The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Book One)

by Collins, Suzanne

• ISBN13: 9780439023481
• ISBN10: 0439023483
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Scholastic Press

Summary

The acclaimed author of the "New York Times"-bestselling Underland Chronicles series delivers equal parts suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance, in a stunning novel set in a future with unsettling parallels to the present.

Author Biography

Suzanne Collins' debut novel, Gregor the Overlander, the first book in The Underland Chronicles, received wide praise both in the United States and abroad. The series has been a New York Times bestseller and received numerous accolades. Also a writer for children's television, Suzanne lives with her family in Connecticut.

Table of Contents

From The Hunger Games

The moment the anthem ends, we are taken into custody

I don't mean we're handcuffed or anything, but a group of Peacekeepers marches us through the front door of the Justice Building

Maybe tributes have tried to escape in the past

I've never seen that happen though

Once inside, I'm conducted to a room and left alone

It's the richest place I've ever been in, with thick, deep carpets and a velvet couch and chairs

I know velvet because my mother has a dress with a collar made of the stuff

When I sit on the couch, I can't help running my fingers over the fabric repeatedly

It helps to calm me as I try to prepare for the next hour

The time allotted for the tributes to say good-bye to their loved ones

I cannot afford to get upset, to leave this room with puffy eyes and a red nose

Crying is not an option

There will be more cameras at the train station

My sister and my mother come first

I reach out to Prim and she climbs on my lap, her arms around my neck, head on my shoulder, just like she did when she was a toddler

My mother sits beside me and wraps her arms around us

For a few minutes, we say nothing

Then I start telling them all the things they must remember to do, now that I will not be there to do them for them

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

From The Hunger Games

The moment the anthem ends, we are taken into custody. I don't mean we're handcuffed or anything, but a group of Peacekeepers marches us through the front door of the Justice Building. Maybe tributes have tried to escape in the past. I've never seen that happen though.

Once inside, I'm conducted to a room and left alone. It's the richest place I've ever been in, with thick, deep carpets and a velvet couch and chairs. I know velvet because my mother has a dress with a collar made of the stuff. When I sit on the couch, I can't help running my fingers over the fabric repeatedly. It helps to calm me as I try to prepare for the next hour. The time allotted for the tributes to say good-bye to their loved ones. I cannot afford to get upset, to leave this room with puffy eyes and a red nose. Crying is not an option. There will be more cameras at the train station.

My sister and my mother come first. I reach out to Prim and she climbs on my lap, her arms around my neck, head on my shoulder, just like she did when she was a toddler. My mother sits beside me and wraps her arms around us. For a few minutes, we say nothing. Then I start telling them all the things they must remember to do, now that I will not be there to do them for them.