Review for Author Lauren Lapinski

The Hunger Games takes place sometime in the distant future in the ruins of North America, now known as Panem. In this dystopian future, an event is held each year known as the Hunger Games, where children from age 12 to 18 are selected by lottery to compete in a televised fight to the death with only one surviving victor. The heroine, Katniss Everdeen , enters the Hunger Games after her younger sister’s name is selected from the lottery and she volunteers to take her place. Collins’ style is very well written, easy to read, and fast paced. Every chapter leaves the reader in suspense and is nearly impossible to put down. The basic plot of kids killing kids for survival has been done before, but the similarities end with that violent concept. The novel also deals with other serious issues such as hunger, political corruption, and what passes as entertainment for a public so desensitized and dehumanized by televised violence and reality shows. What I really enjoyed about this book is that it confronts issues that teenagers face nowadays, without making it a book of morals.