I'd heard a lot of good buzz about this book, and the premise seemed quite intriguing. In a dystopic future, North America is now known as Panem and is ruled by a government centralized in the Capitol. Each year, two children are chosen from each district (24 in all) and are basically entered into a Battle Royale that is televised to the whole country. The main character, a girl from one of the poorest districts ends up in the Hunger Games and she's not expected to do well, but she surprises people. 
 The detail of the Hunger Games is like a twisted commentary on the public's voraciousness for brutality in reality tv. By the time I was 2/3rds through the book, I couldn't put it down. I sort of expected a different kind of twist in the end, but the ending still works. It does seem very open-ended, but there are also two other books, so it makes sense that ending seems more like setup.