In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts.
The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV.
Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
Award-winning writer Suzanne Collins delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in this stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to our present.

Author biography

Bestselling author Suzanne Collins first made her mark in children’s literature with the New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles series for middle grade readers. Her debut for readers aged 12 and up, The Hunger Games (2008), was an instant bestseller, appealing to both teen readers and adults. It has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 160 consecutive weeks since publication, and there are more than 16 million copies of all three books in The Hunger Games trilogy in print in the U.S. to date. Foreign publishing rights for The Hunger Games trilogy have been sold into 46 territories, and Lionsgate will release The Hunger Games movie on March 23, 2012.
Suzanne Collins also had a successful and prolific career writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. She received a Writer’s Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed Christmas special, Santa, Baby! Suzanne Collins lives with her family in Connecticut.