15) The Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

It's been 75 years since the thirteen districts of Panem rose up in rebellion against the Capitol. Once District 13 was destroyed and the Capitol was again in control, they wanted to continue punishing the remaining districts and thus staged the very first Hunger Games. Each district is to send two tributes, one boy and one girl, ranging from the ages of 12 and 18 each year to the arena where they will participate in a televised battle to the death. The victor will bring honor and prizes to their district, as well as be wealthier than they could have imagined. 

But honor and wealth isn't what Katniss Everdeen is thinking when she wakes up the morning of the reaping. It's the first time her sister Prim has her name in. As she hunts illegally alongside her friend Gale, they joke about the Capitol and even consider running away. But they don't. Instead, they go about their day as normally as possible. When it comes time for the names to be drawn, the kids stand in groups hoping that their names won't be called. When Primrose Everdeen is drawn from the bowl of names, Katniss hardly thinks before volunteering as tribute to save her sister. After her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, is drawn and they say goodbye to their families, the two are taken to the train station that will take them to the Capitol.

Katniss knows that she won't be coming back. There are kids out there who have trained their whole lives for this. She's just a girl from District 12. Her style team being run by stylist Cinna can make her look as pretty as can be, but they can't make her a better fighter. Escort Effie Trinket and mentor Haymitch Abernathy can coach her all they want, but she can't seem appealing to a crowd at large. But she is stunning in her costumes, made desirable by Peeta's words and with a training score of 11 a threat to all the other tributes. 

Let the games begin.

I absolutely LOVE these books. It's kind of disgusting how much I love these books. I was terribly thankful that the woman I babysit for told me to read them in 2010. And that I got to reread it again for class this month. I mean, I was going to reread it before the movie came out, but to get credit for it? Come on. That's just perfect. This book is gripping and tantalizing and provocative in the best ways. You yell and you scream and you love Katniss and then you hate her and you always love Peeta because he's always looking out for her. It's humorous and keeps you on edge. It's impossible not to pick up the next one once you're finished with this one. So, what are you doing? Go pick this up already!