Look what I ordered from the library.
I say “ordered” because I didn’t pick them off the shelves. After reading rave reviews about them from
Gim and
Gio (hey, their names both start with the same letters), I just had to search for them in Singapore National library’s online portal. Turns out they have some copies but which weren’t in the library near me, so I put reservations for them so that they would be sent to my library of choice. I figured that I’d gladly pay S$1.55 for the reservation fee since I’d pay the same amount or more by traveling to the library where the books are.
These are the first two of a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins and I just finished reading The Hunger Games tonight. It was an exciting, riveting read. Once I got into the exciting part, I couldn’t put it down and had to finish reading it. I was supposed to be having a go at the magic sing which we’ll only be having tonight but I left my flatmates and fled to the solace of my room. Then nature called, and I had no choice but to take a bladder break, after which, I plunked down on the dining room table outside it and stayed there till I had reached the last page. That’s how engrossing it is.
So here’s the story from the back cover:
In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.
When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
And here is an excerpt:
My brain begins to replay the events from yesterday. I keep seeing my arrow piercing the boy’s neck. I don’t know why I should even care about the boy.
Then I realize… he was my first kill.
Along with the other statistics they report to help people place their bets, every tribute has a list of kills. I guess technically I’d get credited for Glimmer and the girl from district 4, too, for dumping that nest on them. But the boy from District 1 was the first person I knew would die because of my actions. Numerous animals have lost their lives at my hands, but only one human. I hear Gale saying, “How different can it be, really?”
Amazingly similar in execution. A bow pulled, an arrow shot. Entirely different in the aftermath. I killed a boy whose name I don’t even know. Somewhere his family is weeping for him. His friends call for my blood. Maybe he had a girlfriend who really believed he would come back…
I’m too sleepy to expound, but let me just say that the book has it all – adventure, suspense, drama and romance all thrown into a fantasy world that can be all too real (shudders). I love it! Heck, even Stephen King and Stephenie Meyer (again with the same first letters!) are fans.
I’ll read
Catching Fire tomorrow or else I won’t get any sleep tonight.
