The Hunger Games - A Book Review

I've read the book and now I am totally stoked about the movie coming out this week!  The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is on my 2012 Reading List and of course I had to get it read before the movie was released.  I decided to listen to this series using the audio version and once I started listening, I couldn't stop! Once I finished the first book I immediately had to get my hands on Catching Fire and then of course Mocking Jay, books one and two, respectively, in The Hunger Games series.  I absolutely fell in love with the characters and felt such sadness when they were competing in the Hunger Games and so mad at the Capital and the game makers for creating such a horrible event.  Of course, I am a hopeless romantic and absolutely adore Peeta and his love for Katniss and that he would do whatever he had to do to protect her throughout the games, even though at the end they both knew there could only be one survivor.  It truly is a wonderful series that I highly recommend for any adult even though it is classified as juvenile literature.  With that being said, I would definitely advise that you read the book first before allowing your kiddos.  The majority of the book is pretty violent, brutal actually, and there are some mature/romantic parts that kids of a certain age wouldn't understand.  My husband actually listened to some of the book with me and couldn't believe it when I told him I got it from the Children's Literature section at the library.  Even the movie is being released with a PG13 rating, so as a parent I would recommend to just keep that in mind when the youngins start begging to read it.  My age recommendation for this book is 12 years old and up.

Summary taken from Amazon:
"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The 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. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed."