The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Something I have been thinking a lot about lately. I have finished the three books and it's keeping me awake at night. Kidding.

This trilogy is GREAT. Nothing has kept me more at the edge of my seat than this book.

Anyway, as I cannot do a synopsis/plot thingy, I will let Wikipedia do the talking.
*Spoiler alert

The Hunger Games trilogy is a young-adult adventure science fiction series written bySuzanne Collins. The trilogy consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.

The Hunger Games trilogy takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of the current nations of North America, in a nation known as "Panem." Panem used to consist of a rich Capitol, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and twelve (formerly thirteen until one is destroyed) surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol's needs. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol wherein the thirteenth district was supposedly destroyed, every year one boy and one girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games." The Games are a televised event where the participants, called "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The winning tribute and his/her corresponding district is then rewarded handsomely. It is required viewing for everyone in the districts.

The Hunger Games is a First Person young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic. It is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalypticworld in the country of Panem where North America once existed. This is where a government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games is an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of 12 districts for a massive televised battle in which only one person can survive.

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The Hunger Games takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region that was formerly Appalachia.

As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous, outdoor arena, controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. The story follows fatherless 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12, who volunteers for the 74th Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy whom Katniss knows from school and who once gave her bread when her family was starving.

Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where their mentor, Haymitch, a former tribute himself, instructs them to learn about the other tributes. They are then publicly displayed to the Capitol audience. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his long-time unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as audience members are encouraged to send gifts like food, medicine, and tools to favored tributes during the Games. The Games begin with eleven of the 24 tributes dying in the first day, while Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and outdoor skills to survive. As the games continue, the tribute death toll increases.

Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's beloved image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers," a rule change is announced midway through the games, stating that two tributes from the same district can win the Hunger Games as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him wounded. She nurses him back to health and acts the part of a young girl falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and, consequently, gifts from her sponsors. When the couple are finally the last two tributes, the Gamemakers suddenly reverse the rule change and try to force them into a dramatic finale, where one must kill the other to win. Instead, they both threaten suicide by means of poisonous berries in hope that the Gamemakers would rather have two winners than none. It works and both Katniss and Peeta are declared winners of the 74th Hunger Games.

Though she survives the ordeal in the arena and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol, Katniss is warned that she has now become a political target after defying her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken to learn that their relationship was at least partially a calculated ploy to earn sympathy from the audience, although Katniss remains unsure of her own feelings.

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of Katniss Everdeen and the fictional, futuristic nation of Panem. Due to the events of the previous novel, a rebellion against the ruling Capitol has begun, and Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta are forced to return to the arena in aspecial edition of the The Hunger Games.

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After winning the 74th Hunger Games in the previous novel, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellarkreturn home to District 12, the poorest sector in the fictional country of Panem. On the day that Katniss and Peeta are to start a "victory tour" of the country, she is visited by President Snow. President Snow explains that he is angry at her for threatening to commit suicide with Peeta at the end of the Hunger Games, which permitted them both to win. President Snow tells Katniss that when she defied the Capitol, she created talk of rebellion in the districts. He threatens to kill her family and friends if she cannot prove to everyone in Panem that her act was not one of defiance, but that she was instead driven by an intense love for Peeta.

The first stop on the victory tour is District 11, the home of Katniss' friend and ally in the Hunger Games, Rue, before she died. During the ceremony, Katniss delivers a quick speech to the people of District 11, thanking them for their tributes. When she is done, an old man whistles a tune that Rue used in the arena to tell Katniss that she was safe. The song acts as a signal and everyone salutes Katniss using the same gesture that she used to say farewell to Rue. Katniss is taken away, but not before she sees Peacekeepers shoot the whistling man in the head. Katniss and Peeta then proceed to travel to all of the twelve districts and the Capitol. During an interview, Peeta proposes to Katniss publicly, hoping to settle the dispute between Katniss and President Snow. Despite this, Katniss learns that their attempts of subduing rebellion in the districts have failed. Shortly after returning to District 12, Katniss encounters two runaways from District 8. They explain a theory that District 13 was not wiped out by the Capitol, due to its residents going underground, and that stock footage of 13 is played instead of new film on television. Later, it is announced that, for the 75th Hunger Games, 24 victors from previous years will be forced to compete once again. This is in honor of the "Quarter Quell": an event that occurs every 25th year of the Games and allows the Capitol to introduce a twist. Knowing that she and Peeta will both be competing in the Games a second time, Katniss decides that she will devote herself to protecting Peeta.

