Book review - The Hunger Games

I am not being paid for this review, nor did I receive the books for free (though the Kindle editions were cheap - YAY!)

Last week I finally caved in and bought the e-book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It came very highly recommended, and overall it did not disappoint.  The only thing I did not like about the book was the very abrupt ending, which basically FORCED me to buy book 2, Catching Fire, and book 3, Mockingjay. The first book was a quick read, as was the second.  The third took me several days to get through, and I don't know if this was because I just didn't have as much TIME for reading at that point, or maybe because I was a little pissed off at the main character.  I'm not sure.

The story is set in the distant future (or maybe NOT so distant, depending on who you ask) where much of humanity has been destroyed, and where the U.S. used to be, now lies a nation called "Panem". Panem consists of a Capitol city, with several outlying districts, each with its own product/purpose.  The title of the first book refers to an annual event where the Capitol forces each district to send 'tributes', one boy and one girl, to fight in The Hunger Games....to the death. 

There is a lot of very realistic portrayal of extreme poverty, and several characters struggle with morality, relationships, etc.  One thing that struck me as odd was that there is no mention of religion or faith anywhere in these books.  It made me wonder what today's society/culture would be like if NO ONE, I mean literally not a single person, believed in God, or in any sort of higher power.

Of course there are a lot of political issues in the story, but it does not come across as trying to preach or teach any one style of government. 

I definitely recommend reading the entire trilogy if you can.  You don't even have to go out and buy them! Check your local library, or email me and I can lend you my copy (Kindle lending lasts for seven days, so please make sure you request it when you will actually have time to READ it within a week).  You don't even have to own a Kindle for the lending system to work: you just need the Kindle app installed on whatever device you're going to read on (your phone, iPad, computer, etc).