"My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter."

Who knew that's how I would feel about The Hunger Games? Certainly not me. I bought it reluctantly for my school library, after hearing all sorts of talk about it and thinking to myself "I guess I'd really better get a copy." I knew it was popular with the teenagers, that it was a critically aclaimed New York Times' bestseller, and {here's the bit that didn't appeal to me} that it took place in a futuristic and totalitarian society that was once North America. Umm, yeah, no thanks. That sort of genre is really not my thing. Oh, I like science fiction well enough {you know how I feel about LOST and Dr Who!}, but "the future is bleak" books like 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale really turn me off. But all that aside, I made the decision to buy the book and, like I usually do, to read it before putting it into circulation. And I'm so glad I did.

It was amazing! I took it with me to the gym one Friday night, climbed on the elliptical, and started reading while I worked out. Next thing I knew, the gym was closing, I'd burned 600 calories, and I was well into one amazing novel that had made me gasp out loud and cry in the first 100 pages.

The Hunger Games takes place in the distant future, in the country of Panem, on the ruins of what was once North America. Panem is divided into 12 districts, each one poorer and hungrier than the last. In the centre of Panem lies the glittering Capitol, where food and money are abundant, and where the rules are written. Each year, the Capitol holds something called The Hunger Games. Each district must send two tributes, children between the ages of 12 and 18, to participate. They are all put into an arena and must fight to the death. Only one tribute can win the games and emerge from the arena alive. This year, Katniss Everdeen is one of those tributes. And the games will never, ever be the same.

Read it. It's crazy good. Dark and disturbing and powerful. The sequels are pretty awesome too {though I must confess to loving the first book the best}. And you don't have to be a teenager to think so. Believe me. I haven't been a teen in a very long time...

More reviews tomorrow. Right now I'm making crepe batter. Apparently it's Pancake Day in France. So I'm living vicariously through Em, and making us a delicious dinner of crepes and salad {you know, to create a healthy balance!} Delicieux...