The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This book has been stalking me for the past 2 years. Teasing me at every turn. But I've steadfastly and stubbornly ignored the calls of Suzanne Collins' trilogy.What changed my mind? Well....many things but let's just chalk it up to my nosiness and the fact that I don't like being out of the loop especially when there's a potential literary gold mine at my finger tips. And what a let me tell you this series is everything I couldn't imagine it would be. 

The number one thing future readers should know about this series is not to get attached to any character. Ms. Collins isn't shy about ending the life of a beloved character. It was very painful to see some of my favorites die. Second, this a dark series with a very sweet moments scattered in. There are a lot of themes in this series mainly political and moral themes and (for me at least) nothing was entirely black or white.

As always I'm struggling very hard not to blurt out major details of the books. I loved this series and I am really happy I decided to read....well....listen to the audio book. Speaking of-- part of what made this story so enjoyable was listening to Carolyn McCormick, narrator for The Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro, narrate this series. So for all of you who are still on the fence about reading The Hunger Games trilogy (trilogy not series like I've been saying throughout this review), count me in as one of the many raving fans of these books. And to Suzanne Collins you really made an impression on this book lover.