The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games.

Well! What better way to get back into blogging than writing a review on the spectacular Hunger Games? Let's begin.

Firstly, let's start with the setting. Oh, how creative and vivid the places were. Katniss, the protagonist in the story, lives in District 12: The coal mining district. Suzanne really managed to set a grey, dreary scene where it was a struggle to even make it to the next morning, due to the lack of food.
Then there was the Capitol. The colours! How brightly they shone of the pages with the brightly dressed inhabitants flouncing about their rich homes without a care in the world. I loved the quirkiness and the lurking sense of danger the capitol brought to the plate.

Next lets talk to the main location of this wonderful book: The Arena. As most of you probably already know, the Hunger Games revolves around this particular event in which 24 tributes must fight each other to the death, leaving one lone victor who would be lavished in all of the luxuries they could desire. The arena in the Hunger Games is a lush forest with danger and unexpected traps around every corner. Suzanne described it in such a brutal way, that the audience can think of nothing but hope for Katniss' unlikely escape.

One of the more prominent things I appreciated about this novel were the characters. There was such variety, each with more memorable qualities and personalities than the last, that I couldn't help but delve right into their own stories.

Katiniss was strong. One of, if not the best female characters I have ever read about. She was level headed and she knew what she had to do to achieve something - a quality I highly appreciated.
Peeta was loving and kind, but he had strong morals as Katniss continued to discover through the course of the games. Their relationship with each other kept me continually flipping, but most importantly, it was real. That was special, as often in modern Y.A, there can be a bit too much cheese....

This book was simply incredible. No length of review will ever be able to cover the fabulousness - is that even a word? - that this book possessed. There was danger, romance, rebellion. All thrown together to stew as one of the most brutal, memorable books I will ever read.

I doubt I have to mention that I have re-read this book - twice.

A definite 5 outta 5. Oh yeah.