The Hunger Games draws you in immediately and keeps you reading to the last page. This is the kind of book that has the power to ignite a lifelong love of reading. After students read it, they look for another book to read and that is what Davis Reads is all about.

However, inspiring new readers, by itself, is not enough to recommend any book. The Hunger Games is worthy of a Davis Reads recommendation because it shows us compassionate heroes who take on a brutal, totalitarian government.

The book also explores the casual, voyeuristic attitudes and troubling tendencies encouraged by a media-driven culture, and it illustrates the suffering these attitudes cause when they are used to control society. Unlike much current, popular entertainment, The Hunger Games does not glorify violence but rather portrays the human consequences of it.

Since the book is already widely read among teenagers, making it the Davis Reads selection offers the opportunity for families and community members to share in a critical conversation about these themes and build a better community through reading and civic discourse.