Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

     Hello y'all!! How many of you have read the Hunger Games? No! Just watching the movie doesn't count! Well I am going to discuss the Hunger Games here! WARNING!! There are going to be a lot of spoilers... so if you haven't read the book I don't recommend continuing.
     In the first book the Hunger Games the main character Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl living in a post-apocalyptic, totalitarianistic society run by the high tech, rich Capital. There are 12 districts that make up the country Panem (a destroyed future America), Katniss is from District 12, however there use to be 13. During a rebellion 74 years earlier District 13 was obliterated, or so the citizens of Panem are told. Every year to remind the remaining 12 districts of the power of the Capital, the Hunger Games are held. The Hunger Games take 24 children, between the ages of 12 and 18 and make them fight to the death until only 1 is a live and becomes the victor. How this is done is 1 boy and 1 girl from each district is selected at random during the "reaping", pretty much just a fancy word for the act of selecting the children. During District 12's reaping Katniss's little sister Prim is selected to participate in the Hunger Games (it's supposedly an "honor" according to the Capital, but of course it is pretty much a death sentence.) Katniss rushes to her sister's aid and volunteers to take her place. There can be volunteers for a tribute (also known as a contestant of the "games"), but it is rare in District 12. So Katniss is the girl from District 12 that will be going and the boy that is selected is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son. Katniss and Peeta haven't had MUCH interaction in the past, but the one time that she remembers was when they were young and she was on death's door from starvation. Peeta risked a beating from his cruel mother to get Katniss some bread, which ultimately saved her life. Because of this act of kindness Katniss isn't sure if she will be able to kill Peeta when and if the occasion arises in the arena.
     Katniss and Peeta are shipped to the Capital with their drunk mentor, Haymitch, who is the only living victor of the Hunger Games in District 12. Haymitch's role as their mentor is to first off teach them skills that could keep them alive in the arena, second get them prepared for their interviews (which will bring in sponsors) and third to procure sponsors while they are in the arena. Now some of you might be confused about sponsors. Sponsors are rich people from the Capital that put money towards their favorite District tributes. Pretty much they give their money to the district mentor(s) and they get to decide which ONE of their living tributes they want to use the money to send supplies (aka: medicine, food, or gear) to. Katniss and Peeta are concerned about Haymitch's help, or lack there of really, because he is ALWAYS slobbering drunk. However they make a deal and he promises to stay sober enough to help them stay alive if they listen to him. So they go through their group training, never REALLY showing their skills, by order of Haymitch, so that the other tributes won't know what their strong suits are and underestimate them. Then they have their individual "practice" where they show their best skill to the Gamemakers (the people who control EVERY aspect of the games) and they get a score that help sponsors get an idea of how good each tribute is. Katniss finally gets to show her real strength, archery, and Peeta shows his attribute, strength. Both score very good. Then the final activity before the games... interviews. During the pre-interview discussion, Haymitch can't think of something that will make Katniss someone that sponsors will want to invest in, she's "got about as much charm as a dead slug" as Haymitch puts it. Katniss ends up going to the interview somewhat unprepared. She does good but not anything spectacular that will make a lasting impression. Then it's Peeta's turn. You find out that he is a smooth talker and can make just about anybody believe or do anything just by talking. As the interviewer's last question for Peeta he asks if there is a special girl back home. Peeta at first says no, then after further prodding, he admits that there is this girl that he has had a crush on as long as he can remember, but that she probably didn't even know him until the reaping. The interviewer, a genuinely nice man, tells Peeta he has no choice but to win the games and then this girl will HAVE to go out with him. Peeta replies that won't help him, when asked why not he replies, "Because... because... she came here with me." Katniss is furious because she thinks that by Peeta declaring his love for her he has made her look weak to all of Panem. Haymitch points out that Peeta has done her a favor by doing the one thing that she couldn't do... make her desirable! So from that point on Haymitch tells Katniss she needs to play along with this scheme of star-crossed lovers to obtain sponsors. And that is exactly what Katniss believes Peeta's declaration to be, a ploy to bring in more sponsors, nothing more.
    The night before the games Peeta and Katniss have one last conversation, at which time Peeta makes (what I believe) is the most memorable quote and idea of the book. He says that while he's in the games he wants to find a way to show that the Capital doesn't own him. He doesn't want them to change him. That if he has to die, he wants to do it as himself.
