The Hunger Games is a dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins. It was published on September 14, 2008 and is the first novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. It is written from the perspective of a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen. This novel follows Katniss as she is reaped from a group of children from her district ranging from the ages of 12 to 18 years old. The chosen children then enter a survival competition called The Hunger Games. 

The Hunger Games takes place in the fictional world that Katniss lives in, a nation called Panem. Panem is ruled by a ruthless dictator named President Snow. The country is divided into 12 districts and a Capital. The people in the Capital, as well as the districts closest to the Capital are extremely wealthy, while the districts that are farther away from the Capital suffer. This system was set up by the people in power decades ago, and works to keep the districts in check. This is why the games are called The Hunger Games. For example, District 12, the furthest from the Capital and also where Katniss is from, struggles with starvation and disease because of the lack of help and care from the Capital. This only provides Katniss with more motivation to make it back home from the games and be able to provide for her family. 

Katniss endures extremely traumatic events while in the games, ranging from having to run away from the other tributes that were targeting her, to having to act out a fake romance to gain sympathy from the easily influenced and gullible people of the Capital. 

As I read the novel, I was impressed by Collins’s ability to make the reader feel immersed in the events that were playing out. The amount of detail in the setting makes the story extremely fathomable and easy to follow.

Ultimately, The Hunger Games is an amazing novel that includes lots of different characters, and interesting storylines. After reading, it is almost impossible to not pick up Catching Fire, the second book in the series.