Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games is a young adult novel set in the future after the collapse of the world and its rebuilding by The Capitol. To maintain order, The Capitol hosts the Hunger Games each year in which 2 tributes--a boy and a girl--are chosen from each of the 12 districts to compete to the death. Once all other tributes have died in the arena, the winner is set for life in terms of food--in a world without much food--position, money, etc.

"My quarters are larger than our entire house back home. . . . When you step out on a mat, heaters come on that blow-dry your body. Instead of struggling with the knots in my wet hair, I merely place my hand on a box that sends a current through my scalp, untangling, parting, and dying my hair almost instantly. It floats down around my shoulders in a glossy curtain." (Page 75)

The heroine of this novel, Katniss Everdeen steps up and takes the place of her sister. She and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, are sent to The Capitol with their mentor and the last member from District 12 to win The Hunger Games, Haymitch. Once in The Capitol, Katniss and Peeta are groomed, presented, prepped, and molded to meet the television standards for the Hunger Games. The dynamic between these two tributes shifts throughout the novel, and in some case, like an undercurrent, it tips the plot on its ear.

"And just as the knife cuts through, I shove the end of the branch as far away from me as I can. It crashes down through the lower branches, snagging temporarily on a few but then twisting free until it smashes with a thud on the ground. The nest bursts open like an egg, and a furious swarm of tracker jackers takes to the air." (Page 190)

Collins does an excellent job developing these young teens and staying true to the normal responses teens could have in this surreal world she creates. Katniss is a brave, but lonely girl striving to be noble, while Peeta struggles to remain the sweet boy next door and stay alive amidst the brutality of the Hunger Games. Collins' characters are well-developed, and readers will enjoy the outrageous antics of the drunken Haymitch, the superficial Effie Trinket, and others.

The Hunger Games is an amazing look at a post-apocalyptic world through the eyes of teenagers. Collins is a masterful young adult novelist, and readers will be quickly absorbed into the world she creates. Readers will grit their teeth, bite their nails, and shake their heads as Katniss and Peeta struggle to survive amidst determined, skilled tributes from the 11 other districts.

Collins goes beyond the entertainment factor of most young adult novels to depict real-life situations in which young love buds and confuses, alliances are made, lies are told, and truth surfaces when characters least expect it. The Hunger Games is not only for teens, but also adults, though parents should be warned there is violence and innuendo.

Thankfully, readers won't have to wait too long for the sequel, Catching Fire, which comes out in September 2009. ( )

Dr. Kottke says: "In the post-apocalyptic country of Panem, what is left of the United States is divided into 12 districts and the Capitol. Each district sends two representatives to compete in a televised fight to the death to determine which district's citizens will eat well for the coming year. There can be only one survivor. The first in a planned trilogy, this dystopian novel is a gripping and intense page turner."

The book cover might not pull you in immediately but the story line is gripping. Katniss who is 16 is selected from the raffle to represent her district in the annual Hunger Game. She lives in poverty with her mother and sister is terrified about the event. Although the events in the story are disturbing their is a happy ending. This book is also available on CD!

This book takes place in the future, but it seems to have gone down rather than up.
Katniss lives in District 12 of Panam (previously America). There are 12 districs in Panam, and the Capitol controls them all. And each year, two "tributes" from each district are selected to be in the "Hunger Games", a fight till death in an arena. (Like how the Colloseum used to be, but the Hunger Games last much longer.)
Because of certain events, Katniss is one of the tributes.
She and Peeta, the other District 12 tribute, are trained, but when Peeta makes an announcement on live TV, it changes how the Games will be played and Peeta's and Katniss's relationship.
Peeta and Katniss play the Games, seperately, but when the rules change, they are brought back together.
But they are both still in the Games, and one of them will eventually have to die right? But who?

This review probably doesn't do the book justice. It was an amazing book, and you don't get bored with it (though the very beginning wasn't that exciting). Once you get to the end you'll be mad the next book isn't out (September 2009) and dying to read it. ( )

The country is split into districts and from each district 2 teens between the ages of 12 and 18 are taken and forced in participate in the hunger games. An olympic type major event where teens gets well fed, well dressed and trained over the course of a few days to then be thrust into the arena and the forest to see who can be the lone survivor, killing each other along the way. It is a bit harsh and sometimes hard to take in the fact that these teens are not only struggling to survive hunger, freezing, fear, and death but also that some of take pleasure in the killing of their peers. They are given no choice because it is kill or be killed, but it still is heavy. I would put this book in the age bracket of 14 and up just because of the intensity of it. It is well written and keeps you turning the pages as each chapter ends in a cliffhanger, but it is really hard to get past the ultimate ending. You really come to care about Katniss the main character and fear for her life right along with her and suffer the loss of her "friends" as they each die off one by one. ( )