About Me

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I am passionate about the written language. I love writing, reading, reviewing, selling and promoting books. I am an independent bookseller with over 20 years of experience in the book trade. Together with my partners, I actively aim to improve our bookstore's range and services to better reflect the needs of our community and clientele. In 2008, my memoir 'Under A Starless Sky' was published by Hachette, Australia. Since then, I had a short story 'Jasmine Petals' published in 'Stories of Belonging' (Finch) and in 2013, released my first full-length novel, The Russian Tapestry, also by Hachette. I am currently writing my second novel. I strive daily to improve my skills and stretch the limits of my craft. My love of books has naturally lead to reviewing. You can follow me on Twitter @B_Serov, Facebook www.facebook.com/BanafshehSerov and Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429016.Banafsheh_Serov

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

When Hunger Games first came out, my husband gave a copy to our then 15-year-old son, adding'Apparently its good.' Our son, a reluctant and fussy reader finished it in one weekend! Since then, he's been an avid reader.

From then on, whenever I have a parent looking for a teenage book (especially boys), I press a copy of The Hunger Games into their hands and I'm yet to have someone come back unhappy. I too had marked it to read, but till recently, another book always managed to grab my attention away. I finally got around to reading it prior to the movie opening. And just like my son, I was instantly hooked till the nail biting finale.

North America is the nation of Panem, a country with 12 fenced-in districts that all work to feed the enormously wealthy and technologically advanced capital. Its a dystopian world. A dictatorship. Every year to remind the residents of its power, the capital hosts the Hunger Games, a bloodthirsty reality TV show. Twenty four contestants -One boy and one girl from each district - are chosen to battle against one another. The last contestant will return to their district

Our heroine, Katniss lives in district 12 - the mining district. Her circumstances have forced her to be resourceful and tough. She's a pragmatist. A survivor. A skill that comes in handy when facing her opponents.

Collins has written an action-packed narrative, guaranteed to thrill. Aside from the obvious page-turning plotline, Collins challenges the the reader with deeper issues of society's growing indifference towards suffering, and the foundations by which our core values are based.


My rating: 4 out of 5

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