The Hunger Games Trilogy- Suzanne Collins

I'm really hoping the movie that comes out does the book justice, because I thought the whole series was amazing. I read them quite fast (they are YA). I love when a book can captivate me that much.

The story is based around a 16 year-old girl who unknowingly starts an uprising in her country. The country of Panem hosts the Hunger Games every year to show their citizens that the government is not to be messed with. The Hunger Games consists of two young children, one boy and one girl ages 12-18 from each district (there are 12 districts) fighting til the death on national television in an arena filled with my different landscapes and danger factors. The children are picked by drawing names.

The first book is completely based on the Hunger Games themselves, but the next two are what happens after. These books are a lot blood and gore at times, but I think it helps to portray the message that that's the way war can be. They also get a little darker as the series goes on, but nothing that I don't think YA readers or older can't handle.

There are probably a lot of underlying messages that could be taken from this book, but I didn't really see them. I took the book for the story it was, and I loved it. It's action, adventure and romance all in one. It literally made me laugh at times, and at other times, it made me want to cry. If you need a good series to get into and don't want to wait for the next book to be written (the series is done), then I would definitely pick these books up.

Total Money Makeover- Dave Ramsey

If you're having any kind of financial difficulties, or would just like to be debt free, this is a book for you. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's a proven method of getting debt free if you work hard at it for a certain amount of time. Dave walks through every step with you. This book gave me hope that I won't be paying off my student loans forever if I work really hard at getting them paid off, and to never, ever use a credit card, and that you don't have to go into debt. MOst of what he says, you would think people would already know, but you'd be surprised with how many people at broke.
One thing Dave talks about is broke people. If you see all those people, let's just call them the "Joneses", and you think they have it all, that may be true, but they're also probably in debt way over their head with no way of knowing how to get out. Do you really want your life to be like that?

"If you live like no one else now, you can live like no one else later."

Legacy- Michelle Bredeson

I have the privilege of knowing the author of this book personally. I am quite proud of her accomplishment with publishing this book. I had no idea what to expect when opening this book, other than knowing the genre (YA supernatural fiction).

I was completely swept away from the first page. I couldn't put the book down, seriously. The story centers around 16 year old Carly who finds out she's a shapeshifter. That, obviously, is just the very surface of the story, and there's so much more to it! So you'll have to check it out to find out more! I just loved it. The only complaint I really had about it was that it was too short! I wanted more, even after the last page. So now, of course, I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!

Well done, Michelle.