Welcome to hellomango! Our book of the month is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Continue reading for a review.

In the near future the land of Panem exists, holding host to 12 districts and the Capitol. It is the day of the reaping, an event that chooses the participants of the yearly Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games there is just one rule. Kill or be killed. The 24 children that take part are set in a large arena that can contain anything from lakes, to forests, to deserts. At the reaping two names of 12-18 year olds are pulled from a glass sphere, one boy and one girl, from each district.

In the deprived district 12, 16 year old Katniss Everdeen is the sister of 12 year old Primrose Everdeen, who is experiencing her first Hunger Games. Katniss is doing her best to comfort Primrose but to no avail. She knows Primrose will never be picked as her name is only entered once in the glass ball that will contain thousands of slips. Her name is entered over 20 times although that seems trivial compared to her friend Gale's 40 slips. Still, when the reaping arrives, the whole town gathered in the square, the girl tribute is named, and it's Katniss, but her name wasn't picked. How has this come about? Find out by reading the book. When Katniss arrives she experiences the lead up to the dreaded games, and when they come, she's in for a ride she'll never forget.

Despite being a very thick book, I finished The Hunger Games in a record amount of time, purely because I spent the most part of my day reading it non-stop. It is impossible not to love this book. It's possibly one of the best books I've ever read, full of constant suspense, twists and turns you would never have imagined. I can't wait to get the next book in the series. If you only read one book this year, please let it be this one.