The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins tells the story of a dystopian future North America called Panem, whose rulers maintain control through a televised survival competition, pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against each other. Sixteen-year-old Katniss volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the games, and despite this act of selflessness, she becomes entirely focused on survival at any cost. The question soon becomes not whether she'll merely survive the competition, but whether she'll lose her humanity in the process.

The Hunger Games have proven to be such a popular book at Marlon Park Public Library that this blog has been created to highlight other books similar to the hunger games that teens may also enjoy.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

(375 p., Call Number: YA FICTION DASHNER, JAMES)

Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering nothing but his own name. He emerges into a world of about 60 teen boys who have learned to survive in a completely enclosed environment, subsisting on their own agriculture and supplies from below; a new boy arrives every 30 days. The original group has been in "the glade" for two years; no one knows why they’re there, or where they came from, but each day they send out runners into the constantly shifting labyrinth to search for a way out. Bizarre technological monsters called Grievers patrol the Maze's corridors, almost certain death for any who encounter them. Just when they have begun to give up hope, a comatose girl arrives with a strange note, and their world begins to change.

The Maze Runner features a group of teens struggling for survival in a hostile environment; readers who enjoyed that aspect of The Hunger Games should strongly consider picking this book up.

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