The Hunger Games

Written by: Suzanne Collins

First line: When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.

Why you should read this book: In a horrifying speculative future, most of what was once North America lives in terror of the tribute owed to their Capitol; every year, two dozen children are sent to battle to the death for the amusement of the empire and to remind those at the lowest echelon of society the deadly price of defiance. Katniss Everdeen, whose black market hunting and gathering business has kept her family alive for years, is no stranger to extreme survival, but when she takes her sister's place in the Hunger Games, she has no doubt that her own death is imminent. An exciting, bloody, and fast-paced page turner of a novel, complete with deep questions about liberty and responsibility.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Extreme, graphic, kid-on-kid violence.