May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

I am never a fan of Harry Potter nor the Twilight books.
To me, they're really overrated and I must say that I always take the road less traveled by.
Then one day, while browsing goodreads.com, I saw one title on the most popular books tab that made me curious. It says "The Hunger Games". I clicked on it, read the synopsis, and my heart stopped for a while. I need to own that book.

It turned out to be one of the most talked-about books today but what really lies inside those hard covers are yet to be discovered. I researched on the internet and found out that it will have a screen adaptation by March 2012, which, of course, made me even more stoked to read the Games.

A colleague of mine, Luzia, said that she has the three books (it's a trilogy) and that she can have me borrow the 1st book. I said yes! and on the very next day, I got it.

The Hunger Games is about a country called Panem. It has a wealthy Capitol which is surrounded by 12 districts (originally, it was 13 but the 13th district was destroyed during a mayhem). Each of the districts must have one boy and one girl tribute (12-18 years of age) to represent their district in the annual Hunger Games that is being shown live on TV every night. Main characters are Katniss (Catnip) Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, both from district 12, the poorest of all districts. There are no rules in the Games, and only one victor should survive. It's really a battle for survival, but there are big, unexpected twists and turns as the book goes on. Heart-pounding scenarios, broken hearts, friendship, and death.

It's an easy read, though some of the terms are unfamiliar (thanks to my handy dictionary). The book seemed like a no-brainer. LOL. The pacing is perfect, and the author being keen to details is awesome. I'm a fan of romance novels so reading something like this is a breath of fresh air.

I really can't put it down, and before I knew it, I already finished the Games in less than 24 hours. 370+ pages in less than one day. It usually takes 2 weeks for me to finish an entire book (the fastest so far is Paulo Coelho's Eleven Minutes).

I really, really liked what I read. I say with conviction that I even fell in love with Peeta. Haha. The ending is a bit sad, though.
Good thing there's still books 2 and 3 so I can still hope that there's a redemption from where book 1 has left off.

Plus, there's the movie to be released in March so I really have something to wait.
Sad thing is, the 2nd book, Catching Fire, won't have its movie adaptation til November 2013 (that's more than a year!) and for sure, the 3rd book Mockingjay, won't be released til 2014. But of course, I know, it'll be all worth the wait! :)