This book left me "Hungry" for more!

Welcome, Welcome! So glad to be back! The last couple of weeks were silly busy, but I'm back and ready to review! So I've had a couple of people ask me to review the Hunger Games. I know a bunch of you have probably already read it, but I enjoyed it so much, that I really want to review it! The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is the story of Katniss Everdeen's survival. Her survival, first, as the family provider in a post apocalyptic world, and later as a contestant in the Hunger Games. Katniss' life is very hard. Her father died in a tragic accident leaving her mother in a paralyzingly shocked state, that renders her practically useless to her daughter's well being. Katiniss is left to pick up the pieces. She must provide for not only her mother, but her younger sister, Prim as well. Katniss has help from her very handsome friend Gale. They are both skilled at hunting and join forces to care for their families. Then Katniss' world is turned upside down. Each year the Hunger games is put on by the supreme central government referred to in the book as "The Capitol." 70 Some years before the book takes place, the Capitol had become so over bearing that the country (which is supposed to be North America, divided now into 12 districts, rather than states)revolted against them. The Capitol crushed them, taking down, as an example, a 13th district that no longer exists. Since then the Capitol put on the hunger games. This is a horrific event where children 12-18 are forced to compete to the death, till there is only one remaining. The survivor is given wealth and fame as a reward. The Games were designed to show the people that they have no hope of ever going against the Capitol again. Worse then that, the Capitol shows off it's 'supreme' power by using the country's children for sport. Katniss' sister, Prim is chosen, on her very first Hunger Games, to be a tribute. Katniss sacrifices her freedom to save Prim, and Volunteers to take her place. This is almost unheard of! Because of her selfless act, Katniss grabs the attention and hearts of the nation. Her choice also causes her to be a symbol to the people of freedom. She did not simply let the Capitol take what it wanted, but made her stand, and kinda made her own rules. So if I don't stop now, I'll tell you the whole story, and give it all away. I could talk about it forever! So let me get into some of my thoughts about this book. The first time I picked it up, I was very uninterested in it. I had heard that Stephanie Meyer (author of the twilight books) had endorsed it so I wanted to check it out. (Say what you will about Twilight,I enjoy it, and more importantly I think that Stephanie Meyer and I could be great book buddies!)The premise, just printed on the book cover did not draw me in at all. I don't enjoy books with needles violence (or TV shows that have it either)and the morbidness of children killing one another for sport was just a huge turn off. So I put the book down,and walked on to find something else. Well, about 6 Months to a year later, right before I believe the third book in the series, Mockingjay, came out, it seemed like a lot of hype was going into these books, so naturally being the curious bookworm that I am, I picked up a copy on my next trip to the library. I was there for an hour, reading, (in the teen fiction section) unable to put the book down! Suzanne Collins is such a masterful writer! I have read so many books in my life, but I have never read one that captivated me so much, so quickly as Hunger games. The characters are so deep, and so well developed that you know them instantly. The inviroment is as clear as day! You learn the layout, the temperment of the people. You feel the rigitity of the Government, and absolutely the undercurrent of rebellion and freedom in the face of all the supporting characters. So, now, more about the characters. First Katniss. What a heroin. She is strong, and tough, and loves her family with all she has. She's not a very emotional girl. She has a lot of walls up that make her rough around the edges, but all with good reason. While she is a forward person, like when she took her sister's place, it did seem to me that there were a lot of things, outside of the Games themselves, that she just let happen. I think that was the only thing I didn't enjoy about her. She was deep, and put thought into all of her actions, but there were a few time when I felt like she should have taken action, and didn't. As I mentioned earlier, there is Gale. Gale is a hardworking, big, strong, make all the girlies swoon, kinda character. He has grown to care deeply for Katniss, and promises to look after her family when she is sent away to the games. I think he is a wonderful man, and personally would have fallen for him, if I were in Katniss' shoes, but at the same time, I don't find much depth in him. He's loyal, and smart, and I think he's a good guy, but he lacks something for me. I'm not really sure if that's how Collins intended to portray him, or if she was concentrating more on Katniss, and a couple others, and just didn't take the time to develop him more. But he just wasn't quite what I wanted. The other man in Katniss' life is Peeta. When the tributes are selected from each district, they pick two, a male and a female. Peeta is the male from district 12. He and Katniss know one another, but only from a distance. They spend the next couple of weeks getting to know each other, and the worth of one another, better. I really like Peeta. To me he was the most positive character, tho he's packing plenty of common sense. He doesn't come from the greatest of home lives (few do in this story) but he's quite sure of himself, and what he intends to do with the position that he's been put in. He's very intelligent, and I think that's another reason I like him so much (brains do it for me, what can i say? Well...not in the way they do for zombies...that's totally different.)Through out the book, he finds every opportunity to protect and care for Katniss, and take a stand against the oppression of the Capitol. Overall he's a really strong character that is superbly well written. There are so many more characters that are worth noting, but I really don't want to give away anymore of the story. If you plan on reading it, just keep an eye out for Cinna, Caeser Flickerman, and Rue. I hope this has been a interesting and helpful review. As mentioned throughout I LOVE THIS BOOK! I give it a 5 on my rating scale. I highly recommend it, with the understanding that not everyone will like it, and with the cautio n, that it's not for everyone and certainly not for younger readers under, I'd say 13 or 14. Thanks for stopping by! I have another review already in the works, and I hope to get it out sometime in the next couple of days! Have a fab day! PS, I know that some of you have probably read this already, so please feel free to add anything that you think deserves mention in the comment section. But please PLEASE, no spoilers! Thanks!