The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Publication date/ Length: 2008 / 374 pages
Synopsis (from the jacket cover): 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.
First line: “When I woke up, the other side of the bed is cold.”
Review: A few years ago I stumbled upon Yahoo Answers — a forum where people can ask questions about a variety of topics and receive answers. I had just left my classroom teaching job and found I really enjoyed helping students out with questions about To Kill A Mockingbird, what to read next, and a variety of writing issues. I also noticed a book called “Twilight” seemed to be very popular so I checked it out from the library and investigated what was soon to be a world-wide obsession.
Well, lately I’ve noticed The Hunger Games appearing again and again on Yahoo Answers (as a recommended read), and then my friend’s book club read and enjoyed it, too. I usually shy away from adolescent lit (15 years was enough, I figure) and almost never read science fiction or fantasy. However, my friend’s recommendations are always spot on, not to mention my curiosity got the better of me.
Well, I’m glad I gave The Hunger Games a try. It is a very exciting, fast-paced thriller that was quite hard to put down. A group of 24 kids are randomly chosen to fight to the death in a wilderness, while a live audience watches in suspense. And suspenseful it was! Now, I think any reader would know to expect a “happy” ending for the heroine (this is adolescent lit, after all), but the journey to this expected finish is full of surprises and twists and interesting character development. The ending was a bit of cliff-hanger, too, leaving the reader ready to jump into the next book.
So, I do recommend this page turner and can see why it is encouraging both girls and boys to pick up a book, even one that’s nearly 400 pages long 
Anyone else try this yet?
I thought it was good. I’d give it a B+. I have seen it all over the net but I haven’t seen it at the middle school where I teach. I’ve yet to see a single student with a copy. I still see lots of Twilight.
This is a book I’ve been seeing around, too, and up until now, I’ve been reluctant…but I may just have to give it a whirl!
My Salon:
http://laurel-rainsnowsaccidentallife.blogspot.com/2010/02/sunday-salon_14.html
This book caught on with the whole library staff. We read it,loved it, and devoured the sequel, Catching Fire. Can’t wait for the 3rd in the series coming out August 2010.
On to Book #2…and then Book #3 will be out (when?) perhaps this fall….
And two is as good as one….
Loved this book, and the sequel. Can’t wait for the third – I have it on my calendar!
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