Why you should be reading the first hunger games book

Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games
Setting: Panem, District 12
Main Characters: Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Prim Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne  
Rating: 5 stars 

Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. 

In the nation of Panem, The Capitol, the wealthiest area of the country, is surrounded by the 12 districts. Each of the districts are forced into labour by the Capitol and each year are forced to give up a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen annually to fight to their deaths in the annual Hunger Games…  

At the beginning of the book, the story is told by the protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games. Joined by the male tribute, Peeta Mellark, who went to the same school as Katniss, they are sent of to the Capitol to prep for the annual games by their drunk trainer, Haymitch Abernathy, who is the only living victor of District 12, Effie, and their stylists, Cinna and Portia.

After being introduced to the Capitol, Katniss is from then on known as the ‘Girl on Fire’ after the dress she wore in the opening ceremony burst into synthetic flames. After the session with the Gamemakers, the competitors become jealous and angry after Katniss is given the best score out of all of the tributes. Everyone considers her a target when the Games begin… 

After surviving the beginning of the Games, Katniss and Peeta are determined to beat the remaining tributes and team up after the rules change. Will Katniss and Peeta fail? Or will they succeed and return to District 12 and their families as Victors? However, the rules state there will be only one victor. Does this mean that they will have to turn on each other in the end?