Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: Sci-fi/ Dystopian
ISBN: 978-0439023528

Premise: In the distant future, what remains of North America has been divided into a captial and twelve surrounding districts. In the past, the districts tried to rebel against the capital and failed. To punish the districts, the capital invented The Hunger Games, a televised battle royale between twenty-four tributes. One boy and one girl from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen to go into the arena, and fight to the death.


Let me start off by saying this is one of the best Young Adult novels I have read in a very, very long time. Not only is the setting crafted expertly, but the characters are amazing, and the plot is riveting. My favorite aspect of the novel was definitely the characters. Suzanne Collins' ability to weave utterly believable characters is astounding. Each character had their own discernible personality, crafted through description, dialogue and their actions. Their motives for any action actually make sense, something many YA authors seem to struggle with. The connection between reader and character is incredible, especially considering the book is less than four-hundred pages. The plot is also just amazing. I was literally on the edge of my seat while reading the novel, and finished it in under one day because it was so captivating. An expertly written dystopian novel that is probably the best Young Adult novel since Harry Potter, I would recommend this to any lover of science-fiction.