Critics compare this novel with Hunger Games, so I had high hopes and bought one right away. And read it right away, so it was good enough, but not as good as Hunger Games. It gets off to a great start in a manner reminiscent of Mad Max: Road Warrior. However, some elements seem lifted directly from HG and barely concealed by new names. BRR visits some of the same topics as HG, but with less finesse and subtlety. Characters are not as fully developed. BRR reminds me of the first Harry Potter in that there is room for growth, and I expect this young writer will, like JK Rowling, gain better control of her story as the series progresses. I will direct my student fans of HG to this book, but it will not become a classroom tool for starting the post-apocalyptic conversation. It does not as cleanly hold up the mirror to real life, except in the parts borrowed from HG.