Top Ten Tuesday: Book Recommendations for fans of The Hunger Games

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week's TOP TEN:

Books for people who like Suzanne Collins author of The Hunger Games

One of the great things about books becoming movies is that it creates a craze over the books. It makes me so happy to see my favorite novels getting the attention they deserve. I've had many friends come to me after reading The Hunger Games, asking what they should read next. This is what I tell them...

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth: It is a Dystopian, with a touch of romance, and lots of action. Plus it is set in a future Chicago, taking a place we know and showing what could become of it.
2. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Dystopian, adventure, and very entertaining. This series is great because each of the books (Pretties, Specials) has a different tone. It keeps you intrigued in the story that much more because every book is distinct.
3. Matched by Ally Condie: A dystopian that is heavy on the romance. This I reccomend for the people who were drawn to the love parts in The Hunger Games. 
4. Delirium but specifically Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver: A dystopian (of course) where love is thought of as a disease. I like the first book in the series, Delirium but really think it picks up the pace in book 2, Pandemonium. 
5. Eve by Anna Carey: This is more of a post-apocalyptic book. But it takes place in the woods and there is an element of fighting for survival that will appeal to fans of THG. 
6. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: Seriously, everyone should just read this. 
7. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: I'm not really sure which genre this book fits into, but it doesn't matter. It is a beautiful story of an island with mythical horses and two young people just fighting for what they love.  
8. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassie Clare: This series is on the supernatural side, but it is exciting and every bit worth the read. Plus there is this character named Jace whom is perfection in written form. 
9. Legend by Marie Lu: I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. It is a dystopian told in two perspectives that is entertaining. There is a little romance, but it is mainly a story of family loyalty and how these two characters paths coincide and conflict.  
10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Just because you read one dystopian doesn't mean you only want to read dystopians, though this list could go on and on with the recommendations. However, if someone has read THG and is just looking for something good to read next, The Fault in Our Stars is my current favorite. It is a hilarious and heart wrenching story. 

Review: The Hunger Games

Based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling young adult novel, The Hunger Games gets by chiefly on raw, sinister suspense.

It begins in the future, in the 74th year of the Hunger Games, which were invented as a way to control the masses after an unsuccessful uprising. Two "tributes," a boy and a girl, are chosen from each of 12 districts. After some preparation, the 24 competitors are sent to the battlefield, where only one will emerge alive. The entire thing is broadcast and commented upon in hideous reality TV-style.

From District 12, tough, cunning Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) -- an expert archer -- volunteers, taking the place of her younger sister. Katniss' companion is Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who harbors a secret crush on her. Their toughest competitors are typical, cackling teen bullies.

Though it's mostly made for fans, The Hunger Games doesn't seem to have been made by anyone in particular. The director is Gary Ross, who might have been chosen at random; he has nothing of this ilk on his resume. Perhaps nearest is the comedy Pleasantville, also set in a strange alternate world.

Here, Ross and his co-screenwriters appear uncertain as to how much information to impart. For example, the movie initially makes a big deal out of the tributes finding "sponsors," but drops the idea. Likewise, potential romantic tension between three characters is snuffed, perhaps in anticipation of future sequels. In the same vein, Ross's camera roams indecisively, rarely settling on anything.

Happily, the movie is insidiously effective in the way it captures the anxious terror leading up to the games, and then the unleashed brutality of the games themselves. This is partly thanks to Lawrence's mature performance, as well as Woody Harrelson's, as an emotionally damaged former winner and current coach. Additionally, the movie has a superb, creepy design, with costumes of bizarre colors that make the future look dreadfully plastic and frilly.

Yet The Hunger Games misses a chance that was eagerly taken by Kinji Fukasaku's remarkably similar cult classic Battle Royale, released in Japan in 2000. That masterpiece was pure, giddy exploitation, inviting audiences to have a good time and unexpectedly discover the subtext that these games are bad.

Slowed down and dressed up, The Hunger Games wears that message on its sleeve, leaving the fun behind. But to make up for it, the focus is now on suspense. Even the most stalwart viewers -- prior fans or not -- will be squirming in their seats.