It is said that nuclear war wiped out the entire world, leaving only North America habitable. Out of the ashes grew a series of 13 Districts, all controlled by the Capitol. The Capitol was very controlling, greedy, and unfairly allocated food and resources to the surrounding districts. When the Districts rebelled against the Capitol, District 13 was completely obliterated, and the Capitol created the Hunger Games as a way of keeping the other districts in line. The Games called for a boy and girl from each district (24 total) to fight to the death in a designated arena. The entire event was televised and was required watching for all district citizens. The victor of the Games would live the rest of their lives in luxury and win food for their district. Seventy-five years after the rebellion is where we find 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen.
Katniss lives in District 12 when the drawings for the yearly Hunger Games occur. Her little sister Primrose is chosen for the Games, but Katniss decides to take her place. Also chosen is Peeta, Katniss’ schoolmate who she has not spoken to in years. They are both coached by Haymitch, the only former District 12 victor alive. While Haymitch always seems to be drunk, he provides them with life-saving advice. Both Peeta and Katniss learn that they have more skills than they anticipated—including their ability to fake a romance.
That is the plan. Pretend to be in love and earn sympathy from the audience of the Capitol. However, Katniss is unsure as to whether her feelings toward Peeta are simply strategic or something more. In the final chapters of the book, Katniss’ dilemma becomes more pronounced. She and Peeta are the final champions and believe that they both will be allowed to return home alive. However, when the Capitol insists that one must kill another, Katniss sees no alternative. She takes poisonous berries and urges Peeta to commit suicide with her. Katniss views this as a blatant act of defiance against the Capitol, believing that they would prefer two victors over none at all. On the contrary, the audience calls it an act of undying love.
But before Katniss and Peeta can eat the berries, the Capitol announces they are both winners of the Hunger Games. Both are relieved, but realize that their nightmare is far from over. President Snow of the Capitol is unhappy with the winners, insisting that their apparent suicide attempt sparked rebellion among the districts once more. He says that they must forever lie about their romance (existing or not) to reassure citizens that their actions were of love and not of rebellion. The cliffhanger scene finds Katniss and Peeta preparing to greet District 12 as the winners of the Hunger Games. But their struggles are far from over.
This is an excellent first book in the Hunger Games trilogy, providing a fresh outlook on the old survival-of-the-fittest scenario. The plot itself is an entirely new concept, which will catch the reader’s attention almost immediately. Action scenes in the book, while not as gruesome as anticipated, are abundant and thrilling to read. Not to mention the crazy-in-love concept that follows the characters throughout the story.
Unfortunately, the last two books of the trilogy cannot quite live up to the first. But readers will still find themselves turning every last page in excitement to see how the story ends.
