NoveList Young Adult Book Discussion Guide NoveList/EBSCO Publishing 2009

The Hunger Games

(New York: Scholastic Press, 2008)

by Suzanne Collins

Author: Suzanne Collins began writing for children's television in 1991. She has worked on the staffs of several successful shows, including Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. She was also nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for her work on the television Christmas special, Santa, Baby! An encounter with a children's author encouraged Collins to try writing children's books herself. Inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland, she wrote Gregor the Overlander, the first book in the Underland Chronicles, a bestselling series about a boy who, rather than falling down a rabbit hole, discovers a secret world beneath New York City. The fifth and final book in the Underland Chronicles was published in 2007. Collins has also written a picture book called When Charlie McButton Lost Power (2005). The Hunger Games is the first book in a new series for Collins, but, like the Underland Chronicles, it explores the effects of war and violence on children. Collins also found inspiration for The Hunger Games from a childhood interest in mythology particularly the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. Suzanne Collins currently lives with her family and two cats in Connecticut. Further information on Collins and her books can be found on her website: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/. Summary: After the chaotic collapse of the North American governments, the country of Panem was formed. Panem's twelve districts are run some would say controlled by the Capitol, a cosmopolitan city nestled in the Rocky Mountains. Some years ago, the districts lost a hardfought rebellion against the Capitol. As part of their punishment, every year, the Capitol requires each district to send a boy and a girl to compete in the Hunger Games, a sort of twisted reality TV show where, in order to win, you have to be the only "tribute" to survive even if it means killing everyone who stands in your way. As the book opens, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen is hunting in the woods outside District 12 with her friend Gale. The people of District 12 are extremely poor, and both Katniss and Gale have been illegally hunting for years in order to secure enough food for their fatherless families. Both are trying to forget that this particular day is special it's the day of the reaping, or the lottery that will decide which two kids from their district will be chosen as this year's Hunger Games tributes. When the reaping takes place later that day, it's not Katniss whose name is drawn, but her twelve-year-old sister, Prim's. Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place a veritable death sentence, as contestants from District 12 rarely win the Hunger Games. The unlucky

boy chosen to compete is Peeta Mellark, who once gave Katniss a loaf of bread when she and her family were starving though she's barely spoken to him since. Katniss and Peeta are whisked away to the Capitol, where they get makeovers and receive training in preparation for the Games. Katniss finds herself more and more confused by Peeta. At times, she's suspicious of his motives after all, in order to survive himself, he must want her dead. But at other times, Peeta just seems friendly and kind. In the days leading up to the Games, Katniss and Peeta are encouraged by their coach, Haymitch, to show affection for each other in order to win the audience's favor. Then, when they are interviewed on live TV, Peeta says that he's in love with Katniss. Finally, the first day of the Hunger Games arrives. The tributes, who will be constantly observed by all of Panem, are placed in a vast arena that's really more like a wilderness zone filled with hidden dangers. At the start of the Games, the tributes have the option of racing to a cornucopia that's filled with much-needed supplies, or running for cover in the woods. Katniss is tempted by the bow and arrow she sees near the cornucopia (she's an expert archer), but Peeta distracts her just as the Games begin, forcing her to flee without retrieving the bow and arrow. A few days into the Games, Katniss is discovered by the "Careers," the most feared tributes in the competition. After spending the night in a tree, Katniss drops a tracker jacker nest to the ground, forcing the Careers to run for their lives. One of the Careers is instantly killed by tracker jacker stings a girl who possessed the bow and arrow Katniss coveted. Disoriented by her own stings, Katniss manages to retrieve the bow and arrow just as Peeta arrives. Instead of trying to kill her, he tells her to flee before Cato, the most dangerous Career of all, comes back to find her. Katniss runs away, bewildered by Peeta's effort to save her life. Soon, she forms an alliance and even a friendship with Rue, the youngest tribute in the Games. Together, they form a plan to destroy the food supply of the Careers. Armed with her bow and arrow, Katniss pulls off the sabotage but when she reunites with Rue, she finds her new friend caught in a trap and run through with a spear. Katniss sings to Rue until she dies. In an act of defiance to the Capitol, Katniss decorates Rue's dead body with flowers, refusing to let the people of Panem watch Rue's death and think of it as inconsequential. Later, a new rule is announced over the arena's loudspeaker: two contestants from the same district will be declared winners if they are the last two alive. Excited by this change, Katniss searches for Peeta. She finds him badly injured by Cato and takes him to a cave to recover. When fever sets in, Katniss knows Peeta is close to death. Against Peeta's wishes, she risks her life to retrieve the medicine necessary for Peeta's survival right before another girl attacks her. As the girl prepares to kill her, another contestant, Thresh, kills the girl. Thresh is from the same district as Rue, and when he learns what Katniss did for Rue, he tells her he will spare her life this one time. Katniss flees the scene and returns to Peeta with the medicine. Since Katniss first found Peeta, Peeta has been very affectionate with her; Katniss begins returning his kisses when she realizes that doing so will garner much-needed supplies from Haymitch. Soon, Peeta's condition improves and they're able to go hunting. The deaths of two more contestants including Thresh leave only Katniss, Peeta, and Cato alive. When the water is drained from the arena's ponds and streams, Katniss and Peeta are forced to head to the lake for a final confrontation with Cato.

