The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

(from inside flap)

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, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, 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 death 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.

Okay, to me the difference between a good book and a great book is this; I don't want to put down but I will, a great book I absolutely cannot put down. Going to sleep is torture, because I spend a lot of time (sometimes hours) laying awake wanting to know what happens next. This is one of those great books. I literally finished it a little more than an hour ago and couldn't wait to blog and get the word out. The Hunger Games is a suspenseful book that kept me going from cover-to-cover. I enjoyed the characters, although I will comment - if people were upset about the name "Renesme" in Breaking Dawn, they will not like the names in this book either. But I really could careless about that - the characters were great. In reality I'm glad this is a book, science fiction - and not reality. How heart wrentching when you really think about it - being forced to fight to the death with people your own age. I would be just like Katniss, having a hard time not forming attachments and honestly, I would never be able to follow through with any of the killing - even if I was forced to, I'd probably die first.

The book had many surprises, but the biggest one was the end - when...well I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. You'll see....