Book Summary: The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games The Hunger Games is the first novel of The Hunger Games series written by Suzanne Collins in 2008. This novel is written in the first person point of view of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Throughout the story, Katniss’s opinions are made clear to the audience. This intriguing novel shares Katniss’s struggles and overall victory of the 74th Annual Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games story takes place in a post-apocalyptic society. The Capitol is a highly advance city that holds reign over the 12 districts. The Hunger Games is an annual contest hosted by the Capitol in which each district offers one boy and girl chosen by lottery or by choice, if willing. These tributes fight to the death in an arena where they have to fight for weapons and necessities for survival. Prim Everdeen, Katniss’s sister, is chosen by lottery to be tribute for District 12. Without hesitation, Katniss volunteers to be the tribute for District 12.
Katniss and Peeta, the boy tribute from her district, are transported to the Capitol.
This is where the audience gets to see the difference between the 12 districts. Katniss’s district, District 12, is the poorest, where many people starve to death; however, District 1 is the wealthiest and don’t face the same challenges as Katniss. The tributes from District 1 and 2 are trained from birth to be tributes in the Hunger Games. These “Career” tributes volunteer themselves to participate in the Hunger Games and believe it is an honor to serve their district. This story leads the audience in further when Peeta confesses his love for Katniss during the interviews held prior to the
Games. When the Games begin, Katniss shows her true ability to survive in the wilderness. She uses her knowledge from surviving in District 12 to help her eat and sleep high in the trees. In the beginning of the Hunger Games, Peeta forms an alliance with the Career tributes, while Katniss forms an alliance and friendship with Rue, the tribute from District 11. After Rue is killed, Katniss is back to surviving the games on her own until the announcer informs the tributes that two contestants can win if they are from the same district. Katniss finds Peeta and nurses him back to health. Finally, the only tributes that are left are Katniss, Peeta, and the Career Tribute from District 1. The tribute is eaten by “mutations”, which nearly killed Katniss and Peeta. However, the tributes from District 12 are not out of the Games, because the announcer tells them that the rules have changed once again and now only one may be victor. When neither Katniss nor Peeta can kill each other, they decide to eat the night lock berries which would kill them immediately. Quickly, the announcer declares that Katniss and Peeta are both the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The Hunger Games was later turned into a movie in 2012. The book and the movie have several similarities. In both the movie and the novel, Katniss volunteers for the Games, saving her sister Prim. Another comparison is the Capitol’s power amongst the 12 districts. The most important similarity is that in both the novel and the movie, Peeta states that he does not want the Games to change him, for he wants to stay true to himself. Katniss does not know how that is possible, until she participates in the Hunger Games. In both the movie and the novel, Peeta does not murder any other tributes during the Games. The novel has some major differences as well. The mockingjay pin that Katniss wears for good luck represents District 12. In the book she receives this gift from the mayor’s daughter, Madge; however, in the movie, Katniss receives this pin from her younger sister, Prim. Another difference is Katniss’s relationship with her ally Rue. In the book, the author emphasizes their relationship and how they work together as a team during the Hunger Games. However, in the movie they keep their relationship short. The last difference occurs at the end of the novel. In the novel the beasts that kill the last tribute are called “muttations.” There are 9 of these beasts which resemble the fallen tributes. In the movie they are just beastly looking mutated dogs. The Hunger Games is a great book. It shows the differences in social class and has many underlying meanings. The movie was just as good and follows the plot very well. It was a little more futuristic looking than I had imagined from the novel, but still captured the overall theme well.