Hunger Games Trilogy

If you haven't heard about this series yet you need to get you some new friends! Ha! Seriously though if you're looking for something intriguing and captivating you have found it. If you're not a big reader maybe you should start reading the first page of the first book and just see what happens. I DARE you not to get hooked right from the start!
I was consumed by the characters, the Capitol-controlled world, the Hunger Games, and the sadness. I marveled over the idea of living with real hunger every day. By the time I'd finished the third book all I could do was sit there and feel empty. I was so sad this journey I'd been on was over. A part of me had been longing for a fairy tale ending in which true love won out and my hero, Katniss, the warrior princess would emerge victorious over all, including her own demons. I had been pulling for Peeta since the very beginning and just knew he would come out on top though I loved Gale dearly all the way through as well. I have to admit I felt disappointed when I came to the conclusion of the love triangle but I felt it was realistic rather than trite and I liked that about it.
The first two books, through gripping story lines and deep character interactions had me mesmerized and I quite literally couldn't put them down. I sacrificed a lot of sleep as I went deeper and deeper into the world of the Hunger Games. I found myself comparing our world today and thinking how we aren't that far off from this new kind of reality.. a little more government control, a bit more violence, a smidge more reality-tv and there we are.
The third book, however, I found to be chilling, heart-wrenching, devastating.. even depressing. I wanted good things to happen to my beloved characters and instead it just continued to go downhill in a way that I couldn't have imagined. I flew through it out of a sheer need to see the resolution. Getting to the end turned out, for me, to be the worst thing of all. It broke my heart but I think it was absolutely perfect for characters who were so damaged and disturbed by war and death.
I think these books are brilliantly written. They are suspenseful, daring, and tragic. I absolutely loved reading them and already want to start again. These are about as highly recommended as I can express. Read them all! And then come tell me how much you loved them too! ;)