Book: The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

I really shouldn't have loved this book as much as I did. In fact I feel positively guilty for burning through it in a matter of days. So yes, I guess it gets points for being easy to read, accessible and compelling (if not in a particularly deep way).

Where it loses points is in the lack of originality (I was constantly waiting for Katniss to say "he had to split" throughout) and for having had the most annoying characters in fiction since Bella and Edward.

The writing style was a little irritating too. Short, hanging sentences. Moody and abrupt. You get the idea. Of course this is less an objective criticism, and probably something that I personally didn't like rather than a flaw in the book itself.

In fact it was mainly the world and situation that I enjoyed the most and what the book propped itself on. In that sense The Hunger Games is nothing more than a trashy page-turner, but somewhat forgivably so.

It's a quick enough read so it gets a recommendation for that. My only warning is that this is clearly the first part of a trilogy so expect to be in it for the long haul.