Fateful If this were just another historical book set aboard the Titanic with the main character as a ladies maid and the drama that happens between the classes it would be wonderful but add a paranormal element to the story and it soars into a totally new book. Tess is trying to escape her future as a ladies maid for a wealthy family and strike it out on her own and sees her chance when she is told she will be traveling with the family to New York aboard the new oceanliner, the Titanic. Just before, she has a near miss with a wolf and is dismayed to discover that he is aboard the ship and is after her. If this isn't enough drama, Tess falls for a young wealthy gentleman who unfortunately is also a werewolf. With mounting tension and events that will change Tess's future when she reaches the end of the voyage we then experience the horror of the fateful end of the Titanic. Excellent read for teens and adults who love history with a twist!
The Death Cure Exclusive Edition (Maze Runner Series #3) Having been a Maze Runner fan since day one I was very excited to read the final book in the series to have all my questions answered. I will not be a spoiler but some of the answers lead to other questions in this action packed dystopic series. Thomas and his glader friends are still under the thumb of WICKED and still unsure if they are right to fight them or if they really are trying to find a cure for the Flare. The Flare is claiming more humans every day including some of their friends and thankfully the book doesn't turn into a cheesy zombie novel. Will they find a cure for the Flare? Will everyone make it away from WICKED? Are Thomas and the other immunes the only hope for the human race? I am really hoping that James Dashner changes his mind and continues the series- please?
The Maze Runner (Maze Runner Series #1)
Crossed (Matched Trilogy Series #2) Ally Condie's writing is poetic and idealistic yet the story of dystopic teens in the future rings true of how many teens feel today and the romance between Cassia and Ky (or her match Xander) is true in any time period. Cassia escapes the Society leaving everyone behind to search the canyons of the outer provinces for the boy she feels is her true love-Ky. The Society is sending aberrations to villages only to be used as decoys and picked off by air ships or dying from poisoned rivers. Ky and his group are trying to find the rising (think rebel colonies) to join the rebellion and get back to his roots. Cassia and her new friend escape and try to find Ky and join the rebellion. Xander, who was left behind ,may play more of a role than Cassia or Ky ever guessed. I love how Ally Condie uses poetry and art to show just how much the Society has removed from their lives.
The Unwanteds Lisa McMann's new series for younger audiences is going to be a big hit. The beginning is a bit dark but once you are past the first 10 pages you will be hooked. Imagine a world where when you turn 13 your future is decided- wanted and you go on to government or science or unwanted and you go to your death. Your family puts you on a bus to go to the lake of boiling oil and all you can hope for is a quick end. The good news is that the end is really the beginning for these creative kids and they soon discover that they are going to a wonderful magical world , carefully hidden, where their creativity is cherished and they will learn the arts and magic. The academy has talking mirrors, transportation tubes and magic everywhere.
The kids must learn their magical weaponry quickly in case their world is discovered
and attacked. The first of many books to come and I can see anyone who is a Harry Potter, Narnia, Percy Jackson fan loving this.
Tiger's Voyage (Tiger's Curse Series #3) I will be the big spoiler and tell you- there will be other books continuing this series. The quest continues for Kelsey, Ren and Kishan and their Indian entourage as they try to find the next piece of the puzzle that will break the curse and restore the ancient (yet super hot) princes back to their human form forever. It is still a battle of wills between which of the princes will receive Kelsey's love and for me the romance goes on a bit too long. There isn't a man out there or tiger that can be told "tag, you're it" as many times as Kelsey has chosen one or the other of them. The Indian mythology and folklore is wonderful and the adventure part of the series is very dramatic. Another great feature of this series is that the romance without any adult situations makes it a surefire hit with younger teens and their moms.
Divergent Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Matched, Delirium and now Divergent- young adult dystopia at it's best! Imagine a world where everyone is split up into five groups -Abdignation (selfless), Candor (truth seekers), Dauntless (fearless warriors), Amity (party people) or Erudite (scholars). You are sixteen and must make a choice but remember that if you leave the group your family is from you will not see them often and their point of view will not match yours. Now, imagine that you are split between two or more of these groups- divergent. You must keep this a secret because to be different or a hybrid is not allowed and could mean your death. Beatrice (Tris) is one of these people and is trying to settle into her new life at Dauntless but other factors keep getting in the way and her feelings are not so black and white. The plot moves as quickly as Hunger Games or Maze Runner and has that screwed up world that we all crave. I would guess that this will be the first of three and I could see a movie deal coming out of this as well. Violence is a big part of the book but I would recommend it to anyone who wants more after the end of Hunger Games.
