[June 2012] 
 re-reading the series in advance of a book discussion I'm leading at the end of the month. I remember the writing being better, but the pacing is still just amazing and the story still engrossing. I picked up on a lot more details this time, probably because I know how the story ultimately resolves, so those details were relevant this time. 
 Anyway, still a great book and I can still see why it's sucking everyone in. 
 [Sept 2008] 
 Disclaimer: I've neither read nor seen Battle Royale. So to me, this is pretty fresh and new. 
 I've been reading a lot of dystopian teen fiction. Most of it's been pretty lacking. This, though--not only is it well-written, it's exciting and fast-paced. Like, I stayed up way past my bedtime reading this (the alarm going off for work a scant 5 hours later? not so much fun.). It's engrossing. It's hard to put down. You really, honestly care what happens to the main character. 
 You don't really care what happens much to the other characters, since they're not really developed much. Maybe that will happen in subsequent books, though it kind of bugs me we can't just leave it open; this is clearly the beginning of a series. (How is this clear? The last page announces END OF BOOK ONE.) Because what's left now is the emotional baggage post-Hunger Games, and that doesn't sound exciting. 
 Anyway. Excellent book; I almost gave it 5 stars. But knowing that it bears striking similarity to Battle Royale, and knowing that it's destined to become another series when it was a perfectly good stand-alone book, make me star-stingy. 
 [ETA: I've read Battle Royale; my comparison between it and The Hunger Games can be found here.]