The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I had a hard time getting into this story, but halfway into it I couldn’t put it down. The main problem for me was the protagonist, who isn’t very likeable and isn’t someone I felt like rooting for. But once the Games begin the pages begin to turn very quickly. This is a gut-wrenching story that doesn’t leave you with a very good feeling about humanity, and I’m not sure that I want to read the other two books in the trilogy. But in terms of pure storytelling, this book is a fine effort, although it seems suspiciously crafted for cinematic adaptation. Realistic? Depends on how you look at the world, although the book’s perspective is refreshingly distant from the Randism that is currently making a comeback.