When Cato arrives, he's running from a pack of killer dogs. Cato, Peeta, and Katniss all take refuge on top of the cornucopia and begin to fight each other. Eventually, Cato falls off the cornucopia and is slowly devoured by the dogs. Then there is another rule change: only one tribute will be allowed to survive. Katniss proposes to Peeta that they simultaneously eat poison berries, knowing that the Capitol won't want to lose face by having both contestants die. Sure enough, a final announcement hastily declares the Hunger Games over both Katniss and Peeta have won. Katniss and Peeta are quickly taken back to the Capitol, where Katniss learns from Haymitch that the Capitol is furious about their attempt to eat the berries instead of trying to kill each other. Haymitch advises her to keep up the pretense of a romance between her and Peeta in order to make people think she wanted to die because she couldn't live without Peeta. On the train ride back to District 12, Katniss tells Peeta about the need to fool the Capitol with their romance. Peeta is deeply hurt, as his feelings for Katniss are very real, and he had thought that Katniss had grown to return them. Katniss is torn she feels affection Peeta, but she also has feelings for her friend Gale, and wonders what will develop between them when she returns to District 12. The Hunger Games closes as Katniss and Peeta, keeping up their "pretense" one last time, arrive in District 12 and emerge from the train hand-in-hand. Questions: This guide provides questions and answers, but they are not the only possible questions and answers. Readers bring their own personalities to books. Some readers see different things, some have different responses to the characters, some have different ideas about what the story means. The variety of possible answers is one of the reasons we find book discussions such a rewarding activity. These questions and answers should be used to begin a discussion, not to replace the readers' own responses to the novel. The Hunger Games is written in the first-person, present tense. How does this affect the story? By hearing Katniss tell her story as it happens, readers are drawn directly into the actionpacked plot. Hearing about events as they unfold adds to the already high suspense factor especially since Katniss doesn't know anything before readers do. If Katniss were speaking in the first person, but past tense, readers would know that she survived the Hunger Games. Instead, they read, thinking, "She couldn't really die . . . could she?" Using Katniss as a narrator provides readers with access to her innermost thoughts but it's also unreliable at times. Though Katniss is usually honest about her own feelings, she doesn't always understand the thoughts and feelings of others, most notably when it comes to Peeta. For most of the book, Katniss thinks Peeta is only pretending to love her when it's obvious to other characters and to readers that his feelings are real. Similarly, readers have an idea of what Katniss feels for Gale (or at least understand her confusion) but they, like Katniss, have no idea if Gale has any romantic feelings for her. Katniss doesn't fully understand the motivations of many other characters, including Cinna, her stylist. At times, readers may wish for a broader perspective, but not only does Katniss's narration keep readers in suspense, but it also helps them get to know Katniss thoroughly.

