Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

I confess I read this book because Entertainment Weekly's cover of Katniss looked worth the effort of seeing in a movie. I like to read the book before the film, the characters are not as visually ingrained in my mind until after the movie, then they are hopelessly entangled in my mind.

The novel takes place in a dystopian American continent. Renamed Panem, it is comprised of the Capital and Thirteen districts. There was a revolt against the capital years ago, and the thirteenth district was wiped off the map. The Capital created the Hunger Games - an annual televised fight to the death. Like the ancient myth of Athens and the Minotaur, two tributes are randomly selected from a lottery held in each district. One boy and one girl, winner's district receives aid from the capital until the next games.

The story surrounds the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, and a girl from District 12, Katniss Everdeen. Her father died in a mining explosion, leaving her to be the sole breadwinner for her healer mother and adorable sister Primrose. She hunts illegally in the forest with a bow, bringing fresh meat to barter in the black market. Gale Hawthorne helps her in the forest, two years older and a master of snares, their friendship in the forest is one of the few things in her life that makes Katniss happy.

The Hunger Games eligibility window starts at twelve and ends at eighteen. Each year, a new slip with your name is added to the pot. However, for the poorer families, a child may enter their name multiple times to receive bread rations for the year's time. It would supplement a family's diet at the risk of being chosen for the Hunger Games.

In the town square, Primrose Everdeen's name was drawn, her first year of eligibility. This was an astronomically unlikely chance, and Katniss volunteers in her unlucky sister's stead. Her companion to the games is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son. Katniss has avoided him for years, knowing that a gesture of kindness on his part saved her family from starvation after her father's death. She hates owing people, and suspects Peeta's motivations for doing such an act.

On the train ride to the capital, they spend time with Haymitch Abernathy, the drunken has-been of the village. Far back in his day, he won the Hunger Games, and now it is his job to mentor the tributes each year. Katniss hates him for stumbling around, being a general embarrassment who could hardly keep himself together, let alone train anyone else.

The Capital is luxurious to the extreme, a slap in the face to Katniss's sensibilities. Meals come at the push of a button, showers have over a hundred different options for cleaning, and the roof of the complex has an electrical field to dissuade suicidal tributes. Katniss gorges herself on the rich and abundant food, knowing that a little saved fat in the games is a precaution for survival. Each year, the setting is different, but some constants remain.

At the beginning, all the combatants start on metal disks in a circle, a giant cornucopia erected in the center. Scattered on the ground are supplies and weapons for the duration of the games. For sixty seconds, tributes must remain on their platforms, after which the land mines surrounding each disk are disabled, signalling the start. After the bloodbath of skilled "career tributes" over greedy novices, the key is survival.

Career tributes originate in well off districts - trained at an early age, they volunteer to participate. Katniss's only edge is that she is accustomed to fighting for her survival. Her skill with a bow earns her a 11 out of 12 in her interview with the Gamemasters - controllers of the environment of the arena. They set out traps and devices to force the players to fight, signal the death of combatants with a cannon fire, and collect the cadavers with hovercrafts.

Sponsors may intercede in the games, donating money to send gifts to tributes upon whom they placed bets. The games are an ugly affair, reminding the districts of their subservience to the Capital. Only those born into the leisurely lives of the city can afford to watch the games in its entirety.

Katniss is hostile to the decadence of this society, she only wishes to win so that she might keep her promise to her sister to return home the victor. She cannot figure Peeta out - during his televised interview, he claims to have a crush on her since childhood. But he asks Haymitch to train them separately. What does he have to hide? Katniss keeps her distance once the games begin, knowing that if she gets close to Peeta, it will be that much harder for her to finish him in her quest to win.

There can only be one victor in this cruel event, and the last one standing must have strength of steel and the hardness of the heartless.

Didn't mention Rue,
Though she is my favorite.
Small whirling dervish.