Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This is another book that I feel is along the same vein as Ender's Game. Also unbelievably good. I can't quite believe this is marketed as a young adult novel, with its dark themes and ethical commentary on government control and blind consumption of popular culture. Although I wish this book was out when I was considered a young adult, just so I can see how I would react to this book.

It is essentially a cross between Battle Royale and Survivor in a post WW3 environment. In retaliation for a popular uprising years ago, the Capitol has created the Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl under 18 from a formerly rebel district is randomly selected to participate each year. The game is a Battle Royale, where the contestants kill off each other until only one survives. All the while, the games are broadcast throughout the world as a reality TV show. How each player plays the social media and survival game determines how much help they get from the spectators. In this story, Katniss volunteers for the games when her sister's name is chosen. She undergoes the media blitz before the game, which is a stark contrast to the actual games. She survives the game, but not without consequences.

One of the ploys they use to help her survive is to play star-crossed lovers with the boy who is chosen to play the game with her. Normally they are to kill each other, but he professes a love for her before the games begin, so they are able to use that to garner sympathy from the viewers. And in a last ditch effort to usurp the power of the game, the two pretend to commit suicide rather than kill the other off. This causes a chain reaction among the former rebel states because to them, it's not an act of love, it's an act of rebellion.

This is the first book in a trilogy. In the middle of the second. Just as good. I think I would react exactly like Katniss in her situation... if I managed to survive at all.