The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Aug 5, 2026

100

Uploaded by Oliver

A dystopian young-adult novel set in Panem, where children from each district face a brutal televised event called the reaping. The opening follows Katniss as she prepares for the day, tending her family and navigating the Seam’s poverty and constant threat from outside the fence. Survival skills, secret hunting, and the tense rules enforced by Peacekeepers establish a grim world where love, fear, and resistance begin to collide.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages284

Reading Time7 h 17 min

AccessFree to download

Part I: The Tributes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Part II: The Games

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Part III: The Victor

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

THE

HUNGER

GAMES

“The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was ɹnished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it … The Hunger Games is

amazing.”

Stephenie Meyer

“Rip-roaring, bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind …a real humdinger”

The Times

“As close to a perfect adventure novel as I’ve ever read”

Rick Riordan

“Terrifying, exhilarating and unexpectedly thought-provoking”

Sunday Telegraph

“Imaginative and creepy”

L.A. Times

“Rattles along with plenty of action and suspense”

News of the World

THE

HUNGER GAMES

SUZANNE COLLINS

FOR JAMES PROIMOS

Contents

Cover

Praise for The Hunger Games

Title Page

Dedication

PART I: THE TRIBUTES 1

PART II: THE GAMES

PART III: THE VICTOR

GETTING TO KNOW SUZANNE COLLINS Copyright

PART I

THE TRIBUTES

When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My ɹngers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but ɹnding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping.

I prop myself up on one elbow. There’s enough light in the bedroom to see them. My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother’s body, their cheeks pressed together. In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down. Prim’s face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely as the primrose for which she was named. My mother was very beautiful once, too. Or so they tell me.

Sitting at Prim’s knees, guarding her, is the world’s ugliest cat. Mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the colour of rotting squash. Prim named him Buttercup, insisting that his muddy yellow coat matched the bright ɻower. He hates me. Or at least distrusts me. Even though it was years ago, I think he still remembers how I tried to drown him in a bucket when Prim brought him home. Scrawny kitten, belly swollen with worms, crawling with ɻeas. The last thing I needed was another mouth to feed. But Prim begged so hard, cried even, I had to let him stay. It turned out OK. My mother got rid of the vermin and he’s a born mouser. Even catches the occasional rat. Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me.

Entrails. No hissing. This is the closest we will ever come to love.

I swing my legs oʃ the bed and slide into my hunting boots. Supple leather that has moulded to my feet. I pull on trousers, a shirt, tuck my long dark braid up into a cap, and grab my forage bag. On the table, under a wooden bowl to protect it from hungry rats and cats alike, sits a perfect little goat’s cheese wrapped in basil

leaves. Prim’s gift to me on reaping day. I put the cheese carefully in my pocket as I slip outside.

Our part of District 12, nicknamed the Seam, is usually crawling with coal miners heading out to the morning shift at this hour. Men and women with hunched shoulders, swollen knuckles, many of whom have long since stopped trying to scrub the coal dust out of their broken nails and the lines of their sunken faces. But today the black cinder streets are empty. Shutters on the squat grey houses are closed. The reaping isn’t until two. May as well sleep in. If you can.

Our house is almost at the edge of the Seam. I only have to pass a few gates to reach the scruʃy ɹeld called the Meadow. Separating the Meadow from the woods, in fact enclosing all of District 12, is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed-wire loops. In theory, it’s supposed to be electriɹed twenty-four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods – packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears – that used to threaten our streets. But since we’re lucky to get two or three hours of electricity in the evenings, it’s usually safe to touch. Even so, I always take a moment to listen carefully for

FAQs

What does Katniss do on reaping day in the opening chapter?

Katniss wakes up, prepares her hunting gear and forage bag, and pockets a goat’s cheese gift from Prim before leaving the house. She enters the woods to hunt and gather what her family needs for survival.

Why is Katniss able to go into the woods near District 12?

A high fence separates the Meadow and District 12 from the woods, but it is not fully reliable because electricity is limited and there are weak spots. Katniss knows how to listen for signs the fence is live and how to enter through concealed gaps.

How do the rules and Peacekeepers affect hunting and survival in the Seam?

Poaching and trespassing in the woods carry severe penalties, so hunters keep weapons and supplies hidden. Peacekeepers often ignore some local hunting because the Seam is hungry for meat, though arming the Seam would not be allowed.

Aug 5, 2026

100

Uploaded by Oliver