The Hunger Games

Why stop at four, let's make it five. My girlfriend urged me to join the fray and read the recent mega-series that starts with The Hunger Games, and here I am done with book one. And now I can see that this book certainly lives up to the hype. This really does have all the trappings of a mega-seller. It's a survival story in an Orwellian society focused on teens force to kill or be killed in the "Hunger Games." There's plenty of action and suspense, but all light enough for a middle school student to handle- the first I heard of this series was Webber mentioning its middle school fandom. And of course to really hook the young readers they give it a teen romance that actually had a bit of originality to it, where neither character is at all sure about their feelings but they have to play up the romance to gain a competitive advantage. Despite the bleak setting and some harsh moments, I actually found it a pretty fun book- unlike 1984 or Fahrenheit 451, this fits the 'beach book' mold. I've heard conflicting views on the next two books, and I've managed to avoid most spoilers, so I'll probably get to them soon so I can talk about the series with everyone I know who has read them, which is approaching nearly everyone I know.