things i learned from the hunger games.

1.  No matter how much I say I don't care for love stories, I have no defense against a really good one.

2.  It's okay to raise the stakes.  It will drive your audience into insanity, but they'll love you even more for it, eventually.

3.  Two signs of a truly popular book:  Lots of fan art online, and warring sides over which boy is better.  (Groan.  For the warring sides, not the fan art.  Fan art is awesome.)

4.  Two signs of a truly great book:  A world that seems disturbingly likely, and my tears-- not only for the dead characters, but also for joy at the end.

5.  First person, present tense might not be so bad, after all.