At first, I was like, is this nothing but names? A roll call of the soon to be dead? 
 Later on I relaxed into the unfamiliar names and didn't sigh as they died. Sure, the novel is a bit less exotic than the later sensation of Hunger Games, but it was a bit more down to earth. We've got a setup, moral conflicts, and a bunch of poor kids killing each other. 
 Is it really that shocking? No, perhaps not. We live in a jaded world. 
 I did get into a few characters tho, but the rest were somewhat ... dead. 
 At least there wasn't any love triangles. Thank God. The lovers that were able to find each other were especially poignant. I don't think I'll ever forget that scene. 
 Overall, it was good, even if it wasn't to die for. Perhaps I might have gotten more out of it in the manga, but I doubt I'll go that far. Still, I'm glad I read this.