The Hunger Games

Dystopian novels for kids. Forget the science fiction of the past featuring astonishing technology and flights to the stars, now it's all about the dark possibilities that the future holds. In The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins a post-apocalyptic world is getting ready for the annual Hunger Games. Children are forced to compete to the death on a nationally televised reality show. When her younger sister is chosen as the girl to compete from her district, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She doesn't want to get too close to Peeta, the boy her district sends, but traveling to the capitol and training with him make it inevitable. How will she survive the gruelling competition with her body and soul intact?

I couldn't put The Hunger Games down. I read in the evening and then got up and read more while I ate my breakfast. Intense and fast paced with well drawn characters whose suffering feels real--mental as well as physical. Katniss has a hard shell but as the story develops, you see the girl beneath that shell and understand why she protects herself from the world. Watching her begin to care for Peeta and some of the other competitors, you feel yourself torn too.

Coming out in October. Recommended for readers of The City of Ember and The Giver. I've been hearing Newbery-ish buzz about this book. I guess we'll have to wait and see if they pick science fiction--not the usual Newbery fare.