The Hunger Games

I started reading this book as part of my job.  Many, many of my students were reading The Hunger Games.  More than a few of my colleagues were insisting that the novel was a "must-read".  So, following like a lemming, I downloaded the book onto my Kindle and started to read.

I ignored my child, husband and television for the few hours it took to finish this extraordinary book.  I was very intrigued by the story because it seemed very similar to one of my favorite short stories, "The Lottery".  Panem, what is left of the United States many years into the future, is the story's world.  Panem is distributed into 13 districts; however, only 12 are still populated.  While the author never reveals exactly where the districts are, it is easy to imagine through her description and the district's resources.  The abandoned 13th district is the reasoning behind the annual games.

Children from each of the 12 districts in Panem are selected to be tributes.  Tributes fight to the death in remembrance, or retribution, for the loss of the 13th district many years before.  The boy and girl, selected from each district, are placed into a created world for this harrowing adventure, after much pomp and circumstance.

The tension and suspense built by the author is intense.  There was a temptation to flip ahead in the story, just to make sure the characters survive.  But, I'm not a page skipper!  I definitely enjoyed this fantasy thriller and am looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy.