For what did I know?

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

I first heard about this book on Tumblr. At first, I thought that it was some weird tv show that people were obsessed with. I only ever saw pictures of the people slated to be cast in the upcoming film. When I realized that it was in fact a trilogy, I became intrigued.

This novel is set in a future country called Panem located where North America once stood. The centre of this nation, is called the Capitol and it presides over the other twelve districts. Life in the capitol is grand, but life in the districts is meager. Each district is devoted to one industry from producing luxury goods for the people fortunate enough to be living in the capitol to mining coal. Transportation and communication between the districts is prohibited unless special favour has been granted.

Once every year, a reaping takes place in each district. During the reaping, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, called tributes, are chosen to take part in the mayhem that is the hunger games. The hunger games are filmed and broadcast on live TV. It is mandatory that the populations of each district watch the events unfold.

The book follows the story of Katniss, a girl from district 12, the least fortunate of all the districts. While Katniss’s name wasn’t drawn during the reaping in district 12, her younger sister’s was. Proving how devoted Katniss is to protecting her family, she volunteers to take her sister’s place, saving her from certain death.

After the reaping, Katniss is thrust into a world of excess. For the week or so leading up to the games, Katniss is waited on hand and foot. She has enough food to eat and warm water to bathe in for the first time in her life. She is provided with training in fighting and survival skills as well as in presentation.

While in the arena, Katniss must cope with the necessity of killing other humans, watching people die, surviving attacks from the other tributes and dealing with a budding love affair with her fellow district 12 tribute. Katniss makes decisions that will forever affect her and her loved one’s futures forever.