Example of engaging the reader and using details without retelling the plot

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

“Winning means fame and fortune.
Losing means certain death.
The Hunger Games have begun…”

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

The Hunger Games is a dystopian story for adults and children that has a purpose—to warn us about the dangers of some current trend. I recommend this for teens that enjoy books like The Giver by Lois Lowry or by those who enjoy survival fiction,

Acceleration

by Graham MacNee

Seventeen-year-old Duncan works in the Toronto Transit Lost and Found. One day, he discovers the leather bound journal of a man with a twisted mind. The journal depicts past crimes the madman has committed, such as arson, and his future plans, which include killing women.

Duncan decides to recruit his friends, Vinny and Wayne, to track down the serial killer who they nickname Roach. Just how far will Roach go, and what will Duncan, Vinny and Wayne do to prevent it? Duncan's dangerous pursuit pushes him and his friends beyond their limits, “Some people you can't be friends with, not when you've been something more."

The beginning of ACCELERATION is slow and tedious. However, once you have reached the action, you won't be able to put the book down. The great detail allows the reader to sympathize with Duncan and his situation.

Although author Graham McNamee at times takes us to places we do not need to go and adds some unnecessary aspects to the plot,
ACCELERATION is still a must-read for those who are into mysteries and books that suspense.

Twilight

by Stephanie Meyers

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. Bella meets Edward on her first day as a junior transfer student to Forks High School, in a remote cloud-covered corner of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Spotting him in the cafeteria, she’s transfixed by his “devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful” face, marble-smooth skin, bronze hair and stormy eyes. When a girlfriend tells Bella, "The Cullens don’t like anybody… well, they don’t notice anybody enough to like them.... But he’s still staring at you," Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn.

Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife—between desire and danger. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. 

Twilight is an easy and enjoyable read. Its first-person viewpoint keeps the the pages turning. Twilight will almost certainly appeal to teenage girls and many women of all ages, but probably not to the majority of males.

This is a love story with bite.