Having finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the book that supposedly all the other self-obsessed girls are reading right now I have to say I was a little disappointed. I can forgive Katniss Everdeen most of her sins (apart from her silly name), she is after all sixteen years old and her tenure in the School of Life has put a lot of emphasis on practical skills and not so much on emotional maturity but hey, she'd know that love does not equal a sparkly ponce molesting you for your own good. The main problem I find is that I find the world of The Hunger Games extremely interesting but not The Hunger Games themselves. It's not so much that it's a PG-13 Battle Royale and it's quite refreshing to have a book that takes it as a given that most children are vicious little bastards rather than God's gift but it's a big disappointment that this vastly advanced society seems to find it's cutting edge entertainment in the form of 'what if we gave a cubs troop too much Sunny Delight and the keys to the 'sharp things' cupboard?'. Where are the giant robots, where are the technoresponsive landscapes? I can't help but notice that, in a show that supposedly thrives on forcing all the teens to fight with one another that Katniss and Peeta get left alone for best part of a week to give them vital healing and snuggling time. By contrast the book is at it's strongest when Katniss-from-the-Block talks about her travel to the big city, or after the games are all over. Most of the other Tributes remain unencumbered by things like personalities as Collins knows full well that they aren't making it to the final page of the book.

Still, not a terrible book but I'm not sure about whether I care enough to read the other two. Has anyone else?