     Let the 74th Hunger Games Begin!!! Katniss and Peeta arrive at the arena, or rather a chamber under the arena to get prepared. Then they are raised on little platforms onto the actual arena. The platforms are arranged in a circle around a huge cornucopia, which holds all the supplies (weapons, food, medicine, etc.). Haymitch however has given both a last bit of advice. Ignore the cornucopia and the supplies, run away from it, find water, and stay alive. He explains that the cornucopia is a ploy to bring in the tributes where an inevitable blood bath will ensue. Sounds like a good solid plan to Katniss... until she sees that one of the weapons is a bow and arrow, a weapon that she knows will give her a fighting chance to win the games. Her small moment of hesitation in Haymitch's advice causes her to miss her opportunity at the bow and she has to settle with a small bag close to her with basic supplies. She gets away just in time too. In the first day 11 tributes die.
     Through her first few days in the arena Katniss almost dies of dehydration. When she finally finds water, and decides to stay around it, the Gamemakers drive her away from it using a wall of fire. But it isn't just any wall of fire, it spits fireballs with deadly accuracy. Katniss comes to the conclusion that it has been too quiet for the Gamemakers for the past couple of days so they are bring the tributes back together for more action. After a few serious burns Katniss finds out that she is right about the tributes being brought together. Luckily for her she has found a suitable tree to camp out in. However in the night the surviving careers (tributes generally from Districts 1, 2 & 4 that have been trained their whole lives so that they can volunteer to be in the games and win for their districts) find a tribute not far from Katniss, kill the girl and then take up camp under Katniss's tree. To Katniss's great surprise Peeta has joined the careers and is actually helping them to track her down! Katniss can't think of what to do so she stays in her tree, when sometime in the night the girl tribute from District 11, Rue, gives Katniss the escape she needs. Rue silently shows Katniss a tracker jacker nest on a branch in her tree, directly above the career's camp. Because of the fire that brought Katniss here, the resulting smoke has lulled the tracker jackers into a sluggish state. (Tracker jackers are a mutation created by the Capital during the rebellion. They look like bees but have a deadly venom that, in small amounts, will cause horrible hallucinations, and, in larger amounts, death. The special trait of tracker jackers is that, like their name implies, they will track down those they believe are responsible for disrupting their hive.) Deciding it is her only chance to escape, Katniss first warns Rue so she can get away safe, then starts sawing the branch holding the trackers. Only having small windows to saw the branch without causing unwanted attention, it takes Katniss a whole night to saw down the branch. Unfortunately she gets stung three times in the process. On the upside it does exactly what Katniss wanted. It chases off most of the careers and kills two in the process. Katniss also has discovered that one of the dead careers has her bow and arrows. So before fleeing the scene Katniss goes to get her bow and arrows, but in the process succumbs to the side effect of tracker jacker bites, horrifying hallucinations. Struggling to keep hold of what's real, and fighting loose her precious bow, she hears approaching footsteps. She starts panicking, when suddenly Peeta breaks through the underbrush of the forest and tells her to run, helping her gain her footing and run. As she's trying to decide whether this whole encounter is real or part of her hallucination, Cato (the head and most dangerous career tribute) bursts through the underbrush as well. She runs as fast as she can, but she finally falls into unconsciousness.
     Days later Katniss wakes up to find that Rue has found her and has actually nursed her back to health. The two decide to team up. And the first thing on their to-do list is to destroy the supplies from the cornucopia, which the careers have collected and keep guarded. During the actually attack on the careers, which is successful, Katniss loses hearing in her left ear and also contact with Rue. When she finally hunts down Rue, she finds she has been caught in a net. Right as Katniss is releasing her from the net, one of the other tributes throws a spear that pierces Rue through the stomach. Katniss doesn't wait long enough for the killer to draw another weapon before she shoots him in the neck with an arrow. Slowly Rue dies in Katniss's arms. To pay tribute to Rue, Katniss covers her with flowers and shows her the respect that Rue has earned in her eyes.
     It is at this time that the Gamemakers make an announcement that will change the course of the games. They have decided to make an amendment to the game rules. Instead of allowing only 1 victor they will allow 2 if they are from the same District. At this point the only districts that still have both tributes are 2 and 12. Katniss sets off in search of Peeta, who she has learned is seriously injured because Cato caught him helping her escape the night of the tracker jacker attack. When she finally finds him he is on death's door by the river in the arena. However she doesn't find him until she is literally on top of him. She discovers that strength wasn't his only skill, he excelled in camouflage and that is what has kept him out of Cato's hands since the attack. She cleans him up and gets him to a cave for cover, but she quickly comes to the realization that the cut Cato gave him, across his upper thigh, has become horribly infected.
