The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games:
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

So, I am a little...ok, A LOT behind in reading this trilogy, but I absolutely loved The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The story is powerful and the pages are non-stop action. Surprisingly, the book was not as violent as I was expecting considering the world that Katniss lives in. I cannot believe it took me this long to pick this book up! The world Suzanne built was dark and gritty: incredibly easy to visualize (and NO I have not seen the movie yet). The emotional ups and downs kept my heart pumping throughout the entire book, and each exciting twist kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were incredible, and the hesitant relationship between Katniss and Peeta woven throughout the book was endearing and kept me turning pages. The questions raised in The Hunger Games lead you into the second book: Catching Fire which I will definitely be starting immediately.