Hunger Games Trilogy are a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, with a prequel set 64 years before the original series. The Hunger Games universe is a dystopia set in Panem, a North American country consisting of the wealthy Capitol and 13 districts in varying states of poverty. Every year, two children, one boy and one girl, from the first 12 districts are selected via lottery to participate in a compulsory televised battle royale death match called The Hunger Games. The minimum age requirement for being able to participate in The Hunger Games is 12, and the number of tickets put into the lottery increases by one every year. However, for every one ticket put into the lottery, that person would get one set of rations. Aided by nuclear weaponry, the last district instead successfully rebelled against the Capitol and moved underground following a secret peace treaty.
The novels in the trilogy are titled The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010). Each was adapted into a film, forming The Hunger Games film series, with Mockingjay split into two feature-length motion pictures. The first two books were both New York Times best sellers, and Mockingjay topped all US bestseller lists upon its release. By the time the film adaptation of The Hunger Games was released in 2012, over 26 million copies of the trilogy were in print, including movie tie-in books. As of 2023, the series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and continues to be a significant influence in young adult literature and popular culture.
The novels were all well received. In August 2012, the series ranked second, exceeded only by the Harry Potter series in NPR’s poll of the top 100 teen novels. On August 17, 2012, Amazon announced the Hunger Games trilogy as its top seller, surpassing the record previously held by the Harry Potter series. As of 2014, the trilogy has sold more than 65 million copies in the U.S. alone, with The Hunger Games selling over 28 million copies, Catching Fire over 19 million, and Mockingjay over 18 million. The series has been sold in 56 territories and translated into 51 languages.
A prequel novel, titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, about the early days of the Hunger Games, featuring a young Coriolanus Snow as the protagonist, was released on May 19, 2020. By 2023, the prequel had sold over 3.5 million copies in North America and was available in 39 languages across 39 territories.
About Hunger Games Trilogy
1. The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 1)
The Hunger Games is a 2008 dystopian young adult novel by the American writer Suzanne Collins. It is written in the perspective of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the future, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem in North America. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, exercises political control over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games is an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12–18 from each of the twelve districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle royale to the death.
The book received critical acclaim from major reviewers and authors. It was praised for its plot and character development. In writing The Hunger Games, Collins drew upon Greek mythology, Roman gladiatorial games, and contemporary reality television for thematic content. The novel won many awards, including the California Young Reader Medal, and was named one of Publishers Weekly’s “Best Books of the Year” in 2008.
The Hunger Games was first published in hardcover on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic, featuring a cover designed by Tim O’Brien. It has since been released in paperback and also as an audiobook and ebook. After an initial print of 200,000, the book had sold 800,000 copies by February 2010. Since its release, The Hunger Games has been translated into 26 languages, and publishing rights have been sold in 38 territories. The novel is the first in The Hunger Games trilogy, followed by Catching Fire (2009) and Mockingjay (2010). A film adaptation, directed by Gary Ross and co-written and co-produced by Collins herself, was released in 2012.
Plot
In the nation of Panem, established in the remains of North America after an apocalyptic event, the wealthy Capitol exploits the twelve surrounding districts for their natural resources and labor. As punishment for a past failed rebellion against the Capitol, which resulted in the obliteration of District 13, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each of the remaining districts are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, a contest in which the “tributes” must fight to the death in an outdoor arena until only one remains.
16-year-old Katniss Everdeen from District 12, a coal-rich region, volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games in place of her 12-year-old sister, Primrose. The male tribute is Peeta Mellark, a former schoolmate of Katniss who once gave her bread from his family’s bakery when her family was starving. In the days leading up to the Games in the Capitol, they are advised by their drunken mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, the sole living District 12 victor of the Games; chaperone Effie Trinket; and various stylists to enhance their public perception to get potential sponsors, who might later send potentially life-saving gifts. Katniss’s stylist, Cinna, designs costumes for Katniss and Peeta that set them apart from the tributes when introduced to the public. During their evaluation by the Gamemakers, Katniss gets the highest score among the tributes. Meanwhile, Rue, the petite 12-year-old girl tribute from District 11, follows Katniss and Peeta around during the training sessions. On the day before the games, in a televised interview, Peeta reveals his long-unrequited love for Katniss. Shocked, Katniss believes this is a ploy to gain sponsors, but later accepts this as sincere. Haymitch promotes their image as “star-crossed lovers”.
