Ms. Gardzalla reviews a book, pt. 1

In college, I majored in English.  I loved it, even if it isn't making my current job search any easier.  Since one of my few marketable skills is reading the shit out of some books, I figured I'd give reviewing them a try.

Several weeks ago, I was stuck in Union Station for eight hours waiting on a train.  Luckily, there was a Barnes and Nobles there, meaning I could keep myself entertained.  My Facebook news feed had recently been devoured by posts about The Hunger Games movie, so I thought there wouldn't be any harm in giving the book a go.

BASICS:

The Hunger Games is a 2008 young adult novel by Suzanne Collins.  Many hipster douches are quick to point out that the novel/movie is a "ripoff" of the 2000 Japanese film "Battle Royale."  They do this in hopes of sounding cultured and smart, but since they didn't point this out four years ago, I'm forced to conclude these people just don't read books.

Anyway, the basic plot of The Hunger Games is that in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic nation known as "Panem," children are annually selected to compete in  The Hunger Games, which is a televised fight to the death.  The protagonist, a sixteen-year-old girl named Katniss, volunteers in place of her younger sister Prim, surely sealing her own fate.  *SPOILERS* OKAY LET'S IGNORE THAT FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK IT'S PRETTY MUCH IMPLIED KATNISS WINS *END SPOILERS*

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  It was an entertaining, captivating read, and it certainly made the eight hour wait and seven hour train ride go by much quicker.  A lot of people out there are (wrongfully) comparing the book to Twilight.  Having read both series, I really don't see that.  The main focus of Twilight was the romance between Bella and Edward, and eventually the series came to focus on the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob.  While there is romantic tension in The Hunger Games, it's hardly the focus, and the triangle between Gale, Peeta, and Katniss has been seriously overplayed by idiots.  In fact, one of the reasons why I liked Katniss so much as a protagonist is that she doesn't seem to get bogged down by typical teenage crap.  Given if I were in an arena with twenty-some-odd people who were trying to kill me, I probably wouldn't be worried what the cute guy in my science class was doing either, but then again, that's just me.

It's a sizeable length book-- three hundred some pages, split into three parts.  But it doesn't feel nearly that long.  Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, so I found myself stopping in the middle of chapters when I needed to take a break, go to work, or go to sleep.  After I finished the first book, I decided I liked it enough to read the two sequels.  I bought the sequels, even though they're only available in hardcover, which is something I almost never do.  And while it might not be a grand literary masterpiece, it's certainly entertaining as hell, and that counts for something.  I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.

OVERALL I'd give it four out of five.