The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual 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 steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

 Considering the Hunger Games film came our last Friday, and the fact that I haven't read the trilogy since February 2011, I thought heck, why not? And I had honestly forgotten how addictive this book can be.

From the opening paragraph, I was rehooked, and easily fell back into the mood of the storyline. I think that is one of the main key features to this trilogy; it's not just a brilliant storyline, but you can follow the story easily, and I have never found that I have to force myself to read any particular bit of the book, because it's all interesting - and I think that it is actually hard to find a book that you could happily read for a whole day, solid. I also love how Collins has created the characters, making each one likeable for their own different reasons - well, okay, apart from President Snow. But I've always felt like I bond with a range of the characters, and I think that no matter who you are, or what book genre you prefer, there is at least one character you can possibly relate to - whether that be Gale, Katniss, Peeta, Prim, Rue, or even Haymitch. And I think that despite how it is set in a dystopian future, it is made realistic because of characters and how although they have bigger responsibilities, at the end of the day they are teenagers just like us. I think how Collins manages to make that connection between the books and the readers is brilliant, and is one of the many reasons she is one of my favourite authors.

If you haven't read this series and are contemplating going to see the film, please try to grab a copy and read it first! The movie definitely did it justice, but it has nothing on the book.
Rating:5/5