The Games begin, and nearly half the tributes are killed at the start whilst fighting over weapons and supplies in an area in the center of the arena known as the Cornucopia. Katniss disregards Haymitch’s earlier advice to flee immediately and nearly dies but uses her well-practiced hunting and survival skills to hide in the woods. Days later, an artificial fire drives Katniss toward the others. She is spotted and chased up a tree by the “Career tributes”, tributes who are trained from childhood to compete in the Games, from Districts 1, 2, and 4, and Peeta, who seems to have allied with them. Rue, hiding in a nearby tree, alerts Katniss to a “tracker jacker” nest. Katniss cuts it down, releasing the flying insects, which are genetically modified to track whoever disturbs their nest and have venom that targets the section of their victims’ minds that houses fear. Their venom kills two of the Careers and drives the others away, but Katniss is stung and begins hallucinating. Peeta returns, but instead of killing her, tells her to run away. Katniss later allies with Rue, who is fatally wounded by a tribute from District 1 while Katniss destroys the careers’ supplies. Katniss murders Rue’s killer with an arrow and accompanies Rue as she dies. She spreads flowers over Rue’s body to show her defiance against the Capitol. In gratitude, Rue’s district sends Katniss a loaf of bread.
A rule change is announced, allowing the tributes from the same district to win as a pair. Katniss finds Peeta (who only allied with the Careers to protect Katniss) camouflaged into a riverbank, having been injured by Cato, one of the Careers. She nurses Peeta back to health as best she can, but he is still gravely injured. Katniss pretends to be madly in love with Peeta in an attempt to gain gifts from sponsors. When the Gamemakers send a delivery of what each contestant needs most, Katniss risks her life to obtain medicine for Peeta. She is intercepted by Career Tribute Clove, who gloats over Rue’s death and tries to kill Katniss, but is killed by Thresh, the male District 11 tribute, who spares Katniss for Rue’s sake. The medicine saves Peeta’s life.
Thresh is later killed by Cato and another tribute, nicknamed Foxface, dies after consuming toxic berries. Genetically modified wolves are then released into the arena that kill Cato. Once Katniss and Peeta become the last two survivors, the Gamemakers revoke the rule change to force one to kill the other for a dramatic finale. In defiance, Katniss prepares to consume poisonous “nightlock” berries with Peeta. Realizing that they intend to commit suicide so that there will not be a victor for the Games, the Gamemakers declare Katniss and Peeta the victors. Although both of them receive a hero’s welcome as a couple, Katniss is warned by Haymitch that the Capitol may take action against her for her defiance. Along the way back to District 12, Peeta is heartbroken to learn that Katniss’s actions were part of a calculated ploy to gain sympathy. Katniss, however, is unsure of her own feelings and her future.
Read More: [Reviews & Quotes] The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Catching Fire (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 2)
Catching Fire is a 2009 dystopian young adult fiction novel by the American novelist Suzanne Collins, the second book in The Hunger Games series. As the sequel to the 2008 bestseller The Hunger Games, it continues the story of a now 17 year old Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem. Following the events of the previous novel, a rebellion against the oppressive Capitol has begun, and Katniss and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark are forced to return to the arena in a special edition of the Hunger Games.
The book was first published on September 1, 2009, by Scholastic, in hardcover, and was later released in ebook and audiobook format. Catching Fire received mostly positive reviews, with reviewers praising Collins’ prose, the book’s ending, and the development of Katniss’s character. According to critics, major themes of the novel include survival, authoritarianism, rebellion and interdependence versus independence. The book has sold more than 19 million copies in the U.S. alone. A film adaptation, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was released on November 22, 2013.
