What’s left of North America has been divided up into 12 districts. Katniss lives in district 12, the poorest district. She’s learned to buck the system and hunt to keep her family alive. But one day something happens that leaves her thinking only of her own survival.

I was surprised by how much I liked this. Several of my friends have loved it, but this sounds pretty dystopic and I’ve realized that’s not my thing. But I decided to go ahead and give it a try after it was chosen for one of my groups’ monthly reads, and I’m so glad I did. The dystopia thing is there, but I was so busy rooting for Katniss to survive that I didn’t really even notice it too much. I was also worried that it would be horribly violent, but it wasn’t too bad. I’m probably about middle-of-the-road in terms of my tolerance of that kind of thing.

I really liked Katniss. She’s a born survivor--rough, tough, surly, fierce, and fiercely protective. She’s also pretty clueless about any kind of relationship and a big softy underneath that hard-as-nails exterior.

At times, I did feel like the author was manipulating the story just to get herself out of corners that she had painted herself into. But once I thought about it, that manipulation was absolutely in keeping with the situation in which Katniss found herself.

I was so caught up in this book that I hated the ending. I knew going in that this was the first in a series, but it still felt like a huge cliffhanger. It was really probably the only place she could end this installment, but I’m chomping at the bit for the next one. Luckily, I don’t think I have too long to wait.