In The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, the stakes are high for Katniss Everdeen. Either way, she loses. If she doesn’t enter her name more than the required times in the lottery, her family may suffer hunger. But the more she enters her name, the higher her chances are of being selected for the unimaginable, a teenage gladiator-like fight-to-the-death in an arena for the television entertainment of the country. Only one can win in this brutal game. And though Katniss has the willpower to win, can she really kill another human?
This fast-paced young adult novel grips readers to the end. Because of violent content, this is not a book for young readers, and discretion is advised, but neither is the book extremely graphic. The author kept me guessing about the outcome, and she didn’t cheapen the conflict by pulling punches. This is a fascinating look at the psychology of survival. It will be interesting to see where the following books in this trilogy take us.
