This was a decent novel although calibrated for a younger reader. I really enjoyed the book’s premise, but fail to see what all the hype was about. It was sort of a CBS Survivor meets The Truman Show with elevated stakes and violence. I suppose it is the underlying love story between teenagers and the oppressed-commoners-against-the-evil-authority theme that resonated with the kids. Knowing this is the first book of a trilogy had me confused while plowing through it; I kept thinking that the plot was advancing too quickly to require a sequel. I assumed the competition (the Hunger Games) would play out over the course of the three books, but not the case. The competition wrapped up prior to the end of the novel. The book actually works as a standalone piece, and at this point the second book – Catching Fire – seems like an unnecessary money-grabbing sequel. I’m curious to see how the author extends the storyline…