At the suggestion of a friend of mine I started reading this book trilogy:
And it's quite awesome.
It's set in post-apocalyptic America. In a new nation called Panem where the country is divided up into Districts. One district, the Capitol, has subdued all the other districts via war, and the other districts are in a state of famine and subordination. As a reminder of who's in control, the Capitol has created an annual event called the Hunger Games, where each of the other 12 districts (not including district 13 which was wiped out) has to send 1 boy and 1 girl between the ages of 12-18 to compete in a fight-to-the-death in an outdoor arena. The environment of the arena changes from year to year, and there are goody bags of weapons and survival equipment scattered around a central area that is literally a giant gold cornucopia representing what the Capitol can provide you if you win. The sole survivor is allowed to live, and given basically a lifetime supply of food and money and a nice house, and their District is showered with food.
What happens in the arena is a battle for survival, alliances form, there is betrayal, love, fake love, lots of sneaking around, risking going out into the open to snag supplies, and many quite gruesome deaths. All the while the entire Hunger Games competition is televised for the Capitol's entertainment and for the other Districts' dismay. The main character is a girl from District 12, the coal-mining district, and she ends up befriending her costume designers from the Capitol who create a series of coal-themed outfits for her that make the people of the Capitol and all the districts fall in love with her. There's one where she is literally on fire, and another that makes her look like a simmering, glowing piece of coal. She ends up becoming a rally point for the oppressed nation. She's really good with a bow because she hunted outside the city walls as a child with her dad.
What happens outside the arena, well, that's in books 2 and 3, and I'm halfway through 3 right now. It's incredible. They're about to make a movie trilogy about the book series. I highly recommend it to anyone who even remotely enjoys a good story. Even people who don't read much, like myself, you'll gobble this shizz up.
