The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

       One of our members wisely selected this book as our monthly read since the movie came out in the same month. It's not often that you read a book and see the brand new film right afterwards, so it made this month a really special experience!

       The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy of books written by, (yet another brilliant mom), Suzanne Collins. I always feel a little strange when people ask me what the book is about and perhaps you can understand why. It's about 12 selected children from different Districts that are sent out into a brutal wilderness arena of sorts and have to hunt and kill each other until there is only one left standing. Not the stuff fairy tales are made of to be sure, however The Hunger Games is one of those books that you just cannot put down. It sucks you in and is so riveting that many of us finished this book in one to three days. That being said, we did have several discussions about the morbid nature of this book and the film and why we think this is something that we want our young people reading. As much as I personally enjoyed the book, there is something to be said about where to draw the line when it comes to our children. I feel a tad guilty that it never even crossed my mind to feel shocked and appalled that these were children participating in the games, I just allowed myself to be swallowed up by the adventure of it all.

       For the most part we collectively loved this book and many of us went on to read the second and third books immediately afterwards so that it just became one giant story that flowed together into a riveting adventure. The heroine Katniss is a strong female figure which seems to be more appealing these days than delicate little flowers so we really enjoyed her along with several other characters. Of course I would be remiss not to mention the inevitable love triangle that is also part of this book and the series. I think this really appeals to the younger female readers but it didn't seems to bother my thirteen year old nephew who said these were his favorite books of all time!

Appetizers- Goat Cheese with Fresh Basil, Sun dried Tomatoes and Olives
Dinner- Spicy Beef & Barley Soup, Salad and District 12 rolls with District 1 bread (you will just have to read the book)!
Dessert- Fresh Berries with whipped cream and assorted pastries
Drinks- Effie cocktails, (Effie is a character in the book), red and white wine and cappuccino