Plot
Six months after winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have returned home to District 12, the poorest sector of Panem. Prior to Katniss and Peeta’s “Victory Tour” of the country, President Snow visits Katniss and tells her that her televised acts of defiance in the previous Games have inspired rebellion among the districts. Snow demands that Katniss convince the country that she was acting out of love for Peeta, not against the Capitol, or her family and best friend Gale Hawthorne will be executed. Katniss reveals this threat to her mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, but not to Peeta.
The tour’s first stop is District 11, home of Katniss’s Hunger Games ally Rue. Peeta announces that he will give part of his winnings to the families of Rue and fellow tribute Thresh, and Katniss delivers an impromptu, heartfelt speech expressing her gratitude to the fallen tributes. An old man salutes Katniss, joined by the crowd; to her horror, the old man is immediately executed. Katniss tells Peeta of Snow’s threat, and they continue the tour as normal. Hoping to placate Snow, Peeta proposes to Katniss during a televised interview in the Capitol, which she accepts. However, Snow remains dissatisfied with her performance, leaving her afraid for her loved ones.
Returning to District 12, now overrun with harsher Peacekeepers to enforce the Capitol’s rule, Gale is caught poaching and is publicly whipped until Haymitch intervenes. While hunting in the woods, Katniss encounters Bonnie and Twill, refugees from District 8, whose uprising has failed. Bonnie and Twill plan to reach District 13 – believed to be destroyed in the first rebellion against the Capitol – hoping that the residents are actually underground. Katniss is injured climbing back over District 12’s now live electric fence. Preparing for her upcoming wedding, Katniss learns that Districts 3 and 4 have also risen up against the Capitol.
The Capitol announces the 75th Hunger Games with a twist – tributes will be selected from the surviving victors of the previous Games. As District 12’s sole female victor, Katniss has to compete alongside either Haymitch or Peeta. Haymitch is chosen and is unable to stop Peeta from volunteering in his place. At the Capitol, Haymitch urges Katniss to find allies, but she bonds with the weakest tributes. In the televised interview, Katniss’s stylist Cinna has Katniss’ wedding gown transformed into a black dress of feathers resembling a mockingjay. Trying to stop the Games, Peeta lies in the interview that Katniss is pregnant. Before Katniss is sent into the arena, she watches helplessly as Cinna is dragged out by Peacekeepers.
Katniss and Peeta ally themselves with Finnick Odair from District 4 and Mags, his 80-year-old mentor. Peeta is knocked out by the jungle arena’s force field, and the party later has to flee from a poisonous fog. Mags sacrifices herself to allow Finnick to save the weakened Peeta. Katniss and Peeta ally with Johanna Mason from District 7 and “exceptionally smart” Beetee and Wiress from District 3. Wiress reveals that the arena is arranged like a clock, with each danger occurring at a fixed time and place for one hour. Wiress is killed, and in retaliation Katniss and Johanna kill the District 1 victors Gloss and Cashmere. The remaining members of Katniss’s group work on Beetee’s plan to harness lightning to electrocute the District 2 victors, who later interfere and disrupt the plan. Katniss uses her bow and arrow to direct the lightning into the force field, destroying it and knocking her unconscious. Meanwhile, Peeta kills the District 2 male, Brutus.
Katniss wakes up en route to District 13 with Finnick, Beetee, and Haymitch. She learns from Haymitch and Plutarch Heavensbee, the Head Gamemaker, that there had been a secret plan to rescue Katniss, now the living symbol of the rebellion. Peeta, along with Johanna and District 2 tribute Enobaria, have been captured by the Capitol. She later learns from Gale that, though her family and some other residents have escaped, District 12 has been destroyed.
Read More: [Reviews & Quotes] Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3. Mockingjay (Hunger Games Trilogy, Book 3)
Mockingjay is a 2010 dystopian young adult fiction novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is chronologically the last installment of The Hunger Games series, following 2008’s The Hunger Games and 2009’s Catching Fire. The book continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, who agrees to unify the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol.
