The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

I knew nothing about the story or whatsoever so I had zero expectation when I read it. And it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Two tributes (one girl, one guy) are forced to be provided from twelve respective districts to participate in a yearly game named the Hunger Games. The twenty-four tributes will then be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena where the game will be televised and they must fight among themselves. The last one standing will be the winner. Sounds very much like the US reality show - Survivor, right? But the most significant difference - the losers will be dead instead of returning home to family. And the Hunger Games is served to remind those districts of the Capitol's zero tolerance toward any uprisings - how totally they are at their mercy and how little chance they will stand of surviving another rebellion, should there be any. And the story is told by 16 years old Katniss Everdeen, from District Twelve who has volunteered to replace her 12 years old sister for the deadly game.

Okay, what's so fascinating about it? It's about survival - how to be the sole survivor when there are 23 other tributes who will be going after u. And u have to overcome the crazy weather or whatever challenges the Gamemakers have created to keep the game entertaining to woo the audiences. Hence it's entertaining to learn about the distinctive skills those tributes posses to either attack or defend. For example, Peete disguises himself as to be invisible under layer of mud and plant, thanks to his cake decorating skills. Strategies are also employed. For example, to weaken the Careers, Katsis has allied with Rue to blow out their supplies of food. Meanwhile, the Careers who are well-trained, physically capable to involve in brutal killings will work in group at the initial stage to take down weaker opponents who are all on their own. Since I enjoy schadenfreunde, I also love reading the different ways the tributes are killed after they are being outsmarted (food poisoning/ tracker jacker stings etc). Lol.

The bow! Somewhere in my befuddled mind one thought connects to another and I’m on my feet, teetering through the trees back to Glimmer. The bow. The arrows. I must get them. I haven’t heard the cannons fire yet, so perhaps Glimmer is in some sort of coma, her heart still struggling against the wasp venom. But once it stops and the cannon signals her death, a hovercraft will move in and retrieve her body, taking the only bow and sheath of arrows I’ve seen out of the Games for good.

And I refuse to let them slip through my fingers again! I reach Glimmer just as the cannon fires. The tracker jackers have vanished. This girl, so breathtakingly beautiful in her golden dress the night of the interviews, is unrecognizable. Her features eradicated, her limbs three times their normal size. The stinger lumps have begun to explode, spewing putrid green liquid around her. I have to break several of what used to be her fingers with a stone to free the bow. The sheath of arrows is pinned under her back. I try to roll over her body by pulling on one arm, but the flesh disintegrates in my hands and I fall back on the ground.

However, there is one thing I don't appreciate, that is the romance between Peeta and Katsis, who are schemed to be portrayed as the crossed-star lovers from District Twelve to deceive the audiences, and later the Gamemakers and Capitol rulers. And the romance between them later becomes the key to their survival in the arena. But the thing is both the characters shine in their very own way, so when the romance element is thrown into, it just takes out their respective awesomeness and makes them such a cliche. Peete is blindly in love with Katsis that everything he does seems to protect or keep her alive. While Katsis, although she is not smitten, she is confused with her feelings. In short, the lovey-dovey craps just bore me out. Bring on more strategies or manipulation or killings please! Lol.

Having said that, I will read the second book of the trilogy - Catching Fire after this. I will also look forward to its upcoming film.