Battle Royale

I have to admit, I decided to read this book because after reading The Hunger Games I saw a lot of comments referring to Battle Royale, saying how good it was and that the trilogy created by Suzanne Collins was just a rip-off. Needless to say, I was curious!

It’s impossible not to notice the similarities between them: they are both set in a society where teenagers have to participate in a “contest” where they are forced to fight each other to the death until only one of them remains; however, the similarities – at least, as far as I’m concerned – end here. One of the things that stood out to me and that really made a difference between the two stories was the fact that in Battle Royale all the participants knew each other! This might seem like a small detail but for me it wasn’t – imagine what it would be like to be forced to kill all your classmates in order to survive! In my opinion that added a lot more depth to the plot because we were able to understand a lot better the reasons that led the characters to act a certain way and how they decided who to trust or not.

Yes, the book is a lot more gory and brutal than the Hunger Games; we are provided with a lot more details about the way they kill each other - the modus operandi of some of them is actually a bit disturbing - but it suited the book and it added to its complexity.

On the down side, although the book started at a great pace, I think it ended up slowing down a little in some parts, but overall I liked how the plot developed. Also, there are a lot of Japanese names - some of them look the same - making it a bit more difficult to follow the character’s journey (at least in the beginning).

I actually feel I could say a lot more about this book but I don’t want to give away too much and spoil it to those who haven’t read it yet. Definitely worth checking out! (Especially if you’re looking for a book that doesn’t have an annoying love triangle or that focuses too much on a love story)

5 stars!