The hardcover and audiobook editions of Mockingjay were published by Scholastic on August 24, 2010, six days after the ebook edition went on sale. The book sold 450,000 copies in the first week of release, exceeding the publisher’s expectations. It received critical acclaim. The book has been adapted into a two-part movie, with the first part released on November 21, 2014, and the second part released on November 20, 2015.
Plot
Following Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen, her mother, her sister Primrose Everdeen, mentor Haymitch Abernathy, and her friends Finnick Odair, Beetee and Gale Hawthorne, along with the survivors from District 12, adjust to life underground in District 13, headquarters of the rebellion in Panem. Katniss reluctantly agrees to be the “Mockingjay” – the symbol of the rebellion – for rebel propaganda, on the condition that District 13’s President Alma Coin grants immunity to all surviving Hunger Games tributes, including Katniss’s friend Peeta Mellark and Finnick’s lover Annie Cresta, and agrees that Katniss will have the right to personally execute Panem President Coriolanus Snow. Katniss is sent to a hospital in District 8 to film the destruction that the Capitol has inflicted, and while Haymitch orders her to retreat as soon as a raid begins, she stays behind and fights before giving a speech that is broadcast in all twelve districts. The Capitol tortures Peeta to demoralize Katniss. A rescue team extracts Peeta along with the other captured victors, Johanna and Enobaria, but discovers that he has been brainwashed. He attempts to kill Katniss before being restrained while medics seek a cure. Finnick and Annie marry.
Katniss and Gale are sent to persuade District 2 to join the rebellion. Gale’s strategy results in a decisive victory over District 2, enabling a final assault against the Capitol itself. Katniss is assigned to a squad and sent with a film crew to shoot propaganda in the Capitol. President Coin also sends Peeta, still dangerous and unpredictable; Katniss suspects Coin wants her dead for her lack of support and growing influence. While filming in a supposedly safe Capitol neighborhood, the team’s commander Boggs is fatally wounded; before dying, he gives Katniss the team’s command. She decides to infiltrate the Capitol and kill Snow, telling her team that this was Coin’s secret plan; she later reveals the lie, but the team sticks with her. In the ensuing urban warfare, many of Katniss’s comrades are killed, including Finnick who is devoured by genetically-modified reptiles. As the last of her squad reaches Snow’s mansion, a hovercraft bearing the Capitol seal drops bombs among a group of children being used as human shields. Rebel medics, including Prim, rush in to help the injured children, and the remaining bombs detonate. Prim is killed, and Katniss sustains severe burns.
As she recuperates, Katniss, profoundly depressed over her sister’s death, learns the rebels have taken over the Capitol and Snow is to be publicly executed. She confronts Snow, who claims that Coin orchestrated the bombing to turn Snow’s remaining supporters against him, reminding Katniss of how District 13 benefited from the revolution and of their promise never to lie to each other. Horrified, Katniss realizes Gale had earlier proposed a similar tactic. She becomes convinced that, rather than establishing a democracy, Coin intends to take Snow’s place and maintain the status quo. Coin hosts a referendum for the remaining Victors on whether to host another Hunger Games for the Capitol children. Although three, including Peeta, are against the plan, Katniss, Haymitch, Johanna, and Enobaria outvote them. Katniss votes yes in order to get Coin to think that she was on her side, for Katniss realized that Prim’s death was caused by Coin (Coin sent Prim to her death knowing that the bombs would kill her in the battle in an effort to gain Katniss’s support, for Katniss had a strong influence over the citizens of Panem).
At Snow’s execution, Katniss is supposed to carry out the death sentence, but goes rogue and shoots Coin instead. She immediately attempts suicide, but Peeta stops her, and she is arrested in the ensuing riot. Snow is later found dead, and rebel Commander Paylor of District 8 takes over as president. Katniss is acquitted of murder by reason of insanity and sent home to District 12, while her mother leaves for District 4 and Gale for District 2. Other District 12 natives later return, including Peeta, who has recovered his memories and his love for Katniss. She embraces him, recognizing her need for his hope and strength. Together, they write a book to preserve the memory of those who died. Though still suffering nightmares from the entire ordeal, they comfort each other.