Love them or hate them, dystopian novels are what’s in. Solstice , while dystopian, is the sort of book that even dystopian haters will enjoy. Because the dystopian setting is just that—the setting, not the focal point. Because it’s also a fantasy novel. Because it’s also a retelling of Persephone and Hades. Because it’s an epic romance. Because there’s something magical about it that doesn’t quite exist in any other dystopian novel. Even if you dislike the genre (or are just sick of it), SOLSTICE is a stand-out that shouldn’t be ignored.
One of the most remarkable aspects of SOLSTICE’s journey to publication is the non-traditional route it took. While sold exclusively as an e-book at a very affordable $2.99 price-point, the novel is NOT self-published. Yes, you read that right. P.J. Hoover has written several traditionally-published novels, including the middle-grade trilogy THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS, which revolves around Atlantis (Yes, Atlantis!!) and will be re-released with new covers in e-book and paperback format later this year or in early 2012. Hoover was the first Andrea Brown Literary Agency author to have a book launch solely as an e-book. If they had waited to traditionally publish, the novel wouldn’t be out until 2013, but it’s right NOW that both dystopian novels and mythology-influenced ones are hot and selling. Hoover has a great two-part interview talking about why SOLSTICE took this route (Part 1,Part 2). Because of the way this book was published, it still went through normal rounds of editing and received a professionally-designed cover, so it’s not riddled with errors the way some straight-to-e-book novels are. In fact, SOLSTICE is one of my Ton Ten Novels so far this year. It’s that good.
I think what draws me into the world of SOLSTICE the most is the fact that all of the characters feel so real, so alive. The romance is gorgeous and at the novel’s conclusion, I just wanted more books. I wasn’t ready to leave Hoover’s world. There have been a lot of books revolving around the Persephone and Hades myth this year, including much-buzzed about teen novels Abandon by Meg Cabot (reviewed here) and The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter (reviewed here). Both of those novels are the first in a trilogy that will explore the myth upon which they’re based. Some parts are truer to their mythological roots than others. But in both cases, the “Persephone” character was very by the book. She was forced to be with “Hades” against her will. SOLSTICE, on the other hand, offers a new way of looking at the classic myth. What if Persephone hadn’t been kidnapped? What if she’d gone to Hades willingly? What if the couple had been truly in love and there was a reason for her mother Demeter’s murderous rampage whenever her daughter went to the Underworld for half the year? This is the heart of SOLSTICE.
SOLSTICE takes place in a world where global warming has affected our climate to the point that it’s now referred to as the Global Heating Crisis. There is now year-round summer. Night-time is a “cool” 99 degrees (Fahrenheit) and an average day might be 113 degrees. After suffering this past week’s 100-106 degree heat wave, I would HATE living in a world where that’s the norm…at night. I’d melt faster than an ice-cream cone. It’s not until the temperature hits upward of 123 degrees that citizens have anything to worry about. There are designated cooling areas, a special cooling gel that gets sprayed throughout the day. There are also scary heat-bubbles. For example, “A real heat bubble means we could be stuck with deadly temperatures for weeks. The last time one of the pockets of hot air formed, the city was evacuated, and even then, almost a thousand people died. An evacuation is going to be nothing short of a disaster.” (Page 10)
There are special missiles to pop the heat bubbles, but they further damage the atmosphere and can kill. Piper (The novel’s “Persephone”) and her mother are against the use of these missiles, and we really get insight into her mother’s personality. She’s ultra-protective of Piper and doesn’t let her out much; she’s a true representation of Demeter in today’s world. She wants to keep her daughter at her side forever, despite everything, refusing to let her have a life of her own. When Piper starts noticing a boy in her class named Shayne, one she’s sat next to for a year but doesn’t recall previously meeting, her world changes and life as she knows it will never be the same again. Suddenly, she’s the center of a deadly love triangle between immortals, being courted by Fate, and in a world she never believed to exist.
