Book Review: THE HUNGER GAMES BY SUZANNE COLLINS

Genre:  YA/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Adventure

Published:  Scholastic  (Sept 2008)

Pages:  464

Rating:  8.5/10

THIS HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY MY SON

About the Book:

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. "The Hunger Games" is a searing novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present. Welcome to the deadliest reality TV show ever...

When I first heard about Suzanne Collins "The Hunger Games" I thought it would be an epic novel about kids being forced to fight in jungles and would be a philosophical meaning about how corrupt and injust the legal system and the government is. 

So you can understand my reluctance when I started hearing people comparing it to Twilight and Harry Potter. 

These reluctances where soon banished when I found it to be not as huge and clever as I thought but still a fun, exhilarating ride with a female protaganist that you can't help but root for. I would mostly compare it to 1984, although not as depressing, and the Japanese movie "Battle Royale", although not as brutal. Somewhere in between is the Hunger Games. It is fun, exciting and this is only part one, which means it hopefully will get better and better. 

Also look out for the motion picture coming out in Spring 2012.

BOOK REVIEW: LONG REACH BY PETER COCKS

Genre: YA Thriller

Published by: Walker Books (Jan 2011)

Pages: 416 (Paperback)

My Rating: 8.5/10

LONG REACH BY PETER COCKS

About the Book: (Taken from the blurb at the back of the book)

Eddie Savage makes two shocking discoveries in quick succession.

One: his brother, Steve, has been working undercover for the police.

Two: Steve is dead.

Eddie refuses to believe that his hero elder brother killed himself, and there's only one way to find out the truth: follow in his footsteps.

My Thoughts:

First Line:

"We found him face down in the mud at Long Reach"

When 17 year old Eddie learns about his brother's untimely death and is offered the chance to work undercover for an organisation who "operate somewhere in the gap between the police and the more covert government agencies" he doesn't hesitate. Especially when he has to 'get to know' the pretty teenage daughter of the local ruthless killer and psychotic crime lord and try to infiltrate their notorious gang!

This is a real Boys Own adventure story with a likeable hero in Eddie Savage, beautiful but possibly dangerous women with a thrilling storyline and murderous gangsters.

There was a good pace to the story, a nice steady build up in suspense, with good characterisations.

A compelling and exciting read, recommended for readers aged 14+

In The Post Today: ACROSS THE POND BY STORYHEART

ACROSS THE POND BY STORYHEART Synopsis:
Finding himself packed off to friends in the USA, fifteen-year-old English born Fred Squire is not happy. Then he meets Brittany.
Struggling with his feelings for Brit and the language, Fred is further confused when he meets Brit's flirtatious friend, Angel.
Escaping from a confrontation with Steve Harris, the neighborhood bully, Brit tells Fred her dark secret about Harris, and Fred's world is turned upside down.
Life continues to throw Fred a curveball when he catches a baseball worth a small fortune. Further run-ins with Harris, a crazy family BBQ, and a chase through a mall all add to Fred's American adventure.
"Brit and her Brit", know that their young love will be followed by heartache when Fred has to return to England. But not before some final twists in the tale.
With romance, adventure, humor, first love and even a little sport thrown in for good measure. Across the Pond takes the readers on magical trip that all will enjoy, from the young to the young at heart.
This sounds like a fun book, probably aimed at Young Adults, but as I'm 'young at heart' I'm sure I'll enjoy it too! Website for Across the Pond is here