SYNOPSIS

Katniss, a 17-year-old hunter and caretaker of her mom and sister, sacrifices herself to represent her district in a deadly “game”.

24 children, a boy and a girl each from the 12 districts of Panem, a country located in former North America, are randomly selected to participate in a highly anticipated, televised annual bloodbath, the Hunger Games, where only child will live to go home a victor.

Where some participants have trained for years to survive the bloody compats that ensue, Katniss relies on her bow-and-arrow skills, her close knowledge of nature and her determination to go back home to her sister and mother.

Katniss outwits many contestants, befriends a young girl, uses romance as a ruse to rescue Peeta, the boy from her district, and succeeds in not only winning the Games but also changing the rules so Peeta becomes her co-victor.

Peeta’s romantic feelings for Katniss were not just a clever ploy for the TV audience but seem unreciprocated by her, which makes for a frosty – and suspenseful – return home to District 12.

(1st in a 3-book series)

PERFECT AGE 14 – 17

We love

• The plot is unique, imaginative and truly gripping – you can’t stop reading, despite the gruesome plot and occasionally graphic violence.
• The writing is beautiful, handled by a talented author – not typical of a young-adult book (perhaps because this wasn’t meant to be the target audience?).
• Always mesmerizing to read about strong, independent girls who win against the world with grit, smarts, and kindness.
• An aside, FWIW – we found the movie less jarring than the book; if you’re on the fence with this book for your reader, maybe consider the film instead?

WATCH OUT FOR (Language, Big / Sensitive Topics, Outdated Concepts):

• The troubling premise of kid violence – children as sacrificial lambs killing each other as national entertainment – felt even more jarring that The Lord of the Flies. Because the characters are so relatable, human, and “normal” it begs a chilling question – could the Hunger Games happen in my town, with my friends?
• Given the premise, graphic descriptions of violence are expected yet jolting – a contestant kills a boy by snapping his neck; a girl disintegrates into oozy slime from the bite of venomous bugs; Katniss’s archenemy gets slowly mawled alive by engineered beasts until she kills him “compassionately”…
• And in the midst of all that, a semi-? one-sided? reluctant? romance begins to brew – there’s kissing and feelings, there’s also pretense for the cameras and better ratings. It all pales to the violence – but if PDA or use of emotional manipulation are new to your reader, you’ve been warned 🙂

CAUTION

• Normalization of violence for entertainment’s sake is a choice we make with video games, movies, books. At what age, in what context, with what protagonists we do that may deserve a family conversation before diving into this book.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

• Were you surprised by her sacrifice to save Prim – do you agree with it? How so?
• Which of the Games’ rules surprised you the most?
• If people in the different Districts are opposed to sacrificing children to the Games, why can’t they stop this tradition?
• The people of District 11 gifted Katniss with bread. What was the significance of that gift and how did it make you feel?
• Can a Hunger Games tradition get started in our community or country? If yes, how so? If not, what is preventing it?
• If you could change the ending of the book in any way, what would it be?