The Hunger Games

#365
Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Year: 2008
Publisher: Scholastic
374 pages

Another terrific young adult F&SF novel from Scholastic. This one, the first in a trilogy, introduces Katniss, a strong adolescent female protagonist living in a what appears to be the Appalachia of a dystopian future. To underscore their ongoing servitude, the Districts must send randomly-chosen tributes each year to battle each other to the death. It's the logical extension of reality television, so when Katniss is sent to the games, she is also groomed to be more attractive to sponsors. Throughout the novel Katniss is pulled into deeper deception and intrigue, though she really just wants to be left alone.

For other young adult fantasy where the protagonist must compete in very serious "games," compare MacHale's The Quillan Games and John Christopher's classic Tripods series, beginning with The White Mountains. Or, really, many episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series.