It has been a long time since I've enjoyed a book this much. HIghly recommended.

I was entertained enough by this book. The language is pretty simple (young adult) and the narrator was a bit languid, but things move along at a pretty quick pace regardless. Fans of Battle Royale and post-apocalyptic future societies will find themselves in familiar and fun territory.

My major gripe was the author's lack of exploring the ethical questions raised by such a violent and unbalanced society. I was expecting the hero character(s) to have some dialog internal or otherwise about the pros and cons of children killing children for entertainment and political suppression. But nothing. They are more interested in first kisses and being nervous in front of a television audience. Seems to me that young adults SHOULD be given some critical perspectives to think about so they can understand the implications of the Hunger Games better. At the end of the day this is pretty much an action movie that aims to entertain more than anything else - it passed away 8 hours of commuting if nothing else.

This is a book that will grab your attention fully, you might not want to listen while at work as you may find that you have been standing still with your heart beating fast for longer than you are aware of. It's a bit of the Running Man and The Lottery as a baseline but it is done very well. Although, I have to add, that I wish someone would hand the author a Thesaurus list of words to use in place of 'said'. It is a credit to her realistic and interesting characters that I enjoyed the audio despite hearing; 'said Hamish', 'said Peta', say said says said... ARGHh
Otherwise I would have given it a five star rating. But I can't wait for the next one, as I said.....no, make that as I mentioned

I loved this book so much I couldn't bear for it to end--so, I listened to it over again. Totally engrossing, with vivid likeable characters and a well-thought-out story, this isn't just for young adults. This story had everything I love--sci-fi, psychology, love story, adventure, satisfying ending. Wish I could find more of these!

I don't normally tolerate those typical YA romances but the characters in this book are interesting enough to pull it off. Though I can't help wondering if this is just a juvenile version of Battle Royale (I couldn't read that one, definitely not a YA book). Even if I could see the ending coming a mile off it was still good. It left me wondering what will happen to the characters in the future.

I couldn't put the book down! The character was well developed in the sense that a teenager in general is still developing a personality and is given to inconsistent behaviors as they break away from authority. Her circumstance of life were charged with disappointments and led her to develop a safety wall. I think what we saw were glimpses of her evolving, maturing, and learning that love is important even though it does make us vulnerable. It is one of our greatest survival tools.

I read many of the Scholastic books at this level so that I can recommend them to parents at the school book fair at the local elementary school. This is at the top of the list for better readers. It has a great story and many life lessons with a real kid.

This is an excellent story that will leave you hungry for a sequel!

Many elements of this book seemed to be a copy of the ideas posed in the book "Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami". The author of this book was still interesting and it had a good story behind it though. 4/5 for the content of the book and minus 1 for the appearance of a potential idea theft.

Great book, good story. I got enthralled in it and found myself wanting to drive around so that I could keep "reading" the story.

From the get go, I was riveted. The drama played itself out as if I was watching a movie I did not want to end. The characters came alive and I was able to become each and everyone of them. This story captures the essence of basic human behavior, reflecting it in our parallel world. It was thoroughly enlightening and entertaining, always engaging and challenging this listener to contemplate life's challenges on the world stage.