Collins, Suzanne.
THE HUNGER GAMES
New York : Scholastic, 2008
IL YA
ISBN 0439023483

(7 booktalks)

The United States is no more than a distant memory.  Drought, famine and war have put an end to the once great country.  And now the people of Panem are divided into 12 districts.  Each year, two teens are chosen from each district to play the Hunger Games.  This is televised and everyone is required to watch. This year, 16 year old Katniss is one of the representatives from her district to play.  To compete.  To try to survive.

Booktalk #2

This captivating story by the best selling author, Suzanne Collins, begins in the District 12 of Panem. Once a year, the Capitol of Panem takes one girl and one boy ages 12-18 from each of 12 districts under its rule and forces them to kill each other in a game known as the hunger games. When Katniss Everdeen's sister is chosen, Kaniss volunteers in her place. She and Peeta, the male tribute, form a plan to get more sponsors for themselves, which involves a false romance between the two. When real and false emotions collide, trouble brews between the two, because only one can make it out alive.  (Joanne, janne76@yahoo.com, k-12 student)

Booktalk #3

North America is long gone. Now known as Panem, the continent consists of 12 districts ruled by a capital somewhere in the western mountains. Life in the districts is pretty rudimentary and neighbors try to help each other out. However, once a year there is a lottery, with a chance for a district to receive extra benefits from the capital.  It is billed and televised as an exciting contest of strength and skill. In truth it is a dark and frightening contest.  Each year, every family in each district must enter the names of their children between the ages of 10 and maybe 16. If it has been a tough year for a family, they can earn extra money or goods by putting their child's name in more than once, thus increasing their chance of being picked. It is rumored that wealthy families buy their way out of the lottery. They never seem to be the ones whose names are drawn.  When 16-year-old Katniss's little sister's name is drawn to represent their district, Katniss quickly goes forward to take her place. She at least might have a chance; she is strong, and a skilled hunter. Her sister would not last a day. For this is a contest that ends when only one of the12 is left alive.  Each contestant is immediately flown to the capital where a crew of fashion designers and groomers make them into stars for the televised promos, Katniss and another contestant, a boy she knows, are played for public viewing as star-crossed lovers. How these two cope with the demands of the game becomes the web of the story which moves above the realm of brutality and into the role of trust and friendship in the face of survival.   (New Hampshire Isinglass nominee, 2010)

Booktalk #4

This story is quick-paced science fiction, set in the not too distant future. America is now called Pamen and is divided into twelve districts. The rich, privileged people in the Capitol keep the people in the outlying districts in line through a reality TV program called The Games. Every year each district is required to send one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 – 18, to participate in The Games. These games are a fight-to-the-death version of the TV show Survivor, complete with alliances and a little romance thrown in. There’s also the glitzy aspect of Dancing with the Stars as the 24 contestants all get makeovers complete with flashy outfits so they’re more photogenic. This book is very exciting, but it also makes you stop and think about what happens when a culture values entertainment more than humaneness.  (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards Program, 2009-2010)

Booktalk #5

Everyone has at one time or another witnessed the unbelievable antics of reality TV contestants. Maybe you have seen an episode of “Survivor” with broken alliances and the million dollar rewards or one of the many other shows that demonstrate humanity at its lowest. Well, Hunger Games is reality TV to the death.  Katniss, the 16 year-old protagonist in the novel Hunger Games, battles other teenagers from various districts in the former United States and it is all broadcast live on national TV. You want to know the rewards? Very similar to contemporary reality TV, you receive money, uncountable luxuries, and you are elevated to celebrity status. Oh and did I mention, if you survive…they might just allow you to live.    (Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee, 2010)

Booktalk #6

In the far off future, the United States is divided into districts and ruled by a dictatorship that keeps everyone poor and powerless. Katniss is good at supporting her family by hunting and scavenging illegally, but she knows she is not good enough for the annual “Hunger Games,” a real-time gladiator competition between young people selected from each district. Think reality TV except the it's to the death - and only one person will win. So Katniss knows she probably won't live through it when she volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games. Then Katniss finds out that her fiercest competitor will be Peeta, a boy she has a history with. Would he really kill her? Could she really kill him?
Reviewed by Jenna Obee for Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award, 2010

Booktalk #6

In a futuristic America, a boy and a girl from each of twelve provinces are chosen lottery style each year to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised reality show where only one will emerge alive to earn wealth and extra food for their province. When 17-year-old Katniss Everdeen?s little sister is selected, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Will she survive?  (Florida Teen Reads nominee, 2010)