by Suzanne Collins
[Note: This is
a trilogy. The sequel is Catching Fire and the final installment
is The Mockingjay, due out in August, 2010]
When her
younger sister is chosen as a tribute, Katness Everdeen volunteers to take her
place. She finds herself in a literal fight for her life and in the odd
position of also fighting her emotions as she struggles to survive and not lose
her humanity.
This is a
real page-turner. The characters are very believable and the reader gets
sucked into a world that is both exciting and deadly. There are lots of
twists and turns and, yes, violence and death. Who will live to continue
the story?
(booktalk
by Diane Ferbrache, Hazen High School Librarian)
by Suzanne Collins
[At the start
of your booktalks leave two pieces of paper folded in half on the seats of some
of the chairs: in the center of each have a large red "X".]
Has anyone
got a lottery slip on their chair? [Invite the two up] Congratuations!
You've won the hunger games lottery for your district. You get to go to the
Capitol and play in the Hunger Games arena! It's going to be
on T.V. It's more popular than American Idol and Survivor combined: everyone in
the world watches! [Ask teens in turn] Do you know how to fight with a
knife? A gun? Do you know how to set traps? Handle explosives? How fast can you
run? Swim? Climb? [Wait for answers] That's too bad. The winners from
the rich districts have been training all their lives. They're Olympic-caliber
athletes who know how to shoot and fight. I don't suppose either of you
has much change of beating them.
In the
Hunger Games arena there is only one rule: kill or be killed. The last teenager
left alive wins the game.
In Suzanne
Collin's book The Hunger Games it's time for the lottery again.
When Kitness' baby sister wins, she decides to take her place; to die for her.
Kitness comes from the poorest district of all: she doesn't stand a
chance. Or does she? In the 12th district, she has to hunt for food for
her family; to set traps; to fight wild animals to survive. And the boy chosen
from her district is tough and strong, and her friend. Maybe she has a chance
after all.
But only
one person can survive the hunger games: so how far will Kitness go to
live? You won't want to miss The Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins.
(booktalk by Kirsten Edwards)
by Suzanne Collins
It's the day of
the Reaping, an annual ritual, an annual punishment, an annual reminder that
rebelling against the Capitol is futile. This afternoon all the residents
of Panem will gather in the town square of each of its twelve districts to
watch the drawing. The names of all the children in every district
between the ages of 12 and 18 have been put into large bowls filled with slips
of paper. One boy's name will be drawn, and one girl's. They will
represent their district in the Hunger Games. All twenty-four will be
trained for a week, then herded into an arena, where they will be forced to
fight to the death, as the entire population watches on live television.
The winner is the last person left alive.
Kitness is from District 12, the
smallest and the most distant from the Capitol. She's 16, and the sole
support of her mother and younger sister. She hunts for food to feed
them, and to barter at the market for soap, or salt, or clothing.
That afternoon, she doesn't hear her own name called, but her little
sister's! Prim is only 12, this is her first Hunger Games, and as gentle
and fragile as she is, she won't live long. She wouldn't fight even if
she knew how. Kitness immediately fights her way through the crowd, and
volunteers to take Prim's place. She would be a part of this year's Hunger
Games.
The boy's name is drawn, and Peeta, the baker's son, walks toward the
stage, his face emotionless, stunned. He doesn't look like he's ever
missed a meal, muscular and strong. Everyone in the town likes him, even
Kitness. He helped her once, long ago, when she was alone and
desperate. She's never forgotten, and from the looks he's giving her, he
hasn't forgotten either.
In another world, they might have been friends, or
more. But in this world, they have to be enemies, prepared to kill each
other. In the Hunger Games, there is only one winner.
(Booktalk by Joni Richards Bodart for
Scholastic
