The Hunger Games (Book 1)

'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins.

10/10

I know, my first 10!

I had heard good things about this book, and the rest of the trilogy, from several different sources over the past couple of months. Most of the people who recommended it were fellow Harry Potter nerds too, which also helped the cause. So I found them on 3 for 2 and bought the lot.

I started reading the first book, simply called The Hunger Games, on Wednesday. I was finished it by Thursday night. That might not sound like much but I did spend both evenings doing other things and I did in fact sleep. I have to say, it's been a very long time since I've had a book that I don't want to stop reading to the point that I was tempted to not go see the boyfriend so I could just keep going. Sorry boyfriend. For the record, I did put the book down to go see him.

All right, so the story goes a little something like this. It's many years in the future and the earth has changed a whole lot (floods, fires, quakes, etc) and what's left is a smaller country called Panem. I wont go into it too much, but the high-and-mighty folks of Panem like to hold the Hunger Games every year. They take teenagers from all over Panem, put them into an arena, and have them kill each other. Only one person can win, can survive. It's a little like Battle Royale meets steampunk.

I know it probably doesn't sound like much, but it's because I'm not doing it justice. I don't want to spoil anything and so much of what I could tell you is paramount to the rest of the story that I really don't want to.

The characters are amazingly three-dimensional (if you remember me complaining about other books where characters are just a bit blah) and so easy to relate to. The world is entirely different to what we know and should be able to imagine, but it's written with such clarity and wonder that even the most shocking parts are easy to digest and just slip into the big jigsaw that is The Hunger Games.

It's thrilling, exciting, frightening, sad, sometimes funny, a little bit romantic with just the right amount of tummy fluttering. You'll speed through so many emotions; anger, fear, sadness, happiness, uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh...

Just read it, OK? I'm going to go read the next one.