[MikeWaters]

Read the first book. I was entertained.

The language is very simple. On the good side, the protagonist is imagine and characterized well. And the plot moves along at a fast pace, although feels fairly predictable. Somewhat unconventionally the author uses first-person present tense. How often do first-person protagonists die in the middle of the book? Takes away some of the suspense.

While Collins has in fact created a world, the description is fairly bare and certainly doesn't hold up to the richness of the best sci-fi. And even suffers (greatly) in comparison to the later Potter books in that regard.

Also, the author is fairly superficial in her exploration of the conflicts (loyalty, ethics) that the protagonist faces. But big deal, it's a kids book after all.

The book does have a very cinematic feel to it, in that you can imagine it translating very well to the big screen. In fact, it would not surprise me if the movie were better than the book. Also in the book's favor is that it is very short.

If you want a dystopic book that is much more adult-ish and dense, but in the category of popcorn summer read, then you can check out "The Passage."