During the Games, Katniss and Peeta join up with two other previous victors, Finnick Odair: a 24-year-old man who successfully survived the Games at the age of 14 and Mags: Finnick's 80-year-old mentor, both from District 4. After Mags' death, Katniss, Peeta and Finnick join forces with Johanna Mason, a sarcastic and often cruel victor from District 7, and Beetee and Wiress, an older couple from District 3 who are said to be "exceptionally smart". Wiress soon proves her genius by revealing to Katniss that the arena is arranged like a clock, with all of the arena's disasters occurring on a timed chart. After Wiress is killed, Katniss learns of Beetee's plan to harness lightning in order to supposedly electrocute two other contenders. In the final chapters, Katniss directs the lightning at the force field that contains the arena, thereby destroying the arena and resulting in her temporary paralysis. When she wakes up, she is being transported to District 13: a place that is widely thought to no longer exist. She is joined by Finnick, Beetee, Gale and Haymitch but learns that Peeta, Johanna and Enobaria have been captured by the Capitol. Katniss is informed that there had been a plan between most of the contestants to break out of the arena and that Beetee had been attempting to destroy the force field in the same way that she did. The book ends with Katniss' best friend, Gale, informing her that, though he got her family out in time, District 12 has been bombed and destroyed.

Mockingjay is a 2010 young adult dystopian novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is the third installment of The Hunger Games trilogy, following 2008's The Hunger Games and 2009'sCatching Fire, and continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to lead the rebellion against the rulers of the futuristic society of Panem. The series was inspired by the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and the Roman Gladiator games. Reviewers have noted that it tackles issues such as loyalty, war, and poverty.

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After her rescue by the rebels, Katniss is convinced to become "the Mockingjay": a symbol of the rebellion against the ruling Capitol. As part of a deal, she demands that the leader of District 13, President Coin, grant immunity to all of the victors of the Hunger Games. She also demands the right to kill President Snow herself. In a daring rescue, Peeta and others previously captured are rescued from the Capitol. However, Peeta has been brainwashed into hating Katniss and tries to kill her upon their reunion in District 13.

The rebels take control of the districts and finally begin an assault on the Capitol itself, which Katniss is a part of. However, an assault on a "safe" Capitol neighborhood goes wrong and Katniss and her team flee further into the Capitol with the intent of finding and killing President Snow. Eventually, Katniss finds herself pressing on alone towards Snow's mansion, which has supposedly been opened to shelter Capitol children (but is actually intended to provide human shields for Snow). Afterwards, bombs placed in supply packages kill many of these children and a rebel medical team, including Katniss' sister, Prim.

President Snow is tried and found guilty, but he tells Katniss that the final assault that killed Prim was ordered by President Coin, not the Capitol. Katniss realizes that if this is true, the bombing may have been the result of a plan originally developed by her friend, Gale. Katniss realizes that she will never be able to look at Gale the same way, regardless of whether or not he was directly involved in Prim's death. Katniss remembers a conversation with Snow in which they promised not to lie to each other. When she is supposed to execute Snow, she realizes that he was telling the truth and kills Coin instead. A riot ensues and Snow is found dead, having possibly choked on his own blood or been trampled in the crowd. Katniss is acquitted due to her apparent insanity and returns to her home in District 12. Peeta returns soon after as well, having largely recovered from his brainwashing.

In the epilogue, Katniss speaks as an adult, more than fifteen years later. Katniss is happily married to Peeta and they have two children. The Hunger Games are over, but she dreads the day her children learn the details of their parents' involvement in both the Games and the war. When she feels upset, Katniss reminds herself of every good thing that she has ever seen someone do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games_trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire_(2009_novel)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingjay