Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Catniss a 17 year old girl that lives in district 12. Her sister, Primrose,  is 10 and it is her first year in the reaping. The reaping is when a woman picks a boy or girl from each district from a bowl, and if you get picked, you have to fight to the death with the other contestants. When it is time for the reaping, Primrose gets picked.  The guards escort her down the path.  There is a yell in the distance. "I volunteer!"  says Catniss.  The guards let Primrose go and bring Catniss up to the stage. Then it is the boy's turn to be picked.  The annoucer puts her hand in the bowl and picks a card.  "Peeta Mallark!" she says.  TG

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

Welcome to a world on the brink of war. Meet a Stormwalker - think Tank with a capital T - and a Leviathan - think Whale turned into a machine with other animals keeping it alive. Meet a girl disguised as a boy so she can be in the Air Force, and a prince, unable to claim his throne, hiding from his enemies on an ice-covered mountain. Scott Westerfeld bring all of these elements together to create an adventure story which has a base in history [there really was a war across Europe which began in 1914] and many elements of fantasy [whales really don't fly!] It's a world in which the characters must decide whether to be friends or enemies, and aren't sure who can be trusted. If you like this book as much as I did, you'll look forward to reading the next books in the series, Behemoth, and Goliath.