In what ways is Katniss well prepared to be a contestant in the Hunger Games? Though Katniss is far from being like the Careers, who purposely train for the Hunger Games, she is still better prepared for the Games than most tributes. Peeta's mother calls her a "survivor" (p. 90), and it's true since her father's death, Katniss has discovered how to keep herself and her family alive through her own concentrated efforts. Katniss's many challenges have molded her strong, even fierce personality: she will identify and then do anything necessary to take care of herself and the people she loves. As Katniss explains, "It isn't in my nature to go down without a fight, even when things seem insurmountable" (p. 36). For most of Panem's citizens, the woods are dangerous, frightening places; for Katniss, they're a second home, the only place where she feels something close to happiness. Katniss has spent years hunting in the woods, and, once she finds water, she has little trouble adapting to life in the arena. Not only is she skilled with a bow and arrow and at setting traps, but she also knows which plants and berries are safe to eat. She can nimbly climb trees, run long distances, and unlike Peeta tread quietly on leaves and twigs. Katniss also knows how to kill. Though she's never hunted a human before, as Gale grimly asks her, "How different can it be, really?" (p. 40). While Katniss eventually realizes that the emotional effects of killing a human are far different from killing animals, she still agrees that the techniques are the same. Death in general is not unfamiliar to Katniss, thanks to her father's death and her years of hunting. She understands how to be practical about death, and once she even tried to drown her sister's kittens because there wasn't enough food to feed them (p. 3). How do Katniss's feelings about Peeta evolve over the course of the book? When Katniss hears that Peeta Mellark has been chosen as District 12's male tribute, her first reaction is shock and dismay. Years ago, Peeta gave Katniss a loaf of bread at a time when her family was starving. The bread was welcome sustenance for the Everdeens, and it gave Katniss the impetus to begin hunting to feed her family. Katniss has always been grateful to Peeta, and in some ways, "the boy with the bread" has come to represent hope to her, since it was he who gave her the ability to press on during her darkest time. Katniss doesn't want to have to kill the boy with the bread the one person to whom she has always felt indebted. Later in the book, Katniss admits to herself that there has always been a connection between her and Peeta, as they have both secretly kept track of each other over the years. When Katniss and Peeta are thrown together in preparation for the Hunger Games, Katniss is increasingly confused by her feelings for Peeta. He acts very friendly towards her, but she can't help but feel suspicious of him, since he must want her dead in order to survive himself. She constantly wonders about Peeta's ulterior motives when he is friendly or when he performs kind acts, such as the time he took care of a drunken Haymitch (p. 48). Despite her suspicions, there are also times when the two seem to bond with each other, such as when they attend Hunger Games training together and the time they spoke on the roof about the Avox (p. 82). Peeta even helped Katniss by lying about the identity of the Avox to Haymitch and Effie. Katniss feels a desire to trust Peeta, but she knows it's dangerous to give in to that feeling. When the Hunger Games begin and Katniss is on her own in the arena, she feels concern for Peeta and worries that he'll be killed. Then, when she finds out that he has sided with the

Careers, she feels betrayed and even more confused. If Peeta has allied with the Careers, then clearly he's not the kind, thoughtful boy she was beginning to think he was. After Peeta saves her life by getting her to run from Cato after the tracker jacker attack, her feelings swing again and she wonders if she misjudged Peeta's decision to side with the Careers. She once again feels concern for his safety, but tells herself she shouldn't get too close to him since either he or she must die. The announcement that two tributes from the same district can both win changes Katniss's attitude. Suddenly, it's safe to trust Peeta and working him will be mutually beneficial. She allows herself to feel the things she had tried to hold back and goes in search of him. When Katniss finds Peeta injured by the stream, he's clearly in need of her help. Katniss immediately begins to take care of him, just as she took care of her family and ensured their survival. However, Peeta has more romantic ideas in mind, and he constantly tries to touch her and kiss her. Thought Katniss grows close to him, she isn't too interested in returning his affections until she recognizes that a romance between them will gain the audience's support and get Haymitch to send them much-needed help. So Katniss begins to play along with the "romance," believing that, for Peeta, it's an act as well. As Peeta recovers, they share a kiss that Katniss admits left her wanting more. When Peeta holds her as she sleeps, Katniss says that she feels safe in his arms. She states again that she doesn't "want to lose the boy with the bread" (p. 297). After Peeta recovers somewhat from his injuries and the two are able to go hunting, Katniss gets irritated by Peeta's inability to be quiet in the woods and hunt effectively. She compares him to Gale, who can walk so quietly in the woods that no animals are disturbed. Peeta, on the other hand, seems to step on every branch he can find. Katniss is fond of Peeta, but the extent of her feelings is difficult to gauge. It seems Katniss herself doesn't know exactly what she feels for him. Her suggestion that they eat poison berries in order to die at the same time is not, as she later tries to convince the Capitol, because she can't live without Peeta. She only wanted to defy the Capitol and force its hand. To readers, it's clear that while Peeta is wholeheartedly in love with Katniss, Katniss has too much on her mind to focus on him entirely. On the train ride home, Katniss feels the increasing closeness of her old life in District 12 and is torn by her feelings. She has grown close to Peeta and truly cares for him, but she isn't sure what it all means. She says, "I only know that I feel like I've been lying to someone who trusts me. Or more accurately, to two people. I've been getting away with it up to this point because of the Games. But there will be no Games to hide behind back home" (p. 371). Translated, it seems that Katniss recognizes that she has been lying to Peeta by making him think she loves him and she has been inadvertently lying to Gale by making him think she loves Peeta. Without the Games, there is no "excuse" to act as if she is in love with Peeta. Peeta is devastated when he learns that Katniss has only been pretending to love him. Katniss feels terrible that she hurt him, but she also feels that it's not fair for him to expect her to love him as much as he wants her to. She had a life and a close friendship with Gale before the Games, and she can't just ignore the feelings she has for Gale or the undefined relationship they have. She also knows that she can't ever give Peeta everything he wants from her because she doesn't ever want to get married and have children who may end up as tributes themselves. Still, she knows she will miss Peeta even though missing him may not be enough for either of them.

