would eventually have to kill someone. And not just anyone, another innocent kid struggling to survive - just like her.) Obviously I was able to get over that pretty early on and continue to read the book.

That is probably due to Suzanne Collins wonderful story telling capabilities. Pretty well from the get-go you get a sense of who Katniss Everdeen is and what life is like on 'The Seam', which is all together miserable. Unlike many dystopian tales that I have read, where protagonists live among familiar relics and monuments of current society, Katniss lives far enough in the future that she has only heard about North America, but has never actually seen it.

The concept of this book is great. The mixing of Roman entertainment with today's television viewer's drooling over reality TV really hits home. (Think The Gladiator clashing with Survivor) These kids are plucked from their families, brought to the Capitol, a place beautiful to some and deadly to others, and are pampered and prepped to fight each other to death. The craziest thing is, this idea isn't that far fetched. A brief look at the practices of ancient cultures will show that games like this were literally child's play.

Although the topic sounds gruesome, the actual evidence of death and other sights you expect in a Freddy Krueger movie seem to be much less than expected. Collins performs an excellent job at giving you just enough detail to add suspense while not really divulging in many of the contestants' deaths.

And for those who fear romances like that of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen - NEVER FEAR! There really isn't all that much lovie-dovie sort of talk in the Hunger Games. Collins steers clear of it, besides Katniss would never allow it anyway. Any and all talk of love is seemingly passed between Katniss and fellow district twelver, Peeta Mellark, as means of survival. (The audiences of the Capitol love a couple destined for tragedy.)

I could go on about the fantastic characters, the amazing journey of survival and the exciting moments of battle, but I don't want to ruin it if you haven't read it yet. I can't stress it enough that this book is so good. And if you need another reason to read the book, there is a movie coming out in March and though it looks very promising, reading the book before is generally the best way to go.