in review

I couldn't stop thinking about this book all day! I just wanted to go home, curl up in my hammock, and step into my fantasy world in Catching Fire.  Here is my book review for the school newspaper.

The first book of The Hunger Games series starts with a girl named Katniss Everdeen.  She lives in the 12^th District of Panem.  Panem is the new United States (after an uprising, the United States falls and the new country Panem forms.)  Panem is extremely dictatorship, with the Capitol having all the power. 

Katniss is tough, hardworking, and determined to keep her family alive.   Katniss lives with her mother and younger sister, Prim.  After her father died in a mine accident, Katniss hunts in the woods with her best friend, Gale, so she can feed her family.  She is a fantastic archer, and Gale is handy with traps.   Together, they make an incredible team. 

                Every year the Capital of Panem hosts the Hunger Games.  It is an event that requires every district to provide one girl and boy between the ages of 12 to 18 to fight to the death in the Hunger Games arena.  The fight between the teenagers is broadcasted live throughout the whole country, and is mandatory that every citizen watches their friends, or sometimes family kill and be killed.  The games are a way to entertain the Capitol citizens, and at the same time, it keeps the Districts from starting an uprising. 

                When the dreaded day comes around to draw names of the tributes, Katniss is soothing her sister reassuring that her name will not be drawn.  However, Prim’s name is called.  Katniss knows that if Prim goes to the games, she will never see her again.  Katniss spontaneously cries out that she will volunteer to take her sister’s place.  After the emotional moments of Prim being pried off of Katniss by Gale, the boy’s name is called.  His name is Peeta Mellark. 

                After the train ride to the Capital, Katniss and Peeta are trained along with the other twenty-two teenagers who were chosen.  They are prettied up, fed well, and treated like celebrities.  After a week of intense preparation for their soon-to-be deaths, the kids are thrown into the arena; eight are killed brutally in the first twenty minutes.

The games continue on with twists and surprises that are difficult to describe unless you have already read The Hunger Games.  I strongly suggest this trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.  It is a book out of the normality of typical futuristic novels. I must warn, it can get pretty graphic in the descriptions of how some of the tributes die, but by the time they die, you want them to anyways. 

 I loved The Hunger Games.  It has something for everyone; action, romance, and entertainment for any age, gender, or personality. I gave up a few nights of sleep just to see what would happen next.  It took me off guard; I had no idea what to expect next.  Its plot is wonderfully creative with results that never crossed my mind.  The movie comes out March 23, 2012, I can guarantee that I will be there school night or not.  I give these series 6 out of 5 stars.  Yes, it is that good.