The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old girl from a poor district, enters The Hunger Games to save her younger sister, Prim.  Prim’s name was drawn in the lottery to determine which boy and girl from her district will go to The Hunger Games and Katniss isn’t about to let her go.  Katniss has been hunting to feed her family for the last five years and would have a better chance of surviving than Prim, who has spent those years learning to heal people. 

The Hunger Games are a televised, gladiator-like fight to the death between twenty-four teenagers.  The last person standing wins, which means he or she will receive a lifetime of food, shelter, and money.  For Katniss, this is a confusing prospect.  Her family could certainly use the security that winning the games would provide, but without hunting, who is she?  Katniss fights to survive the games, while discovering who she is and dealing with love and loss.

I couldn’t put this book down and am looking forward to reading the other two books of the trilogy.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes post-apocalyptic settings and future dystopias.  The Hunger Games is reminiscent of The Running Man and Rollerball, while maintaining a style that is entirely its own.  I give it five stars!