     She does what she can and then spends the rest of the time keeping up the star-crossed lovers facade'. She learns that a lovey-dovey moment will bring them gifts from sponsors, like a kiss means food. So they spend the next couple of days learning about each other. Peeta tells her that he first fell in love with her when they were 5, on the first day of school. His dad was taking him to school and pointed her out as the daughter of the woman he once wanted to marry. When Peeta asked his dad why he didn't marry her, he tells Peeta that she fell in love with a coal miner. Of course being the curious child, Peeta asks why she chose a coal miner over a better-off-baker. His dad says because when Katniss's father sang it was so beautiful that even the birds stopped to listen. Later that day in music, the teacher asked the class who knew a certain song. Katniss's hand shot up and she sang it for the class. At that moment Peeta fell in love with her because she had a voice so beautiful that, like her father's, the birds stopped to listen to it. Unfortunately shortly after his story, Peeta is overtaken by a fever because he has gotten blood poisoning from his infection.
     Again the Gamemakers make an announcement. The following morning there is to be a feast for the remaining 8 tributes. At this feast there will be something there that each district desperately needs. Katniss wants to go because she believes there will be medicine there to heal Peeta, but he refuses to let her risk her life to save his. Haymitch at this point sends Katniss another sponsor bought gift... sleeping syrup. She gives Peeta some berries coated with this syrup and he falls into a day long sleep, giving her the time she needs to go to the feast and retrieve his medicine. While Katniss is trying to escape with Peeta's medicine the girl tribute from District 2 attacks her. She goes into this rant about how they killed Katniss's precious little ally, Rue, and pretty much trash talking Katniss, Peeta and Rue. Just as she is about to start mutilating Katniss's face Thresh, the GIGANTIC boy tribute from District 11 comes and flings the girl off Katniss. He beats her to a pulp for killing "the little girl" from his district. He turns to Katniss and tells her that because she tried to help Rue he is going to let her off the hook just this once. Katniss gets back to Peeta, gives him his medicine and then passes out because of a head injury inflicted from the girl from District 2.
     When she wakes up Peeta is back to normal, minus there still being a cut on his thigh. The next few days they are stuck in the cave because of a massive thunder storm. When they finally get out they decide to go hunting. But between Peeta's injury, and lack of hunting ability, Katniss leaves him to gather roots and berries while she goes a small distance away and hunts. When she gets 2 rabbits and a squirrel she returns to where she left Peeta... but he isn't there. Instead there are some berries that she recognizes as nightlock, VERY poisonous berries. As she is calling out his name he emerges with more nightlock. She is relieved but taken back by her scare so she burst out in this tangent at Peeta, turning her back on him during the outburst. All of a sudden a canon goes off, the Gamemakers way of announcing a tributes death. When she swings back on Peeta to make sure it isn't him, a hovercraft comes and retrieves the body of one of the sneakiest tributes just yards from them. They find out that she had eaten some of the berries that Peeta had collected and unintentionally killed herself.
     So now it is down to Peeta, Katniss and Cato, as they soon find out Cato killed Thresh shortly after the thunderstorm subsided. Slowly they make their way back to the cornucopia, where they know Cato will be. Night falls just as they are about to make it to the cornucopia, and out of the darkness Cato comes running at them. They defend themselves but find that he wasn't running at them to attack, but running away from another Capital mutation, or rather a pack of dog-like mutations. They make their way to the cornucopia just as the mutations reach them. As they are scurrying up the cornucopia, one of the mutations bites into Peeta's calf, ultimately tearing it off completely. In momentary safety, Katniss makes a tourniquet for Peeta's leg, just in time for Cato to appear and capture Peeta. Cato is in bad shape, but has enough strength to keep Peeta between himself and Katniss's arrow. During a rant, Peeta silently signals for Katniss to shoot Cato's hand, that just happens to be next to Peeta's face! Being an excellent shot, she hits right where Peeta told her, causing Cato to lose his grip on Peeta and fall off the Cornucopia into the pack to mutations. They slowly eat him, just enough though so as not to kill him. Out of mercy Katniss ends Cato's suffering.
     The mutations leave, at which time Katniss and Peeta believe they will be named the victors. But instead the Gamemakers make another announcement. They state that after looking over the rules, their previous amendment that there could be two victors from the same district is no longer applicable. That there can only be one winner. That they will have to fight to the death. Peeta takes out his knife, which Katniss reflexively draws her bow at, thinking that he means to kill her. Peeta throws his knife away and tells Katniss to kill him, that her life is more important than his. Startled at this, she too throws away her weapon. They argue about who is to die and who is to go home. Peeta, already weak from blood lose from his calf injury, takes off his tourniquet allowing himself to bleed to death. At the last minute Katniss remembers the nightlock and takes some out so that they can both die and not kill each other. Right as they put the berries into their mouth the Gamemakers announce that they are BOTH the victors of the 74th Hunger Games. Quickly they spit out the uneaten berries.