Hoover twists familiar mythology together at a breath-taking pace for a page-turning adventure. Readers never quite know what’s coming next, and there’s always a new surprise in store. The mythology is flawless; I have nothing to nitpick about in that regard. The romance is deep and genuine. Shayne is Hades in a way that other novel retellings are unable to capture. SOLSTICE is officially my favorite version of Persephone and Hades, and one of my favorite mythological-retellings PERIOD. It’s that good. Even if you’re not a fan of e-books and don’t have an e-reader or tablet, this is one worth downloading and reading on your computer or your phone, especially at the $2.99 price point. Solstice is that good. I promise you won’t regret it!
To read a fun guest post about the dystopian elements in SOLSTICE, check out the fun guest post PJ Hoover did with me here.
Ready Player One You do not have to be a gamer, techie or lived in the 80's to enjoy this book but if you fit one of the above categories you will really enjoy this book! Imagine the Earth is really a crummy place - you are dirt poor, your parents are dead and you are living in a highrise made up of mobile homes . Everyone is online and doing as much as they can in virtual reality. School is online, you know your friends by their avatars and you play video games to pass your days. The "Steve Jobs" of reality games has passed away several years earlier leaving his billions hidden in a video game. You decide that this is your ticket to a better life and you begin playing to win.
To win you must have a working knowledge of every TV show, every song,every video game or cultural reference to the 80's. Now you must do this while running from your life from the big bad gaming company who feels that they were wronged and should be getting this money. It is a fun trip down memory lane for those of us who were around in the 80's and an edge of your seat thriller for everyone. A perfect recommendation for gaming teens and their parents!
If you're like me and you're mourning the end of the Harry Potter series, then you'll want to devour Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. It's a five book series, with the fifth coming out one week from now. Instead of the wizarding world, Riordan takes us into Greek mythology. The series is set for the most part in modern-day New York, where sometime-problem child Percy Jackson learns that one of his parents is a Greek god. This means that Percy is a demi-god and spends his summers at Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for others like him where they learn the skills necessary for any quest they might be sent on by the gods.
The best thing about this series is how much all that Greek mythology information I learned way back in middle school suddenly returned to the forefront of my mind. Even though it's present-day, Riordan uses Greek myths alongside contemporary issues. They mingle together quite well. For example, Riordan explains that Mt. Olympus always sits over the world power at present. When it was in Greece, that's because the Greeks were the center of civilization. Currently? Mt. Olympus resides above the Empire State Building in NYC.
This series is the basis for B&N's summer reading program this summer, and for that I am so excited. I can't wait to get even more kids (and my friends!) hooked on this series. Percy is a likeable, realistic boy who I think most of today's attention-deficit, video-game-loving, always-in-motion youth can identify with. His problems--minus the whole Greek demigod, fighting minotaurs and sea monsters thing--are their problems. His friends are like their friends.
This series is a relatively quick read, but it's educational and adventurous. Recommended for, well, anyone really.
When first told to try the Southern Vampire Series, I was skeptical at first since I had heard about a show on HBO (True Blood) based on them and it didn't really seem like "my thing." I was so wrong! Dead Until Dark is the first of 9 (for now) books by Charlaine Harris about the feisty heroine, Sookie Stackhouse. It took me less than one day to finish and I bought all of the rest the next day so I didn't have to wait for the next book should I finish while the bookstore was closed for the night. This book (and the rest that followed) were laugh-out-loud funny! Sookie is such a dynamic character and she fills the pages with uproarious wit and stubborn panache. Her exploits, while firmly in the realm of fantasy, are so well-written that I felt as though I was right there with her, tending tables at Merlotte's.
The premise behind the Southern Vampire Series is also part of the appeal of the novels. While reading vampire novels in the past, I have always wondered what it would be like if the vampires were no longer condemned to the hidden underworld. Charlaine Harris begins her first novel of the series by answering this very question. In the series, vampires have just "come out of the coffin" due to the invention of synthetic blood. Since they have synthetic blood, they do not need to be a danger to humans and announce themselves to the world. Sookie sees the announcement on television and her bar, Merlotte's begins to carry True Blood, just in case. Sookie meets her first vampire when he comes into the bar for a drink and is drawn into the vampires' no-longer-hidden world due to her own abilities as a psychic and her blossoming relationship with the small town's very own resident bloodsucker.
