Just a great time, to the extent that I'm honestly annoyed I didn't find out about this series when it came out and I would have been in the right demographic. I am very glad, however, that we can all still enjoy this well-paced adventure, spiced with delightful cockroaches, swole rats, legitimately funny humour, and some of the brutality which would serve Suzanne Collins well in the rest of her career.

At multiple points it put me in mind of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom, and that is *high* praise. If you know a young teen, recommend it, if you don't, read it yourself! Matter of fact, if you do, read it yourself!