It took long enough but I finally finished reading The Hunger Games. I felt like I was the only one left on the planet who hadn't read it yet but after a quick poll on Twitter I realized I was not alone.
For the few of you that don't know what The Hunger Games is about, a quick overview from Suzanne Collins website:
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used to be the United States. 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." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.
As I mentioned in previous posts it took me a while to get into the story. The beginning was slow but I understand the story had to be set up before you could fully understand the games. Once I got to page 102 and Katniss shot the apple out of the pigs mouth I was hooked.
I loved Katniss. She is independent, strong and intelligent which is so unlike many female characters in YA books today. The fact that she took her sisters place in the games shows a great deal about her character.
Peeta I fell in love with the minute he burnt the bread so Katniss would have something to eat. Because I am a sucker for a good romance I was rooting for Peeta and Katniss from the beginning. However, Suzanne Collins had me guessing every step of the way as to Peeta's true feelings. Was he really just putting an act on for the cameras or did he genuinely love this girl from the first minute he laid eyes on her. The anticpation to finding out the truth was what had me clinging to every single page.
The other characters came to life on the page. I was able to picture all of the contestants in the game and even though they were in an arena to fight to the death where only one could survive I wanted the rules to change.
(Sorry if the review is vague. I don't want to give too much away for people who have yet to read the book.)
I wasn't going to read the second book in the series right away but after getting to the end and knowing there is more to the story I couldn't resist.
I also can't wait to see the book come to life on the big screen. They have great material to work with and I hope they are able to do the book justice. I actually think they casted it really well I just hope that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson have good chemistry. No scratch that. I hope they have amazing chemistry.
And to go completely off topic here. Are there any Vampire Diaries fans out there? If so how good was last night's episode?
Currently Reading:
I'm not exactly thrilled that Border's is closing, but I am thrilled at the amazing deals I got on books that I have been putting off buying because they have been too expensive. I saved $156.94! That is more than half of what I wound up paying in the end. I bought sixteen books, nine of which are hardcovers and spent a total of $69.40. I didn't exactly have the money to spend but you know what, I couldn't resist so I charged it. I bet you want to know what books I got at such an awesome price. Of course I'm going to tell you. 
