Suzanne Collins

In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.

The Hunger Games

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 weight survival against humanity and life against love.

The Hunger Games #1

Is that a Shakespeare reference I see? I think so.

Alesha Clifford

Sitting at Prim's knees, guarding her, is the world's ugliest cat.

Julie <3

I think of his ridiculous reaction to finding the supplies blown up. The others were upset, of course, but he was completely unhinged. I wonder now if Cato might not be entírely sane.

In stark contrast to two nights ago, when I felt Peeta was a million miles away, I'm struck by his immediacy now. As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow; the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe.

His hand brushes the loose strands of my hair off my forehead. Unlike the staged kisses and caresses so far, this gesture seems natural and comforting. I don't want him to stop and he doesn't. He's still stroking my hair when I fall asleep

kari <33

Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me. 

I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.

“So now that you’ve got me, what are you going to do with me?” 

I turn in to him. “Put you somewhere you can’t get hurt.”

The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins. (Quelle: Buchdeckel verso).

Beyza

I wanna tell him that he's not being fair. That we where strangers. That I did what it took to stay alive, to keep us both alive in the arena. That I can't explain how things are with Gale because I don't know myself. 

. Because I'm never going to get married anyway. And he'd just end up hating me later instead of sooner. That if I do have feelings for him, it doesn't matter, because I'll never be able to afford the kind of love that leads to a family, to children, and how can he, how can he after what we've just been through?

I also wanna tell him how much I already miss him

"So, what you're saying is, these last few days, and then I guess back in the arena, that was just some strategy you two worked out."

"No! I mean, I couldn't even talk to him in the arena, could I?"

"But you knew what he wanted you to do, didn't you? [...] It was all for the games. How you acted."

"Then how much? No, forget that. I guess the real question is what's gonna be left when we get home?"

"I don't know. The closer we get to District 12, the more confused I get."

"Well, let me know when you work it out." He says, and the pain in his voice is palpable. 

But I’m held here both by the hovercraft walls and the same force that holds the loved ones of the dying. How often I’ve seen them, ringed around our kitchen table and I thought, Why don’t they leave? Why do they stay to watch? 

And now I know. It’s because you have no choice.

“You’re not leaving me here alone,” I say. Because if he dies, I’ll never go home, not really. I’ll spend the rest of my life in this arena trying to think my way out.

“No, I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you,” he says.

It strikes me that my own reluctance to sing, my own dismissal of music might not really be that I think it’s a waste of time. It might be because it reminds me too much of my father.

As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow, the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe.

This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of. Neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious. Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold. This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another.

imagine reading this & thinking katniss doesnt actually like peeta… embarrassing of u 

Whatever I’m feeling, it’s no one’s business but mine.

I reach out to touch his cheek and he catches my hand and presses it against his lips. I remember my father doing this very thing to my mother and I wonder where Peeta picked it up.

“Better than yesterday. This is an enormous improvement over the mud,” he says. “Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag . . . and you.”

“Lean down a minute first,” he says. “Need to tell you something.” I lean over and put my good ear to his lips, which tickle as he whispers. “Remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”

I find myself wishing I could tell Peeta about the flowers I put on Rue. That I now understand what he was trying to say on the roof. Perhaps if he wins the Games, he’ll see me on victor’s night, when they replay the highlights of the Games on a screen over the stage where we did our interviews.

Rue’s death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us.

But if this is Prim’s, I mean, Rue’s last request,

Believe it or not, there was once music in my house, too. Music I helped make. My father pulled me in with that remarkable voice — but I haven’t sung much since he died.

Her hand reaches out and I clutch it like a lifeline. As if it’s me who’s dying instead of Rue.

I reread this in prep for the new movie. Katniss really do be posing me off with how naive she is 🙄🙄

Miranda Watson

Hannah Yang

Well, the hype that The Hunger Games has received doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. I always thought I would never enjoy a book about children fighting to the death for an adult audience's entertainment. Turns out, I was wrong. 

Although I can't say I looooove The Hunger Games as much as the rest of the world does, there are no technical flaws. The characters are all well thought out, and everyone from Katniss to Gale to Clove to Rue had a distinct personality. None of them had any weirdly unrealistic angelic wonder (completely perfect) or weirdly unrealistic satanic power (completely messed up). Even when Clove, my favorite knife-throwing sadistic tribute, was about to die, she was calling out for Cato. See, the bad guys don't have to be heartless.

Not only are the characters developed well, the plotline was certainly one of the first of its kind. While post-apocalyptic dystopia-esque novels are hardly new, The Hunger Games brings in the original idea of Panem's annual Hunger Games, the districts, etc. The whole novel is well written, and unlike some other books that have grammar errors or gag-worthy lines sprinkled throughout, it read very smoothly for me. 

However, I would have liked more of what the blurb promised: "pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature." Doesn't that sound absolutely striking? Obviously, Katniss would be the victor, but the novel wasn't as grotesque as I expected. I was kind of hoping that Peeta wouldn't survive, that Katniss would have to make the final decision to kill him. Instead, Peeta, Katniss and Gale must form the YA readers' dreaded love triangle.

I don't love The Hunger Games, and I don't hate it. It was a good read that I'd happily recommend to anyone.

The Hunger Games 1. Special Edition

it’s gonna do it for me EVERY SINGLE TIME 

belle

I liked this way more than I expected. Who knew it could be more brutal? I've only ever seen the movies, but to know that Cato endured hours of being eaten alive is absolutely horrifying...

Holly

Kimberly Burgess 

This Special Edition of The Hunger Games includes the most extensive interview Suzanne Collins has given since the publication of The Hunger Games; an absorbing behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the series; and an engaging archival conversation between Suzanne Collins and YA legend Walter Dean Myers on writing about war. The Special Edition answers many questions fans have had over the years, and gives great insight into the creation of this era-defining work. 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 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 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 death before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

The Hunger Games: Special Edition

Mandy

I liked this more than I thought I would. Dystopia is my crack, but action/battle-heavy stuff is kind of snoozy to me so I was worried that a book of endless rumbles would be off-putting. Luckily, the Games are pretty engrossing and I wasn't the least bit bored though the bulk of the story.

I guess it's a mark of good writing that even though I kept thinking, "oh, you poor dumb bastard" for approximately 90% of the book I still felt bad for Peeta at the end. I don't really subscribe to the Katniss-hate, though. Pragmatism? From a girl? Quelle horreur!

Gabrielle Gonzaga

my comfort trilogy. I love the hunger games series and this specific book is the book that started it all: the girl on fire, the boy with the bread and the revolution unfolding at their star-crossed love fictional romance.

Melissa M.

The Hunger Games series is one of my favorite book series out there, despite the fact it is written for a young adult audience. The storyline is one that is so incredibly creative and beautifully painted in words, its easy to immerse yourself into that world. As I read this book, I was already in love with the characters and excited to read the next book. I don't think I would actually recommend this series to a young reader, the subject matter is a bit gruesome, but an older teen could handle the content just fine. The other books in the trilogy are equally spellbinding and captivating!

Peggy Walker

I decided to read the book because of all the attention it was attracting. I'm not usually much for futuristic tales, but like many others I found it to be really engrossing. I'll read the others in the series for sure. Kind of like an accident you can't look away from, although I deplore the violence, I got sucked in.

Mae Erceg

So, yeah, this book was really good. Haha I SAID IT. It was AMAZING.

This was a very good book. It took me a while to finish, only because I feel like it’s more world-based instead of action-based. At least for the first book, it focuses more on Katniss’ thoughts and perceptions about the Capitol and the Games—almost like an inner monologue.

Some parts were a little hard to read, but the story is very interesting.

Jacob Edmonds

This was a very good book. It took me a while to finish, only because I feel like it’s more world-based instead of action-based. At least for the first book, it focuses more on Katniss’ thoughts and perceptions about the Capitol and the Games—almost like an inner monologue.

Some parts were a little hard to read, but the story is very interesting.

Solimar Gerena 

Abby

Lydia Kopsa

Amazing!! Couldn't put it down. Can't wait for the movie.

I first read this over 10 years ago when I was 14. Re-reading it, I was stunned to see how well this book holds up despite how much time has passed. Usually, the books you enjoy at 14 are not always literary masterpieces exactly... In this case, though, The Hunger Games appealed to me just as much as an adult as it did then. It's surprisingly well written, carefully thought out, and just so engaging! I truly enjoyed this and I was so pleasantly surprised to rediscover how good this book is.

Tish

I reread this via audiobook and it was still just as good as I remember!! This book is just so comforting, like hugging an old friend.

Jess

Read this when I was like 12 and I still love it with all my heart. If you have not read this then what the hell are you doing?

karalea

so good, even the second time around. maybe even better than the first time I read it... this is for sure YA dystopian fiction royalty. i remember not really liking katniss that much the first time i read it? but reading it this time i don't see why i disliked her – she has a genuine development and i love that her resourcefulness is believable.

Lucy

In a dystopian future, two kids from 12 districts are selected at random each year and taken to fight it out in an epic last man standing nightmare. This year it is Katniss and Peeta's turn.

Katniss is sharp and intelligent, with a natural survival instinct. Peeta is fairly average in every way, including likeability.

Hunger Games is a great book with a lot hidden between the words.

Chassity

SO GOOD!!! The suspense is so well written and intense, I had to stop to catch my breath a few times. The romance between Katniss and Peeta is absolutely amazing. I stayed up all night just to finished this book and I was not disappointed. 5/5 stars

The Hunger Games 10th Anniversary

Nessa Luna

I don't really have much to say other than that I loved my reread of this book and it made me want to rewatch all the movies again. I might go and do that soon when I've finished rereading the series.

Hadley 

Have been a fan of the movies for a long time the book was so much more detailed. An easy read and even though I knew everything that was going to happen I was still excited to turn to the next page :)

Daniela Ramirez Madrid

Khoi K

I loved it! Couldn't put it down. It's a must read for anyone who hasn't read it yet :)

The Hunger Games

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