Every year a boy and a girl are chosen from the twelve districts of Panem (the post-apocalyptic United States) to compete in the Hunger Games. There's nothing fun about them. These games, held for the entertainment of the Capitol, are "Survivor" on overdrive. The person who wins the games wins fame and fortune for the rest of his or her days - but the winner, having hunted down and killed the rest of the contestants, is also the only one who comes out of the games alive.
Katniss is very well aware that she might be picked to compete; after all, she has put extra ballots into the draw for years in order to help feed her family. But she is not prepared at all when her younger sister's name is picked. Katniss knows that she herself would have a slim enough chance for survival, but Prim would have none at all. So she volunteers herself to go in her sister's stead.
This is a seriously engrossing novel; I actually read it in one sitting because I just couldn't bear to put it down. Not only is it fast-moving and packed with life-or death situations, but it stays with you and makes you think (I've seen it compared to 1984 meets Lord of the Flies). This is the first book in a projected trilogy, and I can't wait to find out what happens next.
The sequel, Catching Fire, comes out in September.
| Categories: Reviews, SciFi & Fantasy |
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war o...
The powerful second novel in The Hunger Games Trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Collins. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fell...
