A New York Times bestseller -- Book 1 of The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what was once the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. Now the Capitol demands one boy and one girl from each district to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. When Kat''s sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.