The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I read very few Young Adult books anymore.  If I do pick one up, it is likely because it has gained such popularity in youth culture that I was to familiarize myself with what my students are reading.  The last YA series I read was Twilight, which I found well written but disappointing after all of the hype.  The description of the Hunger Games didn't appeal to me at all.  Set in the future in what used to be known as North America the main character Katniss volunteers to take part in the Hunger Games as a stand in for her younger sister.  The idea behind the Hunger Games is that 2 young people (a boy and a girl) from each of the 12 districts are pitted against each other in a fight to the death.  The winner gets to live and brings riches home.  This does not sound like my kind of book.  In fact after the disappointment of Twilight, I was reluctant to even consider reading this book.  It was only because an old college friend of mine raved about these books.  She couldn't put them down.  Generally, we agree on choices of fiction.  And I wouldn't have thought her to enjoy these books by their description.  So I put a request in at the library and got the call this past week.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about a book.  This book is fantastic!  Very engaging.  So much so, that I wish I hadn't just requested the first book from the library, but instead picked up the series for my own library.  I'm hoping to get the next two books when I'm out running errands tomorrow.  There have been only two other series of books that I wanted to read consecutively with urgency like this, the first being the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers and the second being the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson.  Absolutely well written, riveting fiction.  I'm very glad that my students are reading these books too!
Thank you S.K.!