Hunger Games leaves me craving MORE!

I picked up Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins at a local bookstore solely because the recommendation was written by a former colleague with similar YA tastes. It sat on my shelf until one day I picked it up and couldn't put it down until it was finished. Hunger Games is the type of novel that can convince people who aren't fond of reading that books really can hold you captive.

It starts out describing the post-apocalyptic world Katniss Everdeen lives in, complete with starving people and a controlling, malicious government. She is then swept into the Hunger Games in an effort to save her sister. The Hunger Games are a yearly event where each of the 12 districts that make up Panem must sacrifice one boy and one girl to a deadly battle that only ends when there is one child left alive. This grisly battle takes place in arena controlled by the Capitol, who can manipulate the playing field anytime the action slows.

Many criticize Hunger Games for being gratuitously violent (which it is), and a rip-off of Battle Royale (which it kind of is). However, the violence is steeped in true post-apocalyptic themes that can be a spring board for students who might enjoy such a genre but read at a lower level than most post-apocalyptic are written at. Let's face it- there aren't many willing to take on such a genre in YA lit, but this book is written carefully while still holding true to such a terrifying situation.

While the story is similar to Battle Royale (junior high kids forced to battle to the death), it is much more reader friendly for teen readers and it is less daunting in size (Battle Royale is over 600 pages!). That does not mean BR isn't an amazing book, but Hunger Games might be just the book to get your toughest students reading. And don't discount its appeal to adults either! It is creative, captivating, and a new spin on a terrifying story. Give Hunger Games a try. I promise you won't be sorry! (Plus the second book, Catching Fire, just came out too!)