The book follows the life of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in poverty in a dystopian country called Panem, governed by the rich and cruel Capitol. She, along with a boy Peeta whom she kind of knows, is selected to compete in the Hunger Games, a life-or-death battle between twenty-three other teenagers where only one can survive. Katniss must balance surviving the Games and determining the seemingly endless limits of the Capitol’s cruelty, all while maintaining a relationship with Peeta that may or may not even exist.
There are many things I loved about the book. It offers thrilling moments as well as moral conflicts. The characters and setting are well-developed, and you never know what’s coming next. It is a little heavy on the exposition, and some minor details don’t make a lot of sense, but it’s worth it. This book wonderfully balances action and drama, and the fact that it has become part of pop culture speaks for itself.