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Finished Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for the New Author Challenge.

I wasn't sure about reading this (even though Stephen King and pretty much every other person who had read it raved about it).  It's set in the future, where every year, two people from each district (there are 12) send a boy and girl to fight to the death.  Only one person can survive.  And, to make things worse, the fighters are between the ages of 12 and 18, so it's kids that are doing the fighting (and dying).

This book has been compared to Battle Royale, but I haven't read that (or seen the movie).  It reminded me of a cross between two of Stephen King's books (Bachman books, technically): the Long Walk and the Running Man. 

I don't generally enjoy dystopian novels, but this one was so, so good.  It's not particularly gruesome although (obviously) people die and we do witness some of the deaths up close.

I would absolutely recommend this.  It's one of the best books I've read in a long time and there's a good chance friends of mine will be getting this book as birthday presents.

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins