The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games, a televised event showing the fight to the death of children within the 12 districts of Panem. Some districts have volunteers that have been in training for years. Others, well it's just luck of the draw! The Capital does this as a punishment for District 13, who rebelled many years earlier and is now extinct. Before actually going to the games, we see how they train and how well they get along with their mentors. Each district gets their own mentor to help guide them and a stylist to make them pretty for interviews. Obviously, Katniss and someone else *hint hint Peeta* win the first Hunger Games. Going on to Catching Fire, we see them travel on the Victory Tour to all of the other Districts. Not long after, President Snow, declares the new rules for the game, throwing Katniss and Peeta back into the arena. Katniss, the girl on fire, shows everyone what she's really made of. We also get the inside scoop on the Peeta-Katniss-Gale love triangle! The third and final book, Mockingjay, is just full of spoilers and I don't want to ruin that for anyone! But I will tell you, we see the happenings of District 13, that's right, DISTRICT 13. Its 100% real. This trilogy will keep you on your toes and then leave you begging for more!

Looking for The Hunger Games prequel?

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

A Stolen Life

Doing a review on A Stolen Life is going to be extremely hard. In her own words, Jaycee Dugard opened up and told the world the horrible things Phillip and Nancy Garrido did to a helpless eleven year old girl. She talks about the abduction, her family, and everything else she fears. She describes her time spent in the secret backyard. We learned about the "runs" Phillip would take her on. Which was really just him on drugs for days on end. She recreates the horrors of being pregnant at age 14 and knowing her kidnapper is the father of her two little girls. She had to raise them in the captivity of the backyard. Not soon after, the Garrido's became Jaycee's whole world and she relied heavily on them for everything. She and her girls were finally rescued in 2009 when Phillip had a meeting with his parole officer. Jaycee describes to us the feeling she got just being able to write her name for the first time in 18 years. All in all, this is an inspiring true story of how our whole life could change in the blink of an eye. 

For information, visit The JAYC Foundation. And always remember, "Just Ask Yourself to Care."

Check out Jaycee's book of firsts, Freedom!

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

Christopher John Francis Boone, age 15. He can tell you all the countries in the world and every prime number up to 7,057; but he hates the colors yellow and brown. Christopher's special teacher, Siobhan, prompts him to write a book. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time is just that. He decides to write about his investigation on who killed his neighbors dog, Wellington. After he promises his father that he won't investigate anymore, he learns some disturbing family secrets. So, he grabs his pet rat, a bag of food, and runs away. When he arrives at the train station he comes across many problems; he's 15 years old, hates to be in a crowd, and doesn't like traveling to new places. 

While I was reading this story, I had to keep reminding myself Christopher was 15. He jumps around quite a bit, this is more of a journal than a book. This tell-all story made me realize how different everyone really is. Christopher is a genius, but has a few difficulties. His journey to London and finding out who killed Wellington made him realize how strong of a person he really was. I encourage everyone to read this amazing book. You won't regret it.

Looking for other books by Mark Haddon?
The Pier Falls and Other Short Stories

Crank Trilogy

Crank begins the story of the monster Kristina created. Spending the summer with her dad, she meets a boy and her struggle with drugs begins. Not soon after, she becomes pregnant and decided to keep the baby. This story is told completely through the eyes of Kristina and Bree, her other personality. We see her friendships crumble and her crack addiction worsen.

In Glass, Kristina meets a new monster, meth. After being kicked out of her mothers house and losing custody of her son, Hunter, she finds a new boyfriend. Trey is everything she could ever ask for and more. The only catch is he's a drug dealer. Kristina gets caught in Trey's drug web and they both find themselves sitting in jail. With Kristina pregnant, yet again.

We all wanted to see what happened to Hunter, and what will happen with her new baby. Fallout is exactly that. We get to look into the lives of 3 of Kristina's children. They grew up in different households with different last names and have an odd relationship with their mother. We see the pain that Kristina has caused them and the mess she has made. We watch their everyday lives and get a peek at Christmas with the family.

These 3 hectic books are based on true stories. If you or someone you know is struggling with drugs, there are hotlines to help! Just check out this website for more information on overcoming an addiction: http://drugabuse.com/library/drug-abuse-hotlines/

Looking for more books by Ellen Hopkins?

 

Middle-Grade:

Closer to Nowhere

What About Will

Teen:

 Flirtin' with the Monster (Crank Anthology)

Rumble

Burned (Burned #1)
Smoke (Burned #2)

Tricks (Tricks #1)

Traffick (Tricks #2)

The You I've Never Known
People Kill People

Adult Fiction:

Love Lies Beneath (LLB #1)
A Sin Such as This (LLB #2)

Collateral

Triangles (Tilt #2)

 Anthologies:

One Death, Nine Stories

Behind the Song
Life Inside My Mind