I had heard from a lot of people that The Hunger Games trilogy was a good read, so I finally got around to reading the first book. I started reading Friday night. I was done, in tears, Sunday night.
To say The Hunger Games was good would be absolutely true, yet slightly misleading. I found it horrifying and was slightly traumatized by the end. But I LOVED the book.
Here is one brief synopsis from the official website: Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
The book takes a dramatic look at the effects of violence on adolescents, and while it is in the extreme (I had to keep reminding myself throughout the book that the society I was reading about was not my society), it raises some interesting questions. The book also begins an examination of politics (again not our politics, but the principles there are true). While the book looks at some pretty serious issues, it is not didactic. The author, Suzanne Collins, perfectly blends an intense narrative with these serious issues.
And while I say I found The Hunger Games horrifying, amid the horror is a delightful mix of humor and wit that balances out the tragedy. All-in-all I’d say this book is practically perfect in every way. If you can only read one book this year, read The Hunger Games.
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