The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)

Every year in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the 12 districts is chosen at random, and must fight to the death on live television. And so begins Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" (the first in a trilogy of the same name), a thrillingly realistic novel that'll have you hooked until the very last page.

Collins makes this fictional world seem so real by conjuring up fantastical images and cleverly making them somehow relatable to readers. The heroes in this novel are not the perfect, brave and bold protagonists you often find in books. As much as they are strong and inspirational, they also are flawed and make decisions that come back to bite them.

The plot is composed in such a way that will please everyone no matter what their genre preference.

It will lure action fans and romance geeks alike, but definitely will not turn off those who have more of a taste for fantasy and science fiction. For every kind of reader, "The Hunger Games" is guaranteed to leave you hanging, and never bored.

I recommend this book for my fellow "Harry Potter" followers, but along with a warning: there are much more detailed (and bloody) descriptions in "The Hunger Games," which is either good or bad depending on the strength of your stomach and the power of your imagination.

All in all, a fantastic and jarring read. Ages 11 and up.