The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (American, 2008)

Summary:
What is left of what was once known as the USA is now called Panem, a country under a totalitarian regime lead by President Snow. While the capital is bathed in wealth and luxury, the rest of the population lives in poverty and hunger. As punishment for a previous attempt to topple the government, each of the twelve districts that constitute the rest of Panem are forced to send one young man and one young woman to the Capitol every year. Once in the capital city, each of these ‘tributes’ is forced to enter an arena and fight to the death until only a survivor remains. This competition, broadcasted all throughout the country, is called The Hunger Games. Capitol citizens eagerly tune in to witness the bloodshed, even going to the extent of treating the participants as celebrities, while in the districts' people are forced to either watch the Games or get shot. The tributes are selected at random in a ceremony known as ‘the Reaping’; when twelve year old Prim is chosen as District 12’s female tribute, her older sister Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her place. Accompanying her to the Capitol as the male tribute is Peeta Mellark who, unbeknown to her, has spent years in love with Katniss; once in the Capitol and on live television, Peeta admits his feelings for Katniss with the purpose of earning some sympathy--perhaps even some sort of protection—from the audience. Since Katniss illegally hunts in the woods surrounding District 12, she has no lack of self-preservation skills, including defence. When a new rule claiming that two tributes can win if they come from the same district, Katniss and Peeta form an alliance that proves successful as they are the only ones left. Relieved that they can come back home both are surprised when the new rule is annulled. Realising that the Gamemakers manipulated both Peeta and herself to make the Games more exciting for the sick Capitol audience by making the ‘star-crossed lovers’ kill each other, Katniss refuses to kill Peeta. Furious, Katniss convinces Peeta to threaten to commit suicide together; her ruse is successful, both are allowed to live and celebrated in the Capitol. Despite his attitude in front of the cameras and the Capitol citizens, Snow makes it clear to Katniss he is displeased with her act of open rebellion against the Panem laws and its government.

Another summary:
Katniss Everdeen lives in District twelve with her mother and little sister, Primrose. They get by on their mother’s job as a healer and also thanks to the money and food that Katniss earns by illegally hunting outside of the district perimeter. This year will be the first year Primrose will have her name in the Hunger Games reaping. The Hunger Games were organized after a failed uprising against the capitol by the districts. As a consequence, every year each district must submit two tributes, a boy and a girl, randomly selected, from the ages 12 to 18. These children are to participate in a battle to death where only one of them will be awarded victor. There is a lot of preparation previous to the reaping, a woman called Effie Trinket is in charge of the lottery for district 12. The first name to be chosen is a girl’s. Out of all the names in the lottery Primrose's comes out. As soon as Prim’s name is called, Katniss offers herself as tribute instead, taking her sister's place. Effie asks for a round of applause but instead she gets three fingers up, which among the district, it is a sign of respect for the dead. Next is the boys, Peeta Mellark is selected among the many options. The tributes are sent into the House of Justice to say their goodbyes. Katniss’ mom and sister go visit her, as well as Peeta’s father, who promises to take care of the girl and make sure they do not starve. A classmate also passes by, the mayor's daughter. She gives Katniss a mockingjay pin, as a remembrance of the district. Both tributes are then taken to a very fancy train that will take them to the capitol. There they meet Haymitch Abernathy, who is supposed to train them but seems to be only interested in drinking. After some rough convincing Haymitch sees that this pair of kids is not only serious about surviving but also have some talent to work with. Once in the capitol they are presented in a parade. They get some training in a common room with the rest of the tributes, some of which have been training all their lives for this moment, they are called “careers”. Haymitch warns them against showing their real talents on the training grounds and instead concentrate on survival skills. After the training they are all ranked according to talent, Katniss is among the top. 
 The following day they are sent off to the arena where the games will take place. All 24 tributes are raised through individual platforms to an enclosed area. As soon as the game starts a great number of tributes are killed. Katniss almost gets killed as she disregards Haymitch’s instructions to run away from the conflict. She hikes for a couple of days in the forest trying to look for water, just when she was starting to feel comfortable the gamemakers, who are controlling everything that goes on in the games, they send a giant forest fire to drive her out of her safe spot. This makes her encounter a group of career tributes who have, for some reason, let Peeta join in. They nearly get Katniss but she manages to scare them away with the help of Rue, the youngest and smallest of the tributes, who was hidden in a tree. Rue and Katniss join together and plan a way to blow up the stash of food that the careers have hoarded. They put their plan in motion which involves Rue distracting the careers while Katniss destroys the food. Once Katniss has destroyed the food she runs back to meet up with Rue but she does not come back. After a while of waiting she goes looking for the girl and finds her trapped by one of the careers who then proceeds to kill her. Katniss kills him and adorns Rue with flowers as a sign of rebellion against the Capitol. Rue’s district then sends her some bread as a thank you.
 At that moment an announcement informs the tributes that now they will allow two tributes to come out as victors, if the survivors are from the same district. In that instant Katniss yells out for Peeta and begins to look for him immediately. After some tracking, she finds him camouflaged and seriously injured. She cleans him up and discovers a quite infected and large wound on his leg. They spend a couple of days together, healing and selling the audience the idea of the star-crossed lovers. Then, another announcement, this one says that at a certain hour an item that each of the tributes need will be waiting for them at the start point. It represents a great risk, but Katniss decides to go as there will surely be medicine for Peeta’s wound there. She is almost caught by one of the career tributes while going for the medicine but the male tribute of Rue’s district saves her, as a thank you for what she did for Rue. She runs back and begins to heal Peeta. They start thinking up plans and as they collect berries Peeta collects a certain type that turns out to be poisonous. This ends up in the death of another of the tributes who had been following them around, trying to survive out of being sneaky. In the end there are only three tributes left. The others having died or being killed along the days. They make their way to the start point where, after a tough and traumatizing fight with some mutated dogs that look like the dead tributes only Peeta and Katniss are left. The gamemakers then announce that there will not be two winners after all and only one can remain alive. Katniss decides to try her luck and she and Peeta resolve to eat the berries as the same time to die together. Just then the gamemakers stop them and proclaim them both winners. This creates great chaos in the Capitol. After much healing and resting they are to be presented again as the official victors. Katniss now needs to keep her head down and play the role of cuddly teenager so that the public will not take what she did as rebellious actions against the capitol but just the doings of a girl in love.

