The Hunger Games

I don't like bandwagon reading. I wasn't part of the Harry Potter craze, I don't know the order of the Twilight series and certainly won't be part of the crush of women making 50 Shades of Grey account for 20% of all book sales.

However, a good book is a good book and I don't like to miss out. With The Hunger Games movie already out, I figured I could now safely read Suzanne Collins' novel without feeling like I would have to discuss it with every third person on the lightrail.

I am assuming most of you don't have the same strong feelings about popular fiction and have already read it - [ so good, right?!] - negating the need for this review. For those out there like me, however - here are the things I wish I had known before cracking it open:

Holes

I had forgotten just how wonderful some young adult literature is until I recently did the Elementary-Age Literature homework for a friend in an Elementary Education degree program.

The assignment was an analysis of Holes, a novel by Louis Sachar designed for the fifth grade reader.

I love how quickly young adult literature gets to the point. We get introduced to the five most important things about our hero in the first 10 double-spaced pages. The depth of evil within our story's villain is revealed on page one - seamlessly, simultaneously tied to the story's setting: "The only trees are two old oaks on the eastern edge of the “lake.” A hammock is stretched between the two trees, and a log cabin stands behind that. The campers are forbidden to lie in the hammock. It belongs to the warden. The warden owns the shade." (Page 1)