The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about a yearly event named the Hunger Games occurs in a collection of twelve districts that goes by Panem. Two teenagers from each district are called upon as volunteers in a deadly competition for riches and glory, with only one surviving until the end. A sixteen-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen volunteered to be the female tribute for District 12 to save her younger sister Primrose. Katniss and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark are whisked off by their mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, and their escort from the Capitol, Effie Trinket to experience many new luxuries such as deluxe food, gorgeous outfits, and interviews that get put on television. Unfortunately, these are short-lived, as Katniss and Peeta are placed in the arena for the games to start, the heroine running away from the weapon-filled Cornucopia and hiding out in a tree. Over the next couple of gruesome days, Katniss pushes through and teams up with another volunteer named Rue, who helps her break up the strongest competitors, the Careers. After Rue’s untimely death, an announcement is stated that any two tributes that come from the same district can be declared as co-winners. This sends Katniss desperately looking for Peeta, who she eventually finds wounded and decides to stay with him throughout the night. The next day, she sneaks away to the Cornucopia and battles other contestants for an ointment for Peeta’s injury. She comes back to their cave with the medicine successfully as the two choose to camp for a couple of days, Katniss keeping her romance strategy in mind for food sent from the outside by her mentor. The duo decides to look for food and water and ends up finding a contestant’s body, concluding that one other tribute, Cato is left. They wearily force themselves to go to the only water source left, the lake, where they see a group of mutts charging toward Cato. The duo fights Cato and pushes him to the mutts, leaving the two to be the last ones in the arena alive. An announcement is declared there can only be one winner, causing Katniss and Peeta to start to put poisonous berries in their mouth as their last act of rebellion toward the Capitol so there can be no winner. This is quickly stopped as both are declared winners, resulting in Haymitch warning them about their rebellious actions. The two end up heading back to District 12 to “celebrate”.
This book was certainly a thrilling experience as I enjoyed reading the dystopian vibe that this book gave. The two main characters contrasted each other well, with serious Katniss matching Peeta’s caringness. The book also demonstrated things I related to in the real world, such as Katniss’s will to do anything for her sister and her struggle to block out negative influences.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about action, thrill, a bit of romance, and dark suppressors. If any of these catches your eye, read the book!
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