Katniss's relationship with Gale evolved much more slowly than her relationship with Peeta. She says, "I call him my friend, but in the last year it's seemed too casual a word for what Gale is to me" (p. 112). They have been hunting together for years, and, as Katniss remembers, "It took a long time for us to even become friends, to stop haggling over every trade and begin helping each other out" (p. 10). Due to circumstances, Katniss and Peeta were forced to trust each other far more quickly. But by now, Katniss and Gale know and trust each other completely, and during the Games, Katniss imagines what Gale must be thinking as he watches her and especially as he observes her "romance" with Peeta. Katniss and Gale have much in common, from hunting in the woods to their childhoods in the Seam. Gale and Katniss's fathers both died in the same mine explosion. Katniss and Gale even look alike. Katniss knows that her relationship with Gale has recently evolved, but she's not sure what it means or what Gale feels. She asks herself, "Gale's not my boyfriend, but would he be, if I opened that door?" (p. 280). She wonders what Gale really meant when he said they could run away together is that because he loves her? She also wonders about the sentence he left unfinished the last time she saw him: "Katniss, remember I " (p. 40). What could he have wanted her to remember most about him? Katniss is torn between the promise of what Peeta offers and the mystery of what Gale feels for her. Making matters even more complicated, she doesn't fully grasp her own feelings and is wary of love in general because life is so precarious in a world ruled by the Capitol. It will take subsequent books in the trilogy to work out this complicated love triangle! Besides the Hunger Games, what other ways does the Capitol control the districts and their people? What are some signs of resistance both from the districts and within the Capitol? Throughout The Hunger Games, Katniss describes ways that the Capitol wields control over the districts to the extent that it essentially exploits them, leaving the people in the districts so downtrodden that they are unable to do anything about the unfair situation. Though the Hunger Games is the ultimate example of the Capitol's complete control over its people, there are many other ways it exercises its power. Katniss's trip to the Capitol reveals the vast differences in the amount of technology available in the districts and the Capitol. While Capitol has fancy showers and vast amounts of food that can be delivered at the push of a button, the people in District 12 are lucky simply to avoid starvation. Katniss had never showered before her family can't even get hot water unless they boil it. Electricity in the districts is unreliable, though it's certain there won't be a problem during a broadcast from the Capitol. The Capitol not only withholds resources from the districts, but it also takes them at will. Though Katniss lives amid coal mines, the people of District 12 can only have the coal they can buy at market price. Rue tells Katniss that the people in her district don't see any extra food, despite working in Panem's fields and orchards in fact, they're whipped if they're caught eating any of the crops (p. 202). The boundaries of the districts are enclosed by electric fences, supposedly for the people's protection. Katniss reports that there are "flesh-eaters" living in the woods. She calls them "another reminder of our weakness, I suppose, just like the Hunger Games. Another reason to keep inside the fence of District 12" (p. 186). Travel between districts is forbidden thus keeping the districts from working together and children are given a biased education

