Hungry for a Good Read?

We are buzzing here at Scholastic. The past two weeks have been great! We launched The 39 Clues series, and my favorite Scholastic book, The Hunger Games, received a review from Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly. The Hunger Games is a new teen series by Suzanne Collins for ages 12 and up.

Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors. I remember reading It, his horror story about a killer clown. I don't know how I read that book, or even why, because I was extremely afraid of clowns as a kid. I guess I sort of like to be scared, and Stephen King knew how to do it. So when I heard that he reviewed The Hunger Games, I was eager to see what he had to say.

He seemed to like it as much as I did. If you don't know already, The Hunger Games is a world-broadcasted death match between kids who are chosen by lottery. Katniss, our heroine, is the underdog who shows her true abilities when faced with extreme peril. No one expects the girl from the poor agricultural district to be any competition for the kids who have trained their whole lives to compete in the Hunger Games. Stephen King said that other than the teen love story, the rest of the novel is "a violent, jarring speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense." I couldn't agree more. I was glued to the pages of this story, wanting to know what came next.

I'm also very happy for Suzanne Collins, who is one of my favorite Scholastic authors. I read all five of the Underland Chronicles books in just a few weeks. I was lucky to have worked with her on the Underland Chronicles website. She was such a pleasure to work with. It’s so great to work with authors whom you respect and admire, and I really love her writing. She doesn't sugarcoat any of the action, and her characters always deal with dangerous situations in such a real way. It's so easy to relate to her stories.

Recently, I've been working very hard on the Hunger Games website that we just launched! You have to visit the site: www.scholastic.com/thehungergames. My favorite part is the Videos section, which has a clip of Suzanne talking about her inspiration from classical themes, plus a bunch of other videos about the Hunger Games trilogy. I can't wait for the next book!!

Oh, and did I mention that there is a Downloads section? You can bet the wallpaper on my work computer is for The Hunger Games. I'm pretty picky about my wallpaper too. Usually I have some awesome digital art scene or an Escher or Dali painting. The Hunger Games one is dark, and I like the contrast of the gold emblem and the black background.

Pretty soon, the Hunger Games site will also have the Tribute Trials game, which I think you’ll really like. The game will tell you if you have what it takes to win the Hunger Games . . . or if you need more practice.

If you can't tell already, I highly recommend that everyone read The Hunger Games — it really has a lot to offer, no matter what genre you like to read. If you don't want to take my word for it, then take the Master of Horror's. To read Stephen King's article, go to Entertainment Weekly's site.

— Nick, STACKS Staffer

Comments

[Comment #1]

im pretty much crazy about this book.The one thing that i dont know yet and i hope will be revealed in the comming books is, is Katniss in love with Gale or not? my question most likely wont be answered now. ha. but i really respect Katniss' character and feel bad for Peeta

[Comment #2]

i think it was awsome

[Comment #3]

I totally loved this

Katniss such a fierce character that you become really attached to.

Fans of Battle Royale (of which I am one) will (hopefully) love this book!

[Comment #4]

BEST BOOK ON EARTH!