The Hunger Games

**Warning, slight spoilers***

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins (Review by DarkDream)

"Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death. In a dark vision of the near future, twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live TV show called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule; Kill or be killed." 

Everyone and their mother has been going crazy over The Hunger Games. Though the book was originally published in September 2008, it has recently attracted new attention with the film adaption coming to UK cinemas in March 2012. Now on May the 15^th I may be a little late jumping on the bandwagon, but there is no way that I am getting left behind.

There has certainly been a lot of hype over The Hunger Games. As such I was unsure about reading it as for me, books rarely live up to the expectations presented by the fans. When I pick up a popular work of fiction for the first time I often find myself itching to slate it, thinking “It can’t be as good as people say it is. No way.” And more often than not, I find myself to be correct. The Hunger Games is different, however.

The first thing that struck me was how well it was written. With all its thoughtful descriptions and deep characters it gives the illusion that it should be a “heavy” read; it isn’t. As it is written in first person from the viewpoint of Katniss, you could also think that parts of it will seem overly casual; they don’t. For me, reading The Hunger Games was like canoeing down a stream. The text seemed to flow and carry me through the story, but not once did I find it to be boring or written too simply. There was enough description to keep me immersed in the story but not so much that the pace was slow. Indeed, with a book like this, it has to be fast paced.

The idea of the book itself is genius. Collins handles the dark theme of the story in such a way that we understand the gravity and seriousness of the situations Katniss finds herself in but we are still entertained. I could not put this book down, and for once that is not just an expression. The characters are so believable that even as Katniss draws her bow to take a man’s life, I am empathising with her and I understand her motives.

Survival is a key part of the story. In the Q&A section at the back of the book it says that Collins researched hunting and survival techniques, and it shows. It is clear throughout the book that the author knows what she is talking about. It was interesting to see hunger and dehydration become as big a threat to Katniss as the other tributes who were out to kill her. Again, it all felt believable.

I would recommend this book to just about any young adult or teen who enjoys fast paced action, adventure, and science fiction.

(To the owner of this fine blog,) Here you are, G. I’ve done my ‘homework’ and contributed something!