that seems primarily focused on keeping them ignorant and unaware of the history of the districts' past rebellion against the Capitol. The Hunger Games is peppered with hints that all is not right in Panem and that there are some people who recognize this and who may be resisting it to varying degrees. Katniss has illegally hunted for years, but the Peacekeepers, supposedly paid by the Capitol to enforce its laws, look the other way. In fact, they're regular customers of District 12's black market. When Katniss takes Prim's place as Hunger Games tribute, the people of District 12 refuse to celebrate her sacrifice by clapping. Instead, they salute Katniss with their district's traditional gesture of farewell and admiration (p. 24). Katniss also talks about how, in the safety of the woods, Gale rails about the Capitol and how it exploits and manipulates the people in the districts (p. 14). If there were a rebellion, Gale would certainly support it. Haymitch's allegiance to the Capitol seems questionable at times. At the reaping, he drunkenly declares that Katniss has spunk, then turns to the Capitol's camera and shouts twice, "More than you!" (p. 24). Later, in front of Cinna, he refers to Katniss and Peeta holding hands at the Opening Ceremonies as the "perfect touch of rebellion" (p. 79). Cinna's motivations also seem a bit mysterious and decidedly unlike most Capitol stylists. He dresses much more plainly than Capitol citizens and he tells Katniss that he chose to work on a District 12 tribute. He also helps Katniss avoid drawing too much of the Capitol's ire after the Hunger Games by dressing her so that she looks young and innocent. Katniss recognizes the "calculated look" and wonders at Cinna's motivations. When he carefully tells her that he thought Peeta would like the outfit he chose better, Katniss muses, "Peeta? No, it's not about Peeta. It's about the Capitol and the Gamemakers and the audience. Although I do not yet understand Cinna's design, it's a reminder that the Games are not quite finished. And beneath his benign reply, I sense a warning. Of something he can't even mention in front of his own team" (p. 355). The Hunger Games are meant to dehumanize the tributes. In what ways do some tributes resist this and show compassion for others? Despite the knowledge that the deaths of other tributes increase their own chances of survival, some Hunger Games tributes still exhibit compassion and kindness for others. When Rue spies the tracker jacker nest above Katniss's head, she points it out to her, possibly saving Katniss's life as well as providing a way for her to force the Careers on the ground below to flee. Later, Rue forms an alliance with Katniss that is clearly more like a true friendship. Rue trusts Katniss completely, and Katniss recognizes that Rue could have killed her with poison berries, but didn't. Rue never exhibits any bloodlust or cruelty like Katniss, she is clearly a tribute against her will. Katniss herself exhibits a great deal of kindness and compassion for Rue, first when they form an alliance and later after Rue's death. Katniss is devastated by Rue's death. She sings to the small girl until she dies and decides to decorate her with flowers so that no one watching will consider her death inconsequential. Katniss realizes the worth of a person, and is determined not to let anyone devalue her friend, even in death. Thresh has the opportunity to kill Katniss, but he frees her when her learns what Katniss did for Rue. It was in Thresh's best interest to eliminate a competitor when he had the chance, but instead he chose to honor what he felt was a debt. Katniss later tells Peeta that Thresh might have been their friend, had they known him back home.

While Katniss is confused about Peeta's motivations, readers know that everything Peeta does is in Katniss's best interest, and not his own. He works with the Careers because he's hoping somehow to protect Katniss, and more than once, he demonstrates his intentions to put Katniss's survival above his own, such as the time he tries to keep her from going to the feast for his medicine. While Katniss is shocked that Peeta went back to kill a dying tribute, he most likely did this to end her prolonged suffering with compassion (p. 160). Before the Games began, Peeta tells Katniss that he wants to die as himself, and not let the Capitol change him into something he's not (p. 141). Katniss doesn't fully understand this concept of personal honor until much later in the book. Katniss also resists the Capitol's attempts to dehumanize her when the Capitol retracts its statement that two tributes from the same district can win. Clearly, the Capitol wants to entertain the masses by forcing Katniss and Peeta to fight to the death, but neither Katniss nor Peeta is willing to submit to their cruel manipulations. Instead, they decide that if both can't win, neither will win, and they begin to eat the poison berries at the same time, forcing the Capitol to intervene and declare them both winners. What is the significance of the mockingjay pin that also appears on the book's cover? When her friend Madge gives Katniss the pin she wore to the reaping and asks Katniss to promise to wear it during the Hunger Games, Katniss at first doesn't recognize the small golden bird that appears on the pin. Later, she realizes it's a mockingjay, which Katniss calls "something of a slap in the face" to the Capitol (p. 42). During the rebellion between the Capitol and the districts, the Capitol genetically engineered a bird called a jabberjay in order spy on its enemies. The jabberjays were able to memorize and repeat entire human conversations. But the rebels soon discovered the secret, and, unknown to the Capitol, turned the tables on them by giving incorrect information to the birds to pass on. Eventually, the Capitol figured out they had been duped and stopped using the birds. Over time, the jabberjays mated with mockingbirds and became a new species known as mockingjays. Though they don't have the same ability to enunciate human words clearly, they are still excellent mimics of human sounds and songs. Katniss remembers that her father was fond of mockingjays, and wearing the pin helps her feel close to him. When she tells Peeta about the day she and Gale watched a hovercraft capture the Avox, she says that just before the hovercraft appeared, all the birds stopped singing except one "as if it were giving a warning call" (p. 82). During the Hunger Games, Katniss notices the mockingjays making a similar call when hovercraft are about to appear to pick up dead tributes. Cinna makes sure that Katniss wears the mockingjay pin when she enters the arena and refers to the bird as her "district token" (p. 145). Rue teaches Katniss how to use mockingjays to send signals to each other and tells Katniss that she decided to trust her because of her mockingjay pin (p. 212). When Katniss sings to Rue as she dies, Katniss notices that the mockingjays "take up [her] song" (p. 235). Throughout the book, Katniss refers to the mockingjays' presence. After the Games, an unknown person returns Katniss's pin to her. It stands to reason that mockingjays are a symbol of resistance or outright rebellion to the Capitol or, at the very least, that they'll become one. Readers should discover more about these unusual birds in future books: the mockingjay pin is also on the cover of the second book in the series, Catching Fire.

