The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle Book 22

Well, it's undoubtedly obvious that this book was the inspiration for the cultural phenomenon that is Twilight.  Since Meyer left out some plot twists and created a few new ones, I'll say she "borrowed" Smith's work.  I really want to be angry at Mrs. Meyer for so unabashedly and blatantly "borrowing" but I can't be. While The Vampire Diaries has an interesting storyline and in many ways is much more creative, the book is written in typical Smith style--more emphasis on events of the plot then making them realistic for the reader and a third person omniscient point of view that doesn't allow the reader to really connect with any one style.  Stefan was obviously the basis for Edward Cullen's character, but Edward is so real that he jumps off the page. Smith laid the foundation but Meyer created a world a reader can submerge in.  It's not nice to "borrow" but I can't be angry since she did a better job.

Catching Fire Book 21

Catching Fire is the sequel to The Hunger Games and is just as good. I can't say much about this one without giving a lot away about both books. But it develops and unfolds beautifully.  It doesn't really end on a cliffhanger but with an open ending.  I can't wait for Mockingjay, the concluding novel which releases this August. I'm so hoping for a happy ending.

The Hunger Games Book 20

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins was awesome! It's futuristic, but not sci-fi. North America has been annihilated and converted to a capitol city of Panem with twelve districts surrounding it.  During the revolution a rebellious party had to be squashed and the surviving government implemented a variety of stringent rules to make sure a rebellious party never sprouted again.

One such rule, the hunger games, a reality TV show forcing teen-agers randomly selected into a gladiator style fight to the death. Selection may be random but poor kids have a much higher chance of being chosen on "reaping" day than rich kids and anyone of the same sex can volunteer to take the place of the chosen.  When 12 year old Prim's name is drawn her older sister Katniss volunteers to take her place.

The male candidate chosen from district 12 (the district Katniss and her family live in) has a special connection with Kat. But in a fight to the death there can only be one survivor. Can Katniss survive?