The Hunger Games.

If you haven't heard of The Hunger Games trilogy, then where have you been?! This young-adult series was first recommended to me by my stepsister almost a year ago while she was anxiously awaiting the release of the third book, Mockingjay. Fast-forward four months and I decided to purchase the paperback version of The Hunger Games (the title of the first book, also) when I spotted it at the store for only $11. I flipped to the first page while waiting at the San Francisco Airport for my flight home to New York and by the time I landed 3,000 miles away, I had finished the whole thing.

Hesitant to fork out the money for the hardback version of the second book, Catching Fire, time slipped past as I moved on and read other books. Luckily for me, Nick picked up The Hunger Games eventually, and as soon as he finished, he went straight to the store to purchase the second book (and we already had the third book since I found it in a thrift store for $1!).

In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen lives in a futuristic world where the country of Panem (a post-devastation North America) is forced to remember their previous failed attempt to overthrow the Capitol. Each year, as punishment, the twelve districts of Panem must send one teenage boy and one teenage girl into the Hunger Games arena where only one person will survive. When Katniss' younger sister Prim is called on the day of the reaping, Katniss unthinkingly takes her place in order to protect her. And thus begins her grand adventure into the the world of power struggle, love, friendship, sacrifice, loss, and survival.

The first book is by far the best, but the plot will keep you hooked throughout all three books. Unfortunately, I don't think the author, Suzanne Collins, uses the best writing techniques. Granted, this are intended for a young-adult readership but it is still annoying to be snapped out of your deep-reading mode when you come across a badly written paragraph or the flow of the story suddenly gets jilted. Either way, these are still a fun and easy read so if you're looking to really get sucked into a book that doesn't require a lot of reading motivation, The Hunger Games will certainly satisfy that need. And make sure you read soon, because the movie version of the first book comes out at the end of next March!