The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

by Suzanne Collins

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

I had no idea what to expect when I first opened The Hunger Games. All I knew was that 12 year olds attempt to kill each other. As I got further in the same phrase kept popping into my head "this is fucked up!" like "Survivor" on crack, and crack is whack.

Right about here I should be giving a description of the novel but lets face it, unless you've been living under a rock you know the storyline, and until this afternoon I was.

I had previously been warned that once I picked up The Hunger Games I would not be able to put it down. They were correct. Even though it was an incredibly nice day out I practically had to be dragged outside to go for a walk. Eventually, I was unable to use "but I'm at a good part" any more and was exposed to that bright ball in the sky.

I think the perfect word to describe the novel is wow. It was an emotional roller-coaster that I didn't want to get off. From the time Katniss Everdeen, volunteers herself for the event in her sister's steed to holding hands with her companion Peeta, my heart went out to her. She has spunk, there is no other way to put it, despite the obstacles that come her way she stays true to herself and I admired her for that.

Peeta was a mystery, I never knew whether he was just playing the game statistically using Katniss as a pong or if his feelings were genuine, and while eventually revealed added to the "espionage" of the story.

Suzanne Collins knows how to hold the reader's attention, raising suspense at just the right lull when you thought everything will turn out okay, making The Hunger Games unputdownable.