     A hovercraft comes and takes them back to the Capital. Just as they land though, Peeta collapses from blood lose. He is rushed to surgery and Katniss is taken somewhere for medical attention. The next few days Peeta and Katniss are kept separated from each other and the rest of the world. Finally the victor's interview arrives and Peeta and Katniss are reunited for the first time!! But not before Haymitch gets a warning to Katniss. The Capital is very upset with her. Her little "berry stunt" made the Capital look like a fool. And that they plan on punishing her and Peeta if they find out that it was as an act of rebellion. So Haymitch tells her to go overboard with the love angle, making everybody believe that she would have rather died then kill Peeta. She asks Haymitch if Peeta knows about this plan, and Haymitch says Peeta doesn't need to know because "he's already there." She's confused about what Haymitch means but goes with it.
     They get away with the love angle and are shipped back to District 12. On the train ride home Katniss and Peeta have a small reprieve from the cameras. Katniss starts to worry about what she will do when she gets home, about her relationship with Peeta. You see there is a boy, Gale, back home that she thinks she loves (though she never says that in the book, you do get the jest of it through her constant worrying about what he is thinking of her intimate moments with Peeta). When Peeta asks her what is wrong she says nothing, but then enters Haymitch. He says, "Great job, you two. Just keep it up in the district until the cameras are gone." Peeta, having never been in on Katniss and Haymitch's star-crossed lovers plan, is confused. Katniss admits that Haymitch had her pretend to love Peeta to keep both of them alive in the arena and is having to continue it because the Capital is mad at them because of the berries stunt. Peeta is crushed at the fact that she pretended and you finally find out that he is genuinely in love with Katniss and has been since he was five.
     Thus ends the first book in the trilogy.
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     When I first heard about this book a few years ago, I thought that sounds gruesome and just wrong... children being forced to kill other children. So I didn't read it until this last month. And I have to say... I LOVED IT!! Yes it had a lot of blood and gore, but the message behind it was what really hit me.
     The character I thought conveyed that message the best in this book was Peeta. In the beginning of the book he states that he doesn't want the games to change him, that he doesn't want to be just another monster in their games. Peeta portrays the small majority that have standards, morals, and a conscience. He wants to stay true to himself, even in a difficult situation that would drive just about anybody to become a monster, and he does stay true to himself. Through the book he only kills one person, and that was on accident, and he shows great remorse for that. You get the implications that he killed another person, but they don't say whether he does or not, and if he did it was out of mercy because another tribute had already brutally wounded them. He shows that when it comes down to your life verses someone else's, if it endangers your moral code, some might even say your soul, you should always choose to protect that other's life even if it means your own death. In a nutshell he portrays selflessness. People now a days think the world revolves around them. That everything is about them. People are slowly losing their humanity. That is what this book portrays, a world we are headed for that has lost humanity. I think it was very well written, had very relate-able characters, and conveyed an important message, which is what I look for in a book.
     One last thing about the book, and it ties into the movie. A lot of people have been making racist comments about the character Rue, more specifically how she was cast in the movie. Amandla Stenberg was cast as Rue. For those of you that haven't seen the movie or the previews, Amandla Stenberg is African American. A lot of "fans" are complaining that they made Rue black, and that has deterred them from the movie. I hate when the human race shows its stupidity in this fashion. Because had these "fans" actually read the book, which I believe any good, self-respecting person SHOULD do before watching a book-gone-movie movie, they would have found that Rue is indeed African American in the book. To support my argument, I reread the book and found in 3 different places descriptions of Rue. The most straight-forward and the first description of Rue is:

    And most hauntingly, a twelve-year old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor.
                -Found in Chapter 7
I believe that if people want to make comments like this, they need to first READ THE BOOK THAT THEY ARE COMPARING TO THE MOVIE!!!!!!! I can not and will not take any comments about the movie serious unless the person has first READ for themselves the books. I share Katniss's thought in the book, and I have been saying it for years... Stupid people are dangerous.
     This was really a good book, if you can get past the gore. It had a good message, that becomes even more evident once you read Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I definitely recommend it! Especially if you have seen the movie!! Yes they did a great job staying with the book, but the movie can NEVER replace the relationship you build with the characters. So hunt it down in your library or go buy it... you won't regret it!!!
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