The Hunger Games

I was recently handed The Hunger Games to read and I would like to shake the lender by the hand. What a thoroughly good read! If you haven't heard about it by now, what planet have you been hiding your sorry little head on. It's great.
Set in a future world where America has become one gigantic global city state supported by 12 Districts, the story follows a young girl called Katniss who takes the place of her sister in something called The Hunger Games.
This future world is very much unlike our own: it is run by a central hub where people enjoy all the luxuries of life, whether it is food, fashion or the games. They are a society that enjoys all the hard labour of the twelve districts whilst the districts themselves struggle to feed their own families and are policed by cruel Peacekeepers who will happily execute you for minor offences, or whip the skin clean from your back.
Every year there is a competition, unlike any competition we know and much more like the barbaric games the Romans used to enjoy in ancient times. Katniss becomes a contender in the Hunger Games where she must survive against her fellow competitors who are all out for blood. There can be only one winner and with two participants from each district, she faces 23 enemies who want nothing more than to see her face down in a ditch, their spear, arrow, knife, dagger firmly planted through her heart.
Suzanne Collins (the author) has created a compelling world that will draw readers in through the first person account of Katniss, our narrator. It has been made into a film recently, but nothing compares to reading about Katniss' world and immersing yourself in the fight for survival that she must undertake.
Classed as 'young adult', this book is suitable for 11 and up, up and up. I'm 34 and didn't want to put it down!