Can you stay alive in a wilderness where everyone is out to kill you? On the ruins of North America today lies the country of Panem, the shining Capitol and the twelve distant districts. The Capitol treats the residents of Panem cruelly: every year, a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen are drawn from each district to participate in the Hunger Games. The life-or-death struggle is broadcast live on TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen lives alone with her sister and mother in the Twelfth District. When her sister is drawn, Katniss volunteers to enter the Battle in her place, which is tantamount to a death sentence. But it's not the first time Katniss has faced death - for her, survival is part of everyday life. If you want to win, you have to make decisions where the instinct to live is against humanity, and life against love.

Suzanne Collins' trilogy is the biggest international book success of recent years, leading the bestseller lists in many countries around the world for months. And in March 2012, the film version of The Hunger Games, starring Jennifer Lawrence, will be released.