Another summary:
The story begins with Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl who lives in district 12, when wakes up she can't find her sister Prim. Prim is scared because that day is the harvest. Every year in Panem as a punishment for the past failed rebellion against the Capitol organized by the district 13, one girl and one boy between 12 and 18 years from each of the remaining 12 districts are selected by lottery to participate as "tributes" in the hunger games where there is only one survivor. This is Prim's first year, the odds of her being selected are very low; however, there is a rule that the more your name is on the lottery the more money you have to buy some food. Katniss and Prim put their names in the lottery several times since district 12 is a very poor place. Sadly once they are choosing the tributes, Prim is the chosen one. Katniss refuses to this situation and she volunteers as tribute to protect her. The boy chosen is Peeta Mellark, a classmate of Katniss. Both are sent to the Capitol in order to prepare themselves before the actual game. In there they have to present themselves with their best qualities to earn sponsors and alliances which may help them in the long run. Every tribute is evaluated from 1 to 12 in order to see their strengths and Katniss is the highest evaluated, which means she is very dangerous for the others. A day prior to the Games, Peeta reveals his long love for Katniss. She is surprised and upset because he has done it to earn sponsors, but at the same she accepts it. His tutor convinces her that it would be beneficial for both of them. 
 The next day the games begin and it is a blood bath because everyone wants to get an item that may help them survive. Katniss' objective was a bow since she is very good at it but she couldn't reach it, instead, she only grabbed a backpack. Katniss is very good at hunting because her father taught her how to, and she really loved going into the woods. A few days later Katniss is spotted by "career" tributes and Peeta when she was hiding on top of a tree. Rue, another tribute helps Katniss by pointing out to her that there was a tracker jacker nest nearby. She takes it down and the bees fly. Since they were poisonous, they killed another tribute in the act and scare the others, Katniss is hurt but gets the bow. Peeta then returns and urges her to run away. Rue was the one who saved Katniss so they made an alliance. While Katniss was destroying the careers supplies, Rue is captured and then fatally wounded by another tribute. Katniss kills him and then puts flowers around Rue's body. Then a rule is announced in which the members of the same district that still survives could win as pairs. Katniss then finds a severely wounded Peeta and he confesses that his alliance was to protect Katniss. Katniss takes care of him while she plays the role of a girl in love in order to gain some gifts. Then the game makers announce that what the tributes need the most is on display for them, they only have to reach it. Katniss decides to go see if there is medicine for Peeta. In there she faces another tribute who tries to kill her, but the tribute from district 11, Rue's partner, kills the tribute and leaves Katniss alive since she helped Rue. Katniss returns with the medicine and saves Peeta, and now both are one of the three last survivors. The other tribute dies and now there is only the both of them. The previous rule is now revoked and one of them has to die. Katniss denies and makes an attempt of suicide along Peeta with some poisonous berries. The game makers stopped them just in time and declare them as the winners. Although they are received as heroes, Katniss's and Peeta's tutor warns her that the Capitol may take action against her due to her defiance since now she is seen as a rebel person.

World view: The world portrayed in the story is an hypothetical society which seems to be worse than the one the author lives in.
Future projections: It’s a fearful prediction of the possible outcomes of today’s actions. Thus, it warns us against the terrible disasters (e.g. overpopulation, war, climate change) which would follow if there is no change in direction.
Ideology: The majority is oppressed by a ruling elite or an individual powergroup that come to dominate society to their own interests.
Characters, plot and writing style: The story features a rebellion against the adverse circumstances (revolutionaries may exploit newer technologies for these ends).
Classification: Non-dystopia