By Suzanne Collins

Where to start?

BEST BOOK EVER.  EVER.  EVER.  (it maybe even tops Harry Potter!)  You MUST read it!

The United States went through a terrible nuclear war, and now, there’s Panem.  “A shining Capitol ringed by 13 districts.”

Then came the Dark Ages.  The districts rose up against the Capitol.  12 were defeated and one destroyed.  Then the treaty was signed and as a yearly reminder that the Dark Ages must never repeat themselves, there were the Hunger Games.  The Capitol uses the Hunger Games to keep the districts in line.  The rules are simple.  Each year, every district had to send 2 tributes, a boy and a girl from the ages 12-18, and they dump all 24 tributes in a huge outdoor arena.  The arena can be anything from an icy wasteland to a barren desert.  There can be avalanches, floods, fireballs, cliffs, anything!  The Hunger Games is a fight to the death.  The last one standing gets a life of leisure back at home.  If not, it means a violent death.

There’s 16 year old Katniss –  the girl who lost her father in a mine explosion and is now the one who provides food for her family by illegally hunting.  The girl who bravely steps up and volunteers to be a tribute after her 12 year old sister is chosen.  She would do anything for her sister Prim.

Then there’s Peeta.  The baker’s son.  The boy who has loved Katniss ever since he laid eyes on her.  The boy who burned two loaves of bread and risked a beating from his mother just to give a young, starving Katniss a loaf of bread.

Both of them are “tributes.”  After admitting that he has always secretly loved Katniss, these “star-crossed lovers” pretend they are madly in love to gain the support of the audience and they must face choices weighing life against love.

Favorite Quotes:

“District Twelve.  Where you can starve to death in safety.” -Katniss Everdeen

“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!”
-Effie Trinket

“Here’s some advice. Stay alive.”
-Haymitch Abernathy

“The more likable he is, the more deadly he is.”
-Katniss Everdeen

“She has no idea. The effect she can have”
-Peeta Mellark

“Scores only matter if they’re very good, no one pays much attention to the bad or mediocre ones.”
-Portia

“Katniss, the girl who was on fire”
-Cinna

“It’s not a fair comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other’s survival means our own death.”
-Katniss Everdeen

“Are you going to be charming?  Aloof?  Fierce?  So far, you’re shining like a star.” -Haymitch

“You’ve got as much charm as a dead slug.” -Haymitch

“I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun”.
-Katniss Everdeen

“Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games”
-Peeta Mellark

Cinna: “When you’re asked a question, find me, and answer it as honestly as possible.”
Katniss: “Even if what I think is horrible?”
Cinna: “Especially if what you think is horrible.”

Caesar: “Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what’s her name?”
Peeta: “Well, there is this one girl. I’ve had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know I was alive until the reaping.”
Caesar: “She have another fellow?”
Peeta: “I don’t know, but a lot of boys like her.”
Caesar: “So, here’s what you do. You win, you go home. She can’t turn you down then, eh?”
Peeta: “I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning…won’t help in my case”
Caesar: “Why ever not?”
Peeta: “Because…because…she came here with me.”

“You were about as romantic as dirt until he said he wanted you.” -Haymitch

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!”
Claudius Templesmith

“Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?” -Haymitch

“Panic begins to set in. I can’t stay here. Flight is essential.”…”But I can’t let my fear show”.
-Katniss Everdeen

“Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.”
-Katniss Everdeen

“You love me. Real, or not real?”
“Real.” -Katniss and Peeta