Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

"There must have been some mistake. This can't be happening. Prim was one slip of paper in thousands! Her chances of being chosen so remote that I'd not even bothered to worry about her. Hadn't I done everything? Taken the tesserae, refused to let her do the same? One slip. One slip in thousands. The odds had been entirely in her favour. But it hadn't mattered." (Collins, p. 21).

    I would like to say now that I am pretty sure this review is going to be biased. I will try my best to be fair. I read this book in one day which for me is superman fast. This story begins in a world of districts – twelve to be exact with one governing body called the Capitol. The districts are segregated by both physical land mass and electric fence. Each of the districts, while living in poverty, supplies the wealthy and powerful Capitol with every possible need. Kind of similar to developed countries enjoying the spoils of underdeveloped countries. Anyway, to prevent uprising the Capitol invents the Hunger Games where two teenage (11-18 year old) tributes are selected by raffle to participate. There can only be one victor. Essentially, this is a fight to the death in an arena of the Game makers' choosing. Katniss ends up part of this year's 74^th games with fellow district 12 tribute Peeta. Is she prepared? Will she survive with her sense of self? Honestly, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys action. It is suitable for both adults and teens. It is a tale of survival.

Now to let my enjoyment of this book show I will list some of the reasons I couldn't put this book down:

1. Struggle: There is a constant struggle from beginning to end for survival making the book both captivating and thrilling.
   
2. Importance of Family: It is easy to love Katniss because she loves her family fiercely. The love for her sister can be described as maternal. You want her to survive.
   
3. Role Reversal: Katniss, the eldest daughter of two is the head of the family. She becomes the breadwinner after her father dies in a mine explosion. It's not often that a teenage girl is portrayed as having the means, ability, and self-sufficiency to her family.
   
4. Survival Skills: The ability to create a food source and shelter in the wild is interesting - hence why there are so many "Man vs. Wild" reality shows about this.
   
5. Alternate World: This novel takes place in a different world which allows the reader to step back.
   

Basically, you find yourself rooting for Katniss, hating the Capitol, and unable to wait to find out what's next.

In fact, I will be picking up the second book in this series ASAP....