4.35 avg rating — 9,855,029 ratings

"Summary: The Hunger Games takes place in a nation known as Panem, established in North America after the destruction of the continent's civilization by an unknown apocalyptic event. The nation consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts united under the Capitol's hegemony. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region that was formerly known as Appalachia.[8]
As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, in which a 13th district was destroyed, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (or "tributes") must fight to the death in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains. The story is narrated by 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. The male tribute chosen from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a former schoolmate of Katniss who once gave her bread from his family's bakery when her family was starving.
Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where their drunken mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, victor of the 50th Hunger Games, instructs them to watch and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the other tributes. They are then publicly displayed to the Capitol audience in an interview with television host Caesar Flickerman. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his longtime unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for him in the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as the wealthy audience members are encouraged to send gifts such as food, medicine, and tools to favored tributes during the Games.
While nearly half the tributes are killed in the first day of the Games, Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and survival skills to remain unharmed and concealed from the other tributes. A few days into the games, Katniss develops an alliance with Rue, a 12-year-old girl from the agricultural District 11 who reminds Katniss of her own sister. However, the alliance is brought to an abrupt end when Rue is killed by another tribute. Katniss sings to her (at Rue's request) and spreads flowers over her body as a sign of respect for Rue and disgust towards the Capitol.
Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", a rule change is announced midway through the Games, allowing two tributes from the same district to win the Hunger Games as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss begins searching for Peeta. She eventually finds him, wounded and in hiding. As she nurses him back to health, she acts the part of a young girl falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and, consequently, gifts from her sponsors. When the couple remain as the last two surviving tributes, the Gamemakers reverse the rule change in an attempt to force them into a dramatic finale, where one must kill the other to win. Katniss, knowing that the Gamemakers would rather have two victors than none, retrieves highly poisonous berries known as "nightlock" from her pouch and offers some to Peeta. Realizing that Katniss and Peeta intend to commit suicide, the Gamemakers announce that both will be the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.
Although she survives the ordeal in the arena and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol, Katniss is warned by Haymitch that she has now become a political target after defying her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken when he learns that Katniss's actions in the arena were part of a calculated ploy to earn sympathy from the audience. However, Katniss is unsure of her own feelings and realizes that she is dreading the moment when she and Peeta will go their separate ways."

4.01 avg rating — 669 ratings

"Summary: SUMMER IS AROUND the corner, and the rivalry between the Malloys and the Hatfords is heating up! The kids have two weeks to earn money for a fundraising contest sponsored by the local hospital. Those who collect $20 or more for the new children’s wing can choose to be in the annual Strawberry Festival Parade or get all the strawberry treats they can eat.

There’s only one place Caroline Malloy—wants to be: smack dab in the middle of the glamourous Strawberry Queen’s float. But how will she earn the money in such a short time? Do the Hatford brothers have moneymaking secrets that they’re not telling the girls?


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4.10 avg rating — 117,104 ratings

"Summary: Fourteen-year-old Nikki Maxwell is not happy when her father arranges a scholarship for her to attend a private middle school called Westchester Country Day as part of the contract for his bug extermination services. Nikki does not fit in with the wealthy, designer clad students and spends most of her time alone writing in her diary. To make matters worse, she has a locker right next to the school's most popular girl, MacKenzie Hollister. MacKenzie labels Nikki as a "Dork" and goes out of her way to make Nikki’s life miserable.
It appears the new school may work out when Nikki befriends two other dorky girls, Chloe and Zoey. But, things take a turn for the worse when Nikki enters the school art show and discovers her main competition is her enemy, MacKenzie, who will stop at nothing to win."