The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read all three of these books from Monday afternoon to Tuesday evening, probably about 36 hours from start to finish. They are a young adult trilogy and read very easily without sounding like they're talking to teenagers.

Read them.

The story follows Katniss Everdeen, a young girl in a post apocalyptic US. The country has been divided into 12 districts, each which provides a different product or service to the Capital city (coal, lumber, fishing, etc). 75 years prior to the first book, the districts rose up against the Capital and, as punishment and a reminder of what happens when you revolt, each district must provide one boy and one girl, called tributes, annually to the Hunger Games. The 24 kids, from 12 - 18, must fight to the death in a manufactured arena for the entertainment of the Capital, and horror of the districts. The winner will live a life of luxury and ease.

These books are fantastic. They do a beautiful job at poking around in the psyche of both developing individuals living in this environment and adults who are forced to cope with what their government does to their children, as well as the spirit of subjugation and rebellion. It also manages to be a coming-of-age story that isn't overdone. The writing is quick and rich enough to paint this world that in so many ways feels like ours (poor coal mining communities in Appalachia are not new) but is so different (killing kids for sport).

I really suggest reading these books all together. If you read the first one, you'll want to read the second one and having to wait to get it is torture. Pick up all three (or borrow them), read them and then pass them along to someone else who hasn't read them. Then go see the movies when they start releasing in March 2012.

Yup, I'm a convert.