Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2008 Katniss is used to hardships: life in the twelfth district where she lives is gritty and life threatening, and her sixteen years have been desperate ones. When her younger sister is selected to be a tribute in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death between twenty-four teens (one girl and boy from each of the twelve districts), Katniss spares her sibling by taking on the responsibility herself. Thus Katniss finds herself in training, hoping to be the one teen left standing, knowing that winning requires extraordinary skills and cunning (both in wilderness survival to contend with the isolated area in which the participants are left, and in fighting) that she isn’t sure she possesses and that it will mean the deaths of twenty-three others. This deeply disturbing, haunting story, the first novel in an anticipated trilogy, carefully introduces the memorable characters and vivid setting as a foundation for the subsequent volumes, while also standing alone as an insightful examination of an irascible and defiant girl realizing for the first time that her life will always be filled with choices that range from difficult to devastating. There’s believable discord between her resolute approach to survival and her flashes of guilt, resulting in a complex protagonist whom readers may not ultimately like (though her loyalty to a seemingly fated love might draw in romantic readers) but will inevitably admire and find intriguing. Sci-fi buffs who are drawn to dystopic futures will find this setting to be both satisfyingly futuristic and unfamiliar; thoughtful readers will also note the author’s hints at unsettling contemporary parallels. AS - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 09/01/2008 Gr 7 Up-In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 14 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins's characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing. This book will definitely resonate with the generation raised on reality shows like "Survivor" and "American Gladiator." Book one of a planned trilogy.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2008 *Starred Review* This is a grand-opening salvo in a new series by the author of the Underland Chronicles. Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-too-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation’s annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teenaged contestants from each of Panem’s districts. District 12’s second “tribute” is Peeta, the baker’s son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents’ next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. Populated by three-dimensional characters, this is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance. - Copyright 2008 Booklist.