The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In a place that used to be North America lays twelve districts, ruled by the cruel people of the Capital. While people in the Capitol live in luxury, most people in the districts live as peasants at the brink of starvation. Every year the Capital holds the Hunger Games to remind the people who is in control. Each district must choose two tributes, one girl and one boy, at random. The 24 tributes must fight to death, and the last one alive wins.

Katniss Everdeen of District Twelve has been keeping her family alive since she was twelve. There is almost no one she loves more than her little sister Primrose, so the moment Prim is called to participate in the Hunger Games, Katniss immediately takes her place. Although Katniss tends to be slightly unsociable, she demonstrates great courage and diligence when it comes to survival. Katniss Everdeen is “the Girl on Fire”.

I absolutely loved The Hunger Games and would recommend it to almost anyone. Some moments in the book are so thrilling and violent, I could help closing my eyes and clenching my teeth. There were no dull or uninteresting parts in the book. Throughout the whole book I was so captivated in the story that even between chapters I had trouble putting it down. This book kept me up at night even after I stopped reading because I could not help but think about everything going on.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Mikael Blomkvist is a reporter and creator of the magazine Millennium in Stockholm, until he destroys his own career after losing a libel case against Wennerstrom. Despite the rejection of his business partner and best friend, Erika Berger, Blomkvist steps down from his position at the magazine in the face of professional disgrace. This is when Henrik Vanger, former CEO of the Vanger Corporation asks Blomkvist to investigate the disappearance of his great niece, Harriet Vanger. Blomkvist agrees to work on the case on Hedeby Island for a fairly large salary and information that will help take down his rival, Wennerstrom. There is little hope that Blomkvist will uncover a 36-year old mystery and satisfy Henrik’s obsession. In the beginning Blomkvist lacks the optimism that he will ever solve the mystery but tries his best by reading through all of Henrik’s documents and information. Halfway through the year Blomkvist hires Lisbeth Salander and together they discover the dreadful secrets of the Vanger family. Lisbeth Salander has a gift for absorbing and retaining information, but has a great deal of issues.

Although it starts off pretty slow, I really enjoyed reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The second half of the book is so eventful; I was barely able to put it down. Lisbeth Salander is a truly intriguing character and possibly the main reason I liked reading the book. Lisbeth is intelligent, fierce, troubled, and antisocial, but that does not keep her from getting close to Blomkvist. Struck by the violence taking place against women in Sweden, wrote a thrilling novel.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen revolves around Elizabeth Bennet, the second child out of five girls. Of all her sisters, Elizabeth succeeds as the most sharp, clever, and independent, but she is prone to making judgments based on first impressions, which sometimes leads to negative outcomes. Elizabeth’s mother, Mrs. Bennet’s main goal is to marry her five daughters as quickly as possible. In the beginning of the novel Mr. Bingley, a wealthy bachelor comes to Meryton accompanied by his sisters and his close friend Mr. Darcy. At a dance held by Mr. Bingley Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy and initially sees as arrogant and haughty. Because Elizabeth is so caught up on her first impression of Mr. Darcy that she fails to see how they are a perfect match. There are many obstacles which postpone Elizabeth from uniting with Mr. Darcy, such as her own initial feeling towards Mr. Darcy, his own conceited attitude, other snobbish girls, like Mr. Bingley’s sisters, and her own family. Luckily Elizabeth’s charm repeatedly draws Mr. Darcy’s interests and she eventually succeeds in overcoming all of the obstacles.

Overall I enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice, especially the second half of the novel. I think I would give it a seven out of ten. I favor how Jane Austen portrayed Elizabeth throughout the book and the description that was given for all the characters. Pride and Prejudice offers a great variety of different characters, some who are lovable like Elizabeth, and some who are completely irritating like Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet. Through this novel Jane Austen was able to incorporate social, moral, and economic issues that can appeal to many readers.