The Hunger Games: Book 1

The Hunger Games

By: Suzanne Collins

 Plot Summary: Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian world where 2 people from 12 different districts fight to the death for the amusement of the capitol people. She grew up in District 12, the poorest district. Reaping day is the day when the 2 people are chosen. When the female tribute is chosen, it is Katniss’s sister, Prim. Katniss quickly volunteers herself instead. The male tribute is drawn, and she discovers that it is the town baker’s son, Peeta Mellark. Katniss and Peeta are immediately put on a train to the capitol alongside their new mentor, Haymitch. Haymitch was the most recent champion from District 12. He is responsible for getting them gifts when they are in the arena. When they arrive at the capitol, Katniss and Peeta must prepare for the opening ceremony. Each stylist dresses up their tributes in a way that represents the district they are from. For example, District 12 is the coal mining district, so Cinna, Katniss’s stylist, dresses her up in a black outfit that lights on fire when she twirls. The dress is a huge hit, and everybody in the capitol loves her. The next day, Peeta and Katniss attend group training where they have the chance to demonstrate their talents to the other tributes and judges. When the time finally comes, Katniss and Peeta are lifted into the arena alongside the other tributes. Once the starting sound played, she followed Haymitch’s advice and ran away from the cornucopia. At night, she sets up camp and falls asleep; however, she is quickly woken by a wall of fire, controlled by the game designers, used to shrink the arena. She tries to run, but her leg is grazed by the fire, and she becomes seriously injured. When nightfall occurs the next day, Katniss once again hides in a tree. Across from her, she notices a little girl from District 11, Rue. Rue points above her, and Katniss realizes that there is a tracker jacker nest directly above her. When Katniss sees the people hunting her below, she cuts the branch that it is on. The nest falls on top of them. 2 of them die, and the rest scatter. Katniss is stung a few times and runs away only after picking up a bow and arrows from a dead body. She meets up with Rue, and they help each other survive with their knowledge of foraging and hunting. Life is peaceful for a few days, but one day, when Katniss is hunting, she returns to find Rue dead. She kills the tribute that killed Rue and peacefully buries her. Katniss is depressed until the capitol announces that two tributes of one district can both be crowned victorious. She meets up with Peeta only to find that he is gravely injured. She drags him back to a cave and visits the cornucopia to retrieve medicine for him. While they are in the cave together, their love for each other becomes apparent. After a few days in the cave, all the water sources around them have dried up. Peeta and Katniss realize that the only source of water is at the cornucopia. As they are making their way there, Cato, the last tribute, comes barreling at them; however, he is simply being chased by vicious mutants. Peeta, Katniss, and Cato, all attempt to climb the cornucopia, but when Cato tries to attack Peeta, Katniss pushes him into the pack of mutants. Just when he dies, an announcement is made that there can only be one victor. Angry, Katniss hands a poisonous berry to Peeta. She tells that capitol that there will be no victor if both of them cannot win. The president does not like this, but he agrees, and Peeta and Katniss survive. 

Good Aspects: I loved the detail and character development in The Hunger Games. Every little detail about the games caused the book to feel that much more immersive. Peeta and Katniss also had an amazing character arc. They each changed so much from being scared to winning the games. I also loved the raw emotions of this book. When Rue died, the reader could truly feel Katniss’s pain. In addition, there was nonstop action. Every scene was about survival, and it kept the reader excited to see what would happen next. 

Bad Aspects: I did not enjoy the romance part of this novel. I felt like it dragged on for too long. It diluted the action-packed story of the arena. 

Conclusion: I really loved reading this novel because of the way Collins brought the reader into the scenes. Her writing is incredibly detailed and thorough, and the emotions are raw. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who loves the action genre. 

~ Ezra