Running through the forest, nowhere to hide, a gigantic fireball chasing you. One day you are safe, the next is your death sentence. This is just a small taste of what The Hunger Games has to offer. Suzanne Collins has done an absolutely wonderful job constructing this action packed adventure, although it is not 100% flawless. I will be going over the main characters of the story, the overall mood, and just how Collins made this book so great.

The three main characters of The Hunger Games are Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. There are many other characters that had a large impact on the story line, but these three are focused on the most. This book is presented in the perception of Katniss. Katniss is an average teenage girl of the time period, but she has a unique life. She completely supports her family because her father died in a coal mine, and her other family members are preoccupied with local issues. Then, The Hunger games began. Gale was Katniss’ secret crush and hunting partner. He doesn’t do much in this book, but Katniss’ is always thinking about him. Then there is Peeta. During the games, there are 2 contestants from each district, and Peeta was the one who went with Katniss. Some main parts of the book are easy to guess, but they have great emotion inside of them.

Moods play a great role in this book, which is one of the reasons for its success. The moods are similar to a modern action movie, but there are some small and subtle feelings throughout the story. Action is the most prominent, but closely followed up by love. There are always small bits of sad scattered about, and a good amount of fear. Collins combines all of these elements seamlessly into a great start of a series. The only thing I would change is to focus less on individuals and look more at the big picture.

Collins uses multiple methods to keep people reading. In the beginning of the novel, she starts off with an at home feel, but still slightly dark. This keeps you reading, because all the small clues make it obvious action is going to happen. Then, the climax is put together very well. It’s about 150 pages long, and is pure action. At this point, I read for hours just to find out what happened next. The action alone could have kept me reading, but with all the emotion, it surpassed many books I’ve read.

I’ve wrote things about the characters, moods, and methods, but you really need to read this book to get the full view. It really is an exceptional book, and I would definitely recommend it.