The Hunger Games

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Suzanne Collins

Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 13+

Published by Scholastic, 2015

Adventure
Classics
Coming-of-age
Fantasy
Love and romance
Science fiction
Thriller
Dystopia

About this book

Welcome to Panem: its Capitol repressively rules twelve satellite Districts, enslaving the populations as workers and controlling them through hunger.

This harsh rule culminates in the annual Hunger Games - from each District, one female and one male Tribute are forcibly selected for a terrifying reality TV game-show in which contestants literally fight to the death. But Katniss Everdeen is no ordinary Tribute: she's used to surviving in the wild and in the unpredictable, hostile arena, she's not giving up.

Katniss and fellow District 12 Tribute, Peeta, become pawns in a complex political game in this scarily believable, highly addictive dystopian vision. It's a compelling story of survival, which challengingly explores ideas about society, control and freedom. The first in the groundbreaking Hunger Games trilogy, this bestselling book set a trend for dystopian novels for young adults.

About the author

Suzanne made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times–bestselling Underland Chronicles, which started with the acclaimed book Gregor the Overlander. In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins continues to explore the effect of violence on those coming of age. She was inspired to write The Hunger Games when an idea formed whilst she flicked between television channels broadcasting real war coverage and reality television programmes. The Hunger Games and the sequels Catching Fire and Mockinjay have been successfully brought to the big screen.

Suzanne lives with her family in Connecticut.