The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in a dystopian society.  In the first book Katniss our heroine is chosen to compete in a twisted death match reality show with 23 other kids for the entertainment of the citizens of the capital.  Katniss and Gail the other teen chosen from her district have to fight against the other competitors to try to be the last one standing for it's the only way to survive.  Katniss finds love and friendship in this unlikely environment. 

While at first look The Hunger Games seems to be a terrible book about kids killing kids is more than that.  The book examines the horrors of war and violence and the reader puts themselves in the shoes of Katniss examining what they would do if they were in her situation.  As the trilogy continues Katniss finds herself in the middle of a revolution that she is not so sure about and the story examines the dangers of an vengeful out of control government.

This is a very quick read and one that is very hard to put down.  It is one I recommend to both boys (who like the fighting) and girls (who like the love story).  After reading this teens could be encouraged to read more literary dystopian tales such as Lord of the Flies and 1984.  The dystopian genre is one of the fastest moving in YA literature and there are a wide range of other dystopian novels for teens to enjoy.

I would recommend this book to the middle and high school reader.  While it is very violent (I wouldn't recommend it to kids who have nightmares) there is no sexual content (aside from kissing) or substance abuse to concern parents.  There are two books out currently with the third expected at the end of August and a movie based on the original is in production.