As I am reading the book there are a few things that I notice. The setting is in some sort of post United States and the people are in an oppressed society and are left to fend for themselves for the most part. The main character, Katniss, has to hunt (illegally) for her family due to the lack of resources that are provided for the citizens of their district. So you get the general feeling right away that things are not going well for the main character and life is quite difficult.
To make matters worse, the government has a lottery once a year and draws 2 names out of a "hat" from every district to compete in a fight to the death contest. The reason they do this is due to a rebellion by the citizens in the past that the government pacified and serves as a reminder not to do it again. This contest is last man standing and the contestants are both male and female between the ages of 12 and 18. The older you are the more times your name gets dropped in the hat. A 12 year old would only have their name in the hat once so the odds are definitely in your favor of not getting selected the younger you are. And wouldn't you know it? Katniss's 12 year old sister, who has one name in the hat amongst thousands, was selected to participate in the games. Katniss, being the older, protecting sister that she is volunteered to take her sisters place in the games.I am at the point in the book where Katniss is traveling to the capital by train to take part in the games.
It is an enjoyable book so far and I can't wait to finish it. The book reminds me of 'The Running Man' by Stephen King, and 'The Long Walk' also by Stephen King. These books also had the government backed fight to the death type games.
