Poison Study by Maria Snyder

I heard about this book on a blog and put it on hold a while back. Once I started reading it I finished the same day because I couldn't put it down! Poison Study is about a young woman named Yelena who is condemned to die but spared in return for becoming the food tester for the 'king'. With recent political unrest, varying factions, no family and no friends to call her own, Yelena struggles and grows as she learns to survive. I couldn't wait to see how the story would resolve and to solve the big mystery- why did Yelena kill someone in the first place and how is she going to come to terms with her life? Between the setting of the story, the relationships, the elements of her past, the food, the physical and mental growth she experiences, I was really entertained and impressed. I loved this book and would recommend it as a coming of age and growing up despite hard times story over the silly Hunger Games any day.