The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

#1 in The Hunger Games Series
Published in 2008 by Scholastic
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
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.

Review:  The Hunger Games is a fast paced science fiction adventure that is gruesome, thrilling, and completely consumed my life as I read it.  This books had a perfect balance of heart pumping action and romantic respites.  The Hunger Games is the first of a trilogy, and it does a wonderful job of introducing the characters and setting up the overlying conflict while still being a complete story within itself. 

I love the idea of people being forced to kill each other in a twisted game exerted by a government's control.  The Most Dangerous Game, The Running Man, Battle Royale, and now The Hunger Games present a captivating concept that is both horrifying and inspiring.  This concept allows us to examine how people would react when put in this situation; what conventions would fall to the wayside in favor of the animistic need for survival and what heroic and selfless acts would rise to the surface. 

I have a lot of love for the protagonist, Katniss.  She doesn't whine about all of the awful things that are happening to her, she doesn't spend her time pining over some boy, and she doesn't depend on others to take care of her.  She's tough as nails and will do what she has to do to survive.  She isn't perfect and she isn't evil either.  She has successes and makes mistakes, has moments of selflessness and self-centered greed, and posses astute shrewdness and youthful naivety.  All of which endear her to the reader and point toward a well rounded and thought out character. 

I really enjoyed the world of Panem.  In The Hunger Games we get a sense of how different the quality of life is in each district.  People are dying of starvation in District 12, where Katniss lives, and the people of the Capitol live in ridiculous excess.  There is already tension and resentment in this first book, and I think Collins does a wonderful job of subtly setting up the circumstances that drive the plots of the following books.  I also adore the attention to detail, from describing the thought put in behind Katniss's costumes, the interesting advances in technology, and the fact that orange juice can be a once in a life time treat.

Overall The Hunger Games is a great adventure that takes a harsh look at classism, government control, and the loss of humanity in extreme circumstances.  The Hunger Games is a gritty science fiction novel that will grab you by the heart and shake you to the core.