What characters or plot points were left undeveloped in this book that you believe will be explored in future books in the series? Since The Hunger Games closes with a cliffhanger, it's obvious there's much left to learn about Katniss and her world. Readers will most likely learn about what happened in District 12 during the Hunger Games, and the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale will definitely be further developed. Readers will learn more about Gale and his feelings for Katniss and watch Katniss as she sorts through her own feelings more fully. On a wider scale, it's likely that readers will also discover that the consequences of Katniss's actions in the Hunger Games will continue to reverberate. The Capitol will not soon forget Katniss's act of defiance despite her excuse of undying love, and will keep a close eye on her. The Hunger Games included enough hints of resistance that it seems likely that as the series develops, another organized rebellion will form (or has already formed and will gain ground) against the Capitol. Many of the undeveloped plot points and characters seem to be related to a potential uprising. Though readers get to know Cinna, they never learn his true motivations for becoming a stylist (this was his first year), choosing to work on a District 12 tribute, and helping Katniss to look young and innocent in her post-Hunger Games interview. The Avox girl was introduced, but readers also never learned why she was made an Avox an event most likely tied to an act of resistance or rebellion. Perhaps readers will also learn why Madge felt it was so important for Katniss to wear the mockingjay pin. Is it, after all, a symbol for a resistance movement? Early in the book, Katniss refers to "flesh-eaters" that roam freely in the woods outside District 12. Readers may learn more about these ominous creatures, especially since, given Katniss's affinity for the woods, it seems likely that she will return there in future books. Katniss believes that she will never be able to embrace love, marriage, and children of her own given the state of things in her world. She never wants a child of her own to become a tribute in the Hunger Games. In order for Katniss to experience these things, a showdown with the Capitol seems inevitable. Further Reading: Kristin Cashore, Graceling (2008) Graced or cursed with the gift of killing, Katsa breaks free of her uncle the King, who employs her as his personal assassin, and makes a better life for herself on her own. Cory Doctorow, Little Brother (2008) Following a terrorist attack on San Francisco, the overzealous Department of Homeland Security takes control of the city, restricting civil liberties and harshly interrogating innocent people until techno-savvy teenager Marcus decides it's time to resist their illegal methods. Lois Lowry, The Giver (1993) When Jonas becomes the Receiver of Memories, he learns the shocking truth about the nature of the seemingly perfect society in which he lives.

Susan Beth Pfeffer, Life As We Knew It (2006) An asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, triggering a series of devastating natural disasters. Sixteen-year-old Miranda describes in her journal her family's struggles to survive as food and supplies diminish. Scott Westerfeld, Uglies (2005) At the age of sixteen, everyone in Tally's futuristic society undergoes surgery that makes them beautiful. But if Tally doesn't discover the whereabouts of her runaway friend, she may remain an Ugly forever.

April, 2009 This Book Discussion Guide was developed by Jennifer Stubben Hatch, who is a librarian and former staff member at NoveList. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
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