The Hunger Games [Hardcover]

The first novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins!

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

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, The Hunger Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

Praise for The Hunger Games

A violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense. . . . I couldn't stop reading.
--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

I was so obsessed with this book. . . . The Hunger Games is amazing.
--Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight saga

Brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced.
--John Green, The New York Times Book Review

Suzanne Collins is the author of the groundbrelƒ˝