The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The time: a not-too-distant future. Weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, what we know of as America is gone. In its place: Panem, a country divided into the Capitol where the ruling class reside, and 12 districts, where the majority live like peasants. Each year, two children from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss' young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. A cruel but mesmerizing, cannot-put-down stew of Logan's Run, Lord of the Flies, The Running Man, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and the myth of the Minotaur that leaves readers thoroughly converted to Collins' world. A world filled with characters raw, real and sympathetic. A world pulsing with power and energy. And a world not just a lot of young adults, but most everyone, can relate to. Book One of The Hunger Trilogy.

The Hunger Games is a violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspenseI couldn't stop reading. Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly Review

I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about itThe Hunger Games is amazing. Stephenie Meyer, www.stepheniemeyer.com

The Hunger Games is as close to perfect an adventure novel as I've ever read. I could not put it down. Collins has transformed the ancient Labyrinth myth into a terrifyingly believable tale of future America. Readers will be hungry for more. Rick Riordan, author of The Percy Jackson Series and The 39 Clues

The Hunger Games is a great book, and very thought-provoking. Read this along with your teen and discuss it. Charlaine Harris, www.charlaineharris.com