Hunger Games

Katniss is forced to play a game set up by her government where she and one other person from her district will compete against each until one person is left. The object of the game is to stay alive. She and the others are treated like Olympic heroes at the start of the game, complete with an entourage to make sure each contestant is memorable. Katniss is primped and fussed over as well as coached on how to stay alive in the "arena." She is dropped there with a boy from her district and they are expected to fight to death with the others. This takes time as the arena is a large wilderness, and the contestants have sponsors that drop them food and other supplies to help them win. This is all broadcast on TV every night and all of the citizens of the this future United States tune in. The love story that unfolds between Katniss and the boy is told solely through her eyes. She's a bit naive for her sixteen years, but she's been focused solely on making sure her poor family has enough to eat for the last few years, so boys were not really on the front of her mind.
I enjoyed this book. I liked not knowing what the boys' true motivations were. In the end their relationship seems like more of one of survival, and of deeper need than just desire for love or sex. The author undoubtedly is making points about reality TV, disconnection from society and "big brother." There are some moments of killing that are disturbing, and it does make me wonder if some critics won't have some problems with it. It may mistakenly end up in Juvenile Fiction because the author wrote the Gregor books. I hope there is a sequel.