New Review-The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is an amazing book that came out a few months ago. Here's the description from Amazon.ca: "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 other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor tohis or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capitol wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rule. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead 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."

I loved this book. For some reason these types of books appeal to me. It made me think of 1984 in some parts, maybe because of the surveilance during the games. This book catches you in its grip and doesn't let go until the final page. I loved the development of Katniss's character, and the moral dilemmas she faces. Katniss's strength was admiring to read about as the book went on. I didn't really like the whole Roman names in the Capitol though; that felt a little bit contrived. In some parts I felt that the writing style was a little less impressive than it should have been, but feel free to disagree with me on that. But for me the only bad point was that it felt like the author was directing the story to a younger audience, making the writing seem more colloquial. But other than that, I felt that the story was incrediably riveting and moving. I highly recommend this book to others.