It’s been a while since I read a legit page-turner, but “The Hunger Games” certainly fits that description.

It’s also a rare read in that I didn’t have the burden/luxury (depending on how you look at it) of picturing the main character in my head.  The movie version of the story comes out in a few weeks, so I’ve been aware for a while that actress Jennifer Lawrence plays the lead role, Katniss.

I’ve only seen her in the 2010 film “Winter’s Bone” for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, but clearly know what she looks like.  The movie itself was also nominated for Best Picture, and was actually one of my favorites from the category.  (Netflix peeps — it’s available for instant streaming right now!  Go watch it!)  I’ll even go as far as the potentially blasphemous statement that I enjoyed it far more than “The King’s Speech.”

In “The Hunger Games” you can almost see Lawrence’s character from “Winter’s Bone,” the same kind of hard-scrabble kid doing whatever is necessary to take care of her family.  They face enormous challenges growing up in tough areas and have a father who in one way or another disappears from their life.  What follows is a test few would ever expect to face, one that requires them to fight with everything they’ve got.

It’s a character you root for.  You have to.  Sure, she can seem a bit cool and standoffish at times, but who goes through life peppy and outgoing at every moment?  As she prepares for the big challenge, she has a team of people helping her.  Her main adviser chides her for her attitude, but another she is more naturally open to says, “No one can help but admire [your] spirit.”

“My spirit,” Katniss says.  “This is a new thought.  I’m not sure exactly what it means, but it suggests I’m a fighter.  In sort of a brave way.  It’s not as if I’m never friendly.  Okay, maybe I don’t go around loving everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by, but I do care for some people.”

The beautiful thing about this book is that it even subtly appeals for grammar nerds to get behind Katniss.  She’s from a poor district lorded over by a totalitarian government, which is seated in the “far-off city called the Capitol.” 

Who doesn’t want to fight an atrocity like that?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to plow through the remaining books in this series.