The Hunger Games

So, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This is a book with a lot of hype surrounding it. So, let me start with this: Holy Crap. I now completely understand what the big deal is.

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. 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 district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed." - From Amazon.com

I'm a big dystopian future fan. I'm also a fan of strong, kick ass female leads. Those two things alone made me love this book. But it also has suspense, plot twists, surprises and more. If I'd had the time, I would have read the whole book in one sitting. I didn't though, but I did stay up an hour pasted my bedtime to finish it, and woke up an hour early the next morning, wanting nothing more the to start book 2, Catching Fire.

On a scale from Totally Awesome to Horrifically Awful, I'd give it a Totally Awesome. Yes, it really is that good.