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Book Review By Spencer Adams
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

    In the near future, there is a group of countries ruled by an unseen dictator called The Greater Republic of East Asia. Many things such as rock music and even certain imported shoes are banned and can only be bought through the black market. Every two years the "government" holds a competion simply called The Program. Every school in the country is entered in a lottery to compete on the Program. The winner will never have to pay for anything for the rest of his life.If the player lose the competion...he dies! The program is a battle to the death that pits friend against friend and classmate against classmate. The students are supplied with food,water, a map, a watch, and a randomly selected weapon.

    Shuya Nanahara is a normal high school student. Great at athletics. Somewhat average grades. Plenty of friends. One day shuya's class is to go on an overnight study trip. While on the bus everyone mysteriously falls asleep. When they all wake up, they find themselves in a classroom that looks strangely like their own. They also find that they each have metal colars around their neck! They then find out that they are on an island and that they have been selected for The Program!

    The rules are explained and they find out that these colars are set to explode if they step foot into a computer selected "forbidden zone". One by one, the students are given a "day pack" and forced to leave the classroom. The "game" starts off quickly when one student kills another, and is in turn killed by another. Shuya wants to unite his entire class but soon learns that he can't when he is attacked by the class president who has a gun! After a while, the students are picked off by Kazuo Kiriyama who is killing because of a coin flip!

   The "game" starts some unexpected allegiances and betrayals. Also crushes are revealed in this book to add in a romantic touch. But one by one, students are killed.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story:
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - game where people hunted

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - a teen
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - kicks
How sensitive is this character?
Intelligence - Genius

Setting
Island? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - descript. of breasts
Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog
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