Twenty years later, Katniss and Peeta are married and have two children. Under Paylor’s administration, the Hunger Games are abolished with the arenas replaced by memorials. Katniss is happy with her new life and her family, but still carries mental and emotional scars, and dreads the day her children learn about their parents’ involvement in the war and the Games. She tells her young daughter that when she feels distressed, she plays a comforting, repetitive game: reminding herself of every good thing she has ever seen someone do. The series ends with Katniss’s reflection that there are much worse games to play.
Prequels
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
A prequel to the trilogy, titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was released on May 19, 2020. The novel is set 64 years before The Hunger Games events, during the ‘Dark Days’ which led to the failed rebellion in Panem. The story follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, whose family name has fallen from grace as the remaining Snows live in poverty and struggle to keep up appearances in post-war Panem. Snow becomes a mentor for the 10th annual Hunger Games as his final project before graduating from school. Snow shows great commitment in mentoring his tribute Lucy Gray Baird from the impoverished District 12 because her winning means he will be awarded a monetary prize that will cover his university tuition. Though skeptical at first, Snow believes he can turn the odds of the Games in his favor after seeing Lucy Gray defiantly sing during her reaping ceremony. During his time spent mentoring Lucy Gray, Snow begins to fall in love with her and must choose between her and his promising political future. Collins credits her character Lucy Gray as having introduced the concept of entertainment into the Hunger Games with her performative and musical talent.
Sunrise on the Reaping
A new prequel, titled Sunrise on the Reaping, was announced on June 6, 2024. The novel is set 24 years before The Hunger Games events, during the 50th Hunger Games won by Haymitch Abernathy, and is set to release on March 18, 2025. A film adaptation was announced by Lionsgate also on June 6, 2024, and is set to be released in theatres on November 20, 2026.
Themes
Major themes of the novels include distrust of authority (of adults and the government), class discrimination and caste, resistance, the ethics of entertainment, and most notably, the origins and effects of war. Social inequality, unaccountable governance and violence against children have also been suggested as prominent themes. “In the world of the ‘Hunger Games’, the Capitol lives a life of extravagant wealth and consumption. Meanwhile, out in the ‘districts’, millions of people work dangerous jobs with low pay. As the Capitol wallows in excess, the districts can barely afford to feed their children.” Author Suzanne Collins also mentions the themes of “just war”, gladiatorial combat and hunger. War as a result of climate disaster, and the power and illusions of television have also been cited as themes. Others have mentioned revolution and rebellion as themes. “Although it’s… aimed at young adults, it presents potentially quite subversive ideas of mass revolution, economic sabotage and the populist fight against oligarchy.”
About the Author (Suzanne Collins)
Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian book series The Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children’s fantasy series The Underland Chronicles.
Suzanne Collins graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham in 1980 as a Theater Arts major. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1985 with a double major in theater and telecommunications. In 1989, Collins earned her Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Suzanne Collins began her career in 1991 as a writer for children’s television shows. She worked on several shows for Nickelodeon, including Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Little Bear, Oswald and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. She was also the head writer for the PBS spin-off Clifford’s Puppy Days. She received a Writers Guild of America nomination in animation for co-writing the critically acclaimed 2001 Christmas special, Santa, Baby! After meeting children’s author James Proimos while working on the Kids’ WB show Generation O!, Collins felt inspired to write children’s books herself.
Her inspiration for Gregor the Overlander, the first book of The New York Times best-selling series The Underland Chronicles, came from Alice in Wonderland, when she was thinking about how one was more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole, and would find something other than a tea party. Between 2003 and 2007 she wrote the five books of the Underland Chronicles: Gregor the Overlander, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, and Gregor and the Code of Claw. During that time, Collins also wrote a rhyming picture book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005), illustrated by Mike Lester.
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