Dead Until Dark combines so many elements of fiction, I recommend it to everyone. If you are looking for humor, fantasy, romance, drama, or just something new to try, I very highly recommend trying out Dead Until Dark. In the style of truly entertaining reading, it is extremely addictive and very hard to put down so beware! Should you wind up hooked on them as myself and so many others, the next books are Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #2), Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #3), Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #4), Dead As a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #5), Definitely Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #6), All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #7) , From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #8), and Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse / Southern Vampire Series #9) .
Angel Burn The first of three (every YEA book is a trilogy right?) L.A. Weatherly takes angels to a new level- that of the destroyers of the Earth and mankind.
Pretty but quirky Willow knows that she is different- likes antique clothing and is psychic but she has no idea that she is part angel until she reads the palm of a classmate and sees something really bad. Alex has grown up as an AK (angel killer) and sees himself as the terminator of all things angel until he gets a message from the CIA to go after Willow. He can't kill her until she feeds off a human and gives them "angel burn" which oddly enough seems like someone in a religious fervor or schizophrenia. Willow's mom has been this way for as long as anyone can remember and Willow has grown up taking care of her. The angels are trying to take over the world and Alex has to stop them but Willow is only part angel and is a threat to their evil plan. The action moves the story quickly and you will get to like the characters as they fall for each other. No real adult themes so it is OK for younger teens and lovers of Twilight and The Hunger Games. The only part of the story that I felt was a bit overdone was the romantic intanglement in the end. I am looking forward to part II which is due out this Fall.
Delirium In Lauren Oliver's world of" Delirium "love is bad. It makes kids act impulsively , recklessly and makes them sick. It is a disease that must be treated by having an operation at 16 (read shock therapy) to cure you forever.
After the operation you pick your future spouse and live happily ever after without those annoying butterflies in your stomach and irrational behavior- right? Lena hopes that her upcoming procedure will go well and that the stigma of her mother's suicide will be gone forever. Until she ventures outside her comfort zone a bit with her friend and meets Alex. Once she feels the effects of amor deliria nervosa there is no going back. Delirium is a clever cross between the utopian society of "Matched" and the thrill of "Hunger Games".
I don't want to be a spoiler but this story will continue and I for one can't wait.
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Series #1)
The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles Series #1) To all of the kids and adults who have followed the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and were dismayed when the series ended -The new series from Rick Riordan, the Kane Chronicles is even better ! Rick Riordan still performs that magic that he does so well - creating a fun storyline that takes off on the first page and characters that are believable. He makes us laugh, cry and sit at the edge of our seat . As in the last series kids will learn a great deal about mythology - this time it is Ancient Egyptian Gods trying to take over and it is up to Carter and Sadie Kane to stop them before chaos rules. Things and familiar places are not what they seem and you will love the new gods, goddesses and protectors who come alive in this book. One of the things I love about his books is the way he empowers kids who feel different or have trouble in everyday life. Both brother and sister feel disjointed and powerless because of their parents and their Egyptian alter ego gives them self confidence and special gifts. While the average 13 year old may not feel like he or she has a lot of control in their life these books will speak to them to search for their own gifts. I will have no problem recommending these books to any kids from 10 and up. Reading this series together as a family is a great way to add adventure to a quiet summer.
This is one you will have kids reading with a flashlight under the covers late into the night!The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #1)
Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;...
Whether we read in Middle English or Modern English, I'm sure teachers glossed over Chaucer's sly humor and more ribald jokes (mine did). Instead of laughing over bickering tradesmen and hypocritical churchmen, Chaucer came off dry, boring and a little stodgy.
Enter Peter Ackroyd. Known most recently for his geographic biographies, Venice, London, and Thames, as well as The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, Ackroyd gives the reader a prose translation of Chaucer's poem. Not a line-by-line translation packed into paragraphs, with annotations and definitions, but a story that emphasizes the human characters that pout and whine, take offense, pontificate, and generally enjoy telling a naughty story or two. Ackroyd's uses modern prose and sentence structure while keeping the original narrative structure, characters and setting of The Canterbury Tales intact. This is a great introduction to Chaucer for those who might be hesitant to tackle the poem, to become familiar with the characters and the enjoy the stories without worrying over rhymes and poetic metaphor; on the other hand, those already familiar with Chaucer will appreciate Ackroyd's interpretation for the warmth and humor of the language without any loss of Chaucer's wit.
Enter also Penguin USA. Penguin has recently launched new paperback "packaging" of many classics and the paperback release of Ackroyd's The Canterbury Tales wasn't left behind (the original hardcover design is at the bottom of this post). Designer Ted Steam created a cartoon cover showcasing all the pilgrims from Chaucer's tales as they pass by the reader on the cover. It's a wrap-around design and worth every chuckle (I particularly like the richness of the Wife of Bath, the silliness of the three monks sharing a horse, and the student doggedly reading while on horseback). It reminds me of old movie posters like that of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Animal House where the actors' characters are charicatured in the drawing. Steam also paneled out "The Man of Law's Tale" and "The Miller's Tale" on the interior flaps. You can see an image of the entire cover at the Superpunch blog (The Canterbury Tales is the third set of images in the post; the whole post is a great overview of some of the new Penguin covers).
Chaucer is a favorite of mine and I own a number of different editions but this one shines a little brighter for the warmth of its story and clever cover art.
Department 19 Imagine you are Jaime Carpenter- your dad was accused of being a terrorist and you have been on the move for the two years since your dad was gunned down in front of you. Then mom gets kidnapped and you are attacked by some crazed vampire. End of story? No way! Jaime meets Frankenstein's monster (in a suit no less) and learns what the descendants of Brom Stoker's book have really been doing all these years. It is a wild ride filled with somewhat gory details of vampire attacks as our heroes fight off the evil around them with swat team weapons and blind faith. Jaime must find his mom who has been taken by the second biggest bad guy vampire of all time. Will he make it? This is the first of a series that will be a sure fire hit with the guys and many of the girls as well. Very fast paced and loaded with action plus a few historical details that will fill in the missing pieces. Written for teens but younger kids will enjoy the action.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children This is one of those rare finds that is so original that it is hard to place it in any one genre. The actual photographs bring to mind a circus freak show and the story that accompanies them is classic fantasy like the works of Narnia or your favorite ghost story. Sixteen year old Jacob idolized his grandfather so when he is murdered in a gruesome manner and Jacob sees the monster that did it, he is traumatized. Jacob's parents (who never really bought all of the grandfather's stories) seek the help of a psychiatrist who agrees to have Jacob and his father go to the tiny part of Wales to seek answers of his grandfather's past. He soon finds the house (once an orphanage) in ruin but meets a curious group of children- never aging and caught in a time loop. Jacob manages to travel between this time and his own to help them get away from some really terrible monsters. Ransom Riggs first novel has created a world of misfits that we come to know and love and the addition of the real? photos draws us in even further. The story doesn't end here and I am eager to see the next installment. Adults and teens will love this as well as older kids who enjoy a good ghost/horror story.
This Dark Endeavor In his new novel for young adults, Kenneth Oppel gives us a glimpse into the teenage years of the twin Frankenstein boys, their cousin Elizabeth (who they are both in love with of course!) and their geeky bookworm friend. The discovery of a secret lab and ancient alchemy texts in the family castle's basement ignite the curiosity of the teens and they go about finding the elixir of everlasting life to cure Konrad's mysterious blood disease. There are some scary moments when the kids battle unusual creatures and one creepy alchemist but overall it is a great historical thriller and a great choice for younger readers as well as teens.
nook This is truly a revolutionary device designed by readers for readers. It is always a joy to share Nook and all of the wonderful features with others. From the ability to shop anywhere and anytime through the 3G and WiFi signals, to the paper-like eInk display, to not having to pay extra for large print with the adjustable font size; readers of all types and ages can enjoy Nook.
The design makes it simple to use and flexible enough for all of a reader's needs. The easily accessible battery let's users carry an extra battery with them if they are traveling. Expandable memory allows for holding a library of books in the palm of your hand that would normally would occupy a modest library. Access to shop over a million titles on the device (see covers, get an overview, read a sample, etc.) or online without the need for connecting Nook to a computer. Never lose your purchases since Barnes and Noble stores your purchases to your account. Buy once and use in multiple places by simply signing into your account with the eReader application on a PC, MAC, IPhone, IPod Touch, or Blackberry. Want to lend a book to a friend or family member? It's easy with LendMe designated books. Simply input their email address and they can read the book for up to 14 days on their own Nook, PC, Mac, IPhone, IPod Touch, or Blackberry.
There's so much to this device to be shared in just one article. I highly reommend stopping in your local Barnes and Noble and checking out all the amazing features.
Ebooks and their assorted electronic paraphernalia dominate the headlines more than ever. The last week of July saw Barnes & Noble unveil plans to carve out 1,000 square foot "Nook boutiques" in our 700 brick-and-mortar retail stores, while Amazon launched their third-generation Kindle eReader. Perhaps more astonishing was Amazon's announcement in mid-July that for the past three months, eBook sales outpaced hardcover book sales; their CEO predicts eBooks will eclipse paperbacks within a year.It was fortuitous, then, that It's a Book, the new picture book from Caldecott Honor illustrator Lane Smith arrived at my store on Friday. Filled with subversive humor and bold clever illustrations, It's a Book is delightfully contrarian in its celebration of the printed page at a time when customers, retailers, and publishers alike are jumping on the digital bandwagon with gleeful abandon.
Smith's prose adopts a simple call-and-response format as the younger, tech-savvy Jackass peppers his older companion Monkey with questions about what he's reading ("Do you blog with it?" "Does it tweet?"), to which Monkey always answers, "No. It’s a book." The illustrations are equally simple, yet richly textured. In this regard, It's a Book is a perfect example of why eBooks won't completely replace print books (at least, not yet). I shudder to think how Smith's illustrations — which frequently take advantage of the two-page spread by having Jackass on the left-hand page and Monkey on the right — would be completely mangled on the six-inch grayscale display of a Nook, and would even lose something on Apple's iPad (which has a full-color screen and can be rotated to show a two-page format).
Smith, best known for his frequent collaborations with author Jon Scieszka, really strikes a blow for "dead tree books" with It's a Book. Kids will love the illustrations (and snicker at a certain word), while parents will be able to relate to Monkey's patience and perseverance with a child who's grown up in a world of digital ubiquity.
Whenever someone asks me what the best book I've read this year is, I answer with The Hunger Games. In Katniss Everdeen's world, which is set in a not-so-different future, America has come to be run by a totalitarian government, and has simply been divided into thirteen districts. The people of Katniss's District 12 live mostly in poverty, thanks to the legend of District 13. The story goes that District 13 tried to rebel against the government, which then nuked the entire district. In order to keep the remaining twelve districts from trying anything similar, the government came up with the Hunger Games.
Every year, all children from the ages of 12-18 must enter their name in the Reaping. One boy and one girl from each district are selected at random to participate as tributes in the Hunger Games, in which all twenty-four children must fight to the death in a diabolical stadium. The Games are all broadcast live, and they don't end until there is only one child left alive. The prize for winning? Food, wealth, and a sturdy home for the winner and their family for the rest of their life. Poor children can enter their names into the Reaping more than once for an extra rations of food, making their chances of being picked even greater -- but the risk is worth it, since the government controls the trade of food between districts so tightly. The Games are a symbol of the government's power to the people of the districts, but to those who live in the Capitol (a place of great wealth, vanity, and frivolity), the Games are pure entertainment. It's a twisted mess of survival and reality television where drama and danger can earn you helpful gifts from your sponsors based on how much the Capitol viewers like you.
16-year-old Katniss, of course, ends up as a tribute in the Hunger Games. Katniss is a born fighter -- she alone has provided food for her family since her father died. She relies only on herself, and is very clever and stubborn. She has a real chance of winning the games and coming home like she promised her little sister she would. She steels herself to be ready to do what's necessary to get home, but when the Games begin, she finds that she has more trouble with the concept of killing the other tributes than she realized. This compassion, and the subsequent anger and frustration at the world she lives in, is part of what makes Katniss such a relatable narrator. She is forced to become a person she doesn't like (which includes killing and participating in a fake romance to garner sympathy from viewers) in order to survive.
Once you pick up The Hunger Games, you won't be able to put it down. It's definitely a thrill ride, with Katniss facing inevitable death with every turn of the page, but it's also got plenty of heart, as Katniss struggles to remain herself through this horrible ordeal. The series is classified as Teen, but it has widespread appeal, and adults will love it, too.
And once you've devoured The Hunger Games, you can pick up the second book in the trology, Catching Fire, which was just released. Catching Fire is just as terrifyingly good as the first book, but it delves even more into the history and politics of the Capitol and the Districts, and you'll discover the lengths the Capitol is willing to go to in order to crush any sign of a rebellion.
