The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I may be the last librarian in America to have read this book. Since being published last year, this YA novel has taken everyone by storm and the last time I checked there was still a waiting list for it at my library. I know that Kyla and Megan read it and both recommended it so I hope I can discuss it with one of them soon.

Katniss Everdeen lives in a fractured, post-apocalytic North America called Panem that is now divided into districts. Most of the districts are poor and people die of starvation, including in Katniss' District 12. This district is known for its coal mining and Katniss' father was killed in a mining accident when she was young. Katniss had to become the provider for her mother and little sister Prim and has therefore learned how to hunt, fish, trap and forage for food. Little does she know that these skills will be paramount to her survival in a brutish, bloody, fight to the death spectacle called the hunger games. The hunger games occur once a year and each district must send 2 teen participants to compete, one boy and one girl. This year, Katniss is chosen to compete along with Peeta Mellark, a boy who once saved her life. The suspense then begins as we follow Katniss into the arena as she tries to become the winner of the hunger games and return to her mother and Prim. 
This description doesn't do the book justice at all as there are so many undercurrents running through the novel and I can't describe them without giving the novel away. I can only say that you should read it to discover one of the most suspenseful, thrilling, touching YA books I've read in a while. It definitely lived up to the hype and I have a hold on the next book in the series, Catching